Director, Engineering Services

Aspire Bakeries is a North American baking company with a leadership position in specialty frozen baked goods. Formed from leading bakery companies, its innovative food portfolio includes breads, artisan breads, buns, cookies, donuts, muffins and pastries from beloved brands likeLa Brea Bakery,Otis Spunkmeyer, andOakrun Farm Bakery. With 13 bakeries in North America, we are committed to driving innovation, predicting upcoming consumer trends and flavors, and exceeding our customers' expectations. Aspire Bakeries champions the values of Integrity, Ownership, Customer Focus, Creativity and Care to help us deliver on People Safety, Food Safety, Quality and Collaboration.

The Director of Engineering Services will lead the development and execution of Maintenance strategies, systems, and processes across all bakeries to drive improvements in Maintenance and Reliability KPIs. This role is responsible for enhancing bakery efficiency by optimizing equipment uptime, reducing waste, and managing maintenance costs, while also ensuring safety, food safety, and quality standards are met. The Director will support and mentor Maintenance Managers, oversee training, and implement playbook standards for continuous improvement in Maintenance operations. Additionally, they will collaborate on capital investment plans and project execution to drive long-term reliability and operational success.

Responsibilities:

Maintenance:

• Uses a playbook approach to bakeries Maintenance functional improvement including:
  
  
  
  • Development of playbook standards for key Maintenance systems - PM's, Parts Management, Skill Development and Training, Planning and Scheduling, Root Cause Analysis, etc.
  • Analysis and Prioritization of Reliability issues
  • Evaluating Maintenance Program effectiveness through auditing, gap analyses, and development of remediation plans
  • Storeroom Parts right sizing and optimization audits
  • Auditing personnel skill sets, identifying gaps and developing appropriate training plans
  • Setting Measurement systems in place to assure progress
  • Challenging the Bakery Team toward CI
  
  
  
  

• As Subject Matter Expert, generates engineering solutions to repetitive failures and other problems that adversely affect plant operations.
• Assists in management of equipment supplier related issues causing inefficiencies, regulatory, safety and/or quality problems.
• Ensures equipment is in compliance with all sanitation, safety and environmental requirements by local and federal regulatory authorities.
• Supervises Engineering resources in the execution of reliability improvement activities and provides mentoring and development activities for same.

Engineering:

• Supports bakeries in developing strategic capital investment plans
• Executes capital projects from development through start up as needed in partnership with bakery teams.
• Provides maintenance input to capital project scope development

Qualifications:

• B.S. Engineering (any discipline) is preferred.
• Experience of 10 years of Maintenance and Engineering management in food manufacturing (prefer bakery experience).
• Knowledge of asset care and maintenance management. Preferred experience in SAP maintenance management.
• Experienced in Maintenance KPIs utilized to improve Maintenance performance resulting in best class uptime.
• Experience influencing peers and dotted line reports in a matrix organizational structure.
• The leadership style and mental agility to move effectively between strategic roles and hands-on execution roles.
• Ability to manage projects from feasibility thru start up and performance validation.
• Knowledge of current personnel safety, food safety, environmental and regulatory compliance issues related to manufacturing and in the food industry.
• Experience applying engineering knowledge cross-functionally to support new food development and commercialization in specialty foods categories.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
• The role could involve 25-75% travel depending on bakery needs.

Benefits Designed with You in Mind

At Aspire Bakeries, we're committed to supporting your well-being, professional growth, and financial stability. Our comprehensive benefits package includes:

Health & Wellness:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Company-paid life insurance
• Optional voluntary benefits

Work-Life Balance:

• Paid parental leave
• Paid time off and holidays

Financial Security:

• Competitive 401(k) plan with a 100% vested company match
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage

Continuous Growth:

• Tuition reimbursement program
• Flexible Spending:
• HSA and FSA options

Performance-Based Rewards:

We value your hard work and dedication. That's why we offer performance-driven incentive programs tailored to your role:

• Short-Term Incentive Plan (STIP): Recognizing individual and team achievements.
• Sales Incentive Plan (SIP): Rewarding excellence in sales performance.
• Bakery Incentive Plan (BIP): Focused on achieving bakery-specific performance goals.

At Aspire Bakeries, we believe that when you succeed, we all succeed. Join us and experience benefits that truly work as hard as you do!

Aspire Bakeries is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.