[Hiring] Senior Center of Excellence Functional Leader, Engineering @Ardent Mills

Role Description

The Sr. Center of Excellence Functional Leader, Engineering provides enterprise-level direction and oversight for engineering disciplines across Ardent Mills, including:

• Process engineering
• Automation
• Structural design
• Project management
• Capital execution

This role leads the advancement of engineering standards, guides major initiatives that strengthen asset reliability and operational performance, and ensures compliance with all regulatory and system requirements. As a senior technical leader, you influence cross-functional priorities, support long-range engineering planning, and develop capabilities that enhance engineering performance across all facilities.

• Create and maintain enterprise engineering project portfolio strategy by defining long-term priorities, capability needs, and standards that strengthen operational performance across all sites.
• Lead governance, prioritization, and execution of the enterprise capital portfolio with the input of cross-functional partners, including annual planning, project prioritization, stage-gate approvals, resource allocation, and post-project value realization.
• Oversee development, governance, and continuous improvement of engineering processes, technical standards, and best practices.
• Resolve complex engineering escalations and systemic issues requiring senior-level technical oversight or COE intervention.
• Analyze enterprise engineering metrics, benchmarking data, and system performance to identify strategic improvement opportunities and drive action plans.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, AI-enabled analytics, and engineering innovations and translate findings into enterprise-ready solutions and implementation plans ensuring successful digital transformation at the operations level.
• Partner with Operations and Sustainability leaders to develop and execute energy, environmental, and resource optimization strategies.
• Oversee internal and external engineering audits, ensuring accountability, follow-up, and alignment to regulatory, customer, and corporate requirements.
• Responsible for building and maintaining external vendor relationships for the execution of capital projects.
• Lead and develop a high-performing engineering team while building talent pipelines, succession plans, and technical career pathways across the enterprise.
• Represent the Engineering COE in senior leadership forums and partner with Operations, Quality, and Engineering leaders to influence enterprise decisions and support future-state planning.
• Lead due diligence for acquisitions for asset health and operational standards.
• Provide capital plan status and KPI performance updates to senior leadership.

Above all, you will be expected to carry out all your activities with reliability, integrity, compliance, and in a safe, environmentally responsible, and efficient manner.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field
• 15+ years of progressive engineering leadership in manufacturing, food processing, milling, agriculture, or related industrial operations, including multi-site or enterprise-level responsibility
• Experience delivering capital planning to executive level leadership or Board of Directors
• Experience coaching a team in identifying opportunities or implementing changes to improve products or reduce costs using knowledge of fabrication processes, tooling and production equipment, assembly methods, quality control standards, product design, materials, and parts
• Experience developing strategic investment plans to match the enterprise strategy
• Experience in designing and implementing new methods and processes to improve existing operations
• Experience providing guidance to the engineering team to troubleshoot new and existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes
• Competent in Autodesk products, AutoCAD, Navisworks, Revit, Recap
• Develop engineering standards as related to engineering field
• Previous experience in due diligence and M&A asset integration into an organization
• Strong interpersonal skills including relationship-building with cross-functional team members
• Demonstrated strategic leadership, delivering expected outcomes
• Demonstrated experience building positive customer relationships

Requirements

• Ability to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) as is required by the operating areas (i.e. safety glasses, protective footwear, hearing protection and, at times, a respirator)
• Ability to engage on the plant floor via periodic lifting, pulling, pushing up to 50 lbs., climbing and/or traversing stairways and ladders throughout the plant
• Ability to travel 50%+ within the US and Canada

Benefits

• Medical, Dental and Vision Coverage
• Health and Dependent Savings Accounts
• Life and Disability Programs
• Voluntary Benefit Programs
• Company Sponsored Wellness Programs
• Retirement Savings with Company Match
• Team Member and Family Assistance Program (EAP)
• Paid Time Off and Paid Holidays
• Employee Recognition Program with Rewards (RAVE)

Company Description

Ardent Mills is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. This role follows a remote work arrangement and may be performed from a location where Ardent Mills is authorized to employ, subject to business needs and applicable policies. The successful candidate will not be expected to maintain a regular in-person presence at an Ardent Mills office location, except as needed for business meetings, team collaboration, training, or other business-related travel.

Candidates who currently reside in the following states are not eligible for employment in this role unless they are willing to relocate: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia – Washington DC, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.