Senior Engineering Manager

Champion Petfoods is expanding! We are excited to announce we are looking for a Senior Engineering Manager to join our rapidly growing company.

Champion Petfoods is an award-winning pet food maker with a reputation of trust spanning 35+ years. Founded in a small town in Alberta, Canada, Champion – with its ORIJEN® and ACANA® brands – is a key player in the global premium pet food industry across three major geographic regions.

We would love to hear from you if you are passionate about personal and professional growth and see yourself as a key player contributing to our continued success as an award-winning company.

Here's the Scoop – Summary

The Senior Engineering Manager is responsible for leading a small, high-performing engineering team (3 direct reports) while managing approximately $30MM in annual capital expenditures. 

This role focuses on planning, execution, and delivery of capital projects, ensuring alignment with business objectives, operational efficiency, safety, and financial targets.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical expertise with project management discipline and people leadership capabilities to drive successful project outcomes.
 

What a typical day looks like:

Capital Project Management

• Plan, prioritize, and oversee execution of ~$30MM annual capital project portfolio.
• Develop and manage multi-year capital plans aligned with company OGSM and operational needs.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and within budget.
• Lead project justification, including ROI analysis, cost estimation, and risk assessments.
• Manage vendor selection, contractor performance, and contract negotiations.
• Drive rigorous project governance, including milestone tracking, reporting, and issue resolution.

Engineering & Technical Oversight

• Provide technical direction and review for project designs, specifications, and execution plans.
• Ensure compliance with engineering standards, regulatory requirements, and safety guidelines.
• Oversee design reviews, risk assessments, and commissioning activities.
• Drive standardization, best practices, and engineering excellence across projects.

Financial & Budget Management

• Develop and manage capital budgets, forecasts, and expenditure tracking.
• Ensure accurate financial reporting and variance analysis.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities and improve capital efficiency.
• Partner with finance to develop business cases and ensure financial discipline.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with operations, supply chain, finance, and other stakeholders to define project requirements and priorities.
• Communicate project status, risks, and outcomes to leadership.
• Align capital investments with operational strategies and long-term growth plans.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve project delivery processes, tools, and methodologies.
• Implement best practices in project management (e.g., stage-gate processes, lean principles).
• Drive lessons learned and knowledge sharing across projects.

What are we looking for?

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or related field required)
• Master’s degree or MBA preferred

Experience

• 7–12+ years of engineering experience, including capital project management
• Proven experience managing capital budgets in the range of $10MM–$50MM annually
• Experience in industrial, manufacturing, supply chain, or operations environments preferred

Skills & Competencies

• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Financial acumen and experience building capital justifications
• Leadership and team development capabilities
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to balance strategic plannin