Head of Manufacturing Engineering

About Us:

How many companies can say they've been in business for over 177 years?!

Here at ZEISS, we certainly can! As the pioneers of science, ZEISS handles the everchanging environments in a fast-paced world, meeting it with cutting edge of technologies and continuous advancements.

ZEISS believes that innovation and technology are the key to a sustainable future and solutions for global change.

We have a diverse range of portfolios throughout the ZEISS family in segments like, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology.

We are a global company with over 42,000 employees and have over 4,000 in the US and Canada alone! Make a difference, come join the team!

What's the role?

The Head of Engineering - Manufacturing & Sustaining is a senior leadership role responsible for driving the growth and operational excellence of our Chesterfield, MO site.

This role will scale production to exceed $100M while managing a site operating budget of over $50M.

You will define and execute the engineering strategy for manufacturing and sustaining operations, ensuring efficiency, quality, productivity, and on-time delivery.

The position leads all engineering functions to support new product launches, technology expansion, and long-term competitiveness.

This role requires close collaboration with Operations, R&D, Supply Chain, Quality, and Product Management to ensure the site is fully equipped-organizationally, technically, and financially-for high-volume, sustainable manufacturing.

Location/Region: This is a SR Manager-level role and requires onsite presence in Chesterfield, MO

Sound Interesting?

Here's what you'll do:


* Lead the scale‑up of manufacturing operations to support a business exceeding $100M in annual production, ensuring capacity, capability, and operational readiness align with growth objectives.


* Own and govern the effective deployment of a site operating budget in excess of $50M, ensuring resources are utilized efficiently, investments are value‑driven, and cost performance meets or exceeds business targets.


* Develop and execute the manufacturing and sustaining engineering strategy to improve throughput, yield, and productivity while reducing COGS through Lean principles and continuous improvement initiatives.


* Provide strategic and operational leadership to manufacturing and sustaining engineering teams, ensuring robust technical support across all production activities.


* Drive disciplined capital and operational expenditure planning, ensuring alignment with long‑term growth, production ramp‑up, and return‑on‑investment objectives.


* Lead cross‑functional teams to deliver new product introductions from prototype through volume manufacturing, ensuring cost, quality, and schedule commitments are met or exceeded.


* Own engineering responsibility within the Product Life Cycle (PLC) process for all products manufactured at ...