Job Description

Director of Manufacturing Engineering & Automation
Work Hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday
Competitive Compensation

Make the Right Connection—Build Your Career with Dixon!

We're looking for a Director of Manufacturing Engineering & Automation in any of our major U.S. locations, preferably our headquarters. The Director of Manufacturing Engineering, Automation is responsible for leading the company’s manufacturing engineering strategy across multiple manufacturing facilities with a strong focus on process capability, automation and operational scalability. This role drives productivity, capacity expansion, standardization, and capital effectiveness while building a culture of disciplined problem-solving and measurable operational improvement. This leader partners closely with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Maintenance to ensure manufacturing systems support business growth, customer expectations, and long-term operational excellence.

At The Dixon Group, we value the contributions of our Military Veterans and proudly employ our nation’s heroes. Veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.

What You'll Do:

• Lead manufacturing engineering strategy.
• Drive improvements in process capability, manufacturing reliability, throughput, and overall operational performance.
• Develop, implement and standardize manufacturing processes, equipment, tooling and engineering best practices.
• Support manufacturing facilities to resolve complex technical issues through troubleshooting, root cause analysis and corrective action implementation.
• Lead initiatives to reduce downtime, waste, labor inefficiencies and production bottlenecks.
• Lead engineering support for new product launches, manufacturing transfers and capacity expansions.
• Develop and execute a multi-year automation strategy that supports business growth, operational efficiencies, safety, quality and workforce optimization.
• Participate in CapEx project planning, justification, execution, and post-implementation evaluation to ensure achievement of business objectives.
• Evaluate, select and implement advanced manufacturing and automation technologies to improve safety, quality, and productivity working with the operations team.
• Ensure engineering and automation projects are delivered on schedule, within budget, and in accordance with defined performance and financial expectations.
• Manage relationships with equipment suppliers, system integrators and external technical partners to support successful project execution and equipment integration.
• Drive productivity, throughput, quality and cost-reduction initiatives that support annual business objectives.
• Establish standardized performance metrics for manufacturing engineering initiatives and organize KPI reviews to track progress.
• Set clear performance expectations, development objectives and accountability standards for engineering personnel.
• Foster effective cross-functional collaboration between Operations, Quality, Supply Chain and Maintenance.
• Promote a culture of operational discipline, standardization, innovation and employee engagement.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable safety, environmental, quality and regulatory requirements while driving operational excellence

Travel Requirements: approx. 20% travel

What We're Looking For:

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing engineering or operations, with a track record of increasing scope and impact.
• Proven success leading multi-site manufacturing engineering or operations functions within complex, growth-oriented environments.
• Deep expertise in automation strategy, advanced manufacturing technologies, process optimization, and capital project execution.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive large-scale organizational change initiatives.
• Experience within industrial, engineered products, metal fabrication, or high-mix assembly manufacturing environments.
• Strong financial acumen, including CapEx planning, ROI analysis, and operational cost management.
• Track record of scaling manufacturing operations to support business growth, capacity expansion, and productivity improvements.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to align manufacturing initiatives to broader business objectives
• Strong operational problem-solving and root cause analysis skills
• Change leadership with experience driving transformation and continuous improvement cultures
• High level of process discipline and focus on standardization and best practices
• Expertise in program and project management execution
• Passion for developing and mentoring high-performing technical teams
• Data-driven decision-making with proficiency in leveraging metrics and KPIs
• Exceptional communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills
• Continuous improvement mindset grounded in Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies

What We Offer:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family
• Competitive salary
• Bonus programs
• 401K retirement plan
• Training opportunities
• Tuition reimbursement
• Paid vacation, PTO, and holidays
• Gym reimbursements, and more!

Who We Are: The Dixon Group is a global, family-owned manufacturing company with a history of over 100 years of operation in the U.S.A. Based in Chestertown, Maryland, with distribution centers located worldwide. The company has a diverse workforce and a strong values-based culture. As an innovator in the hose coupling industry, our mission is to provide real solutions for our customers while fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment.

Join us and be a part of a team that values your contributions and supports your goals!

The Dixon Group is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices and laws. Accordingly, to the fullest extent required by applicable law, The Dixon Group strictly prohibits and does not tolerate discrimination against employees, applicants, or any other covered persons.

The Dixon Group is committed to protecting the privacy rights of its employees and job applicants to the fullest extent required by applicable law. To that end, personal information will be collected solely for those legitimate business purposes recognized by law, and then maintained in a manner consistent with all applicable laws and regulations pertaining to document retention requirements. The Dixon Group does not sell personal information to third parties, and does not share such personal information with third parties except when authorized by law to do so (e.g., in response to a lawful subpoena; mandatory tax reporting; etc.)