Engineering Manager

Engineering Manager

Job title:        Engineering Manager                 

Location:      Avila, Spain                   

Ornua (meaning “new gold”) is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world for over 55 years.

Are you an Engineering Manager looking for the challenge of taking a mission driven organisation to its next level of success? Do you have experience working in Lean Six Sigma?

Ornua is actively seeking an Engineering Manager to join our Operations department as we continue our growth trajectory.

As our Engineering Manager, you will play a key role in ensuring the correct planning and execution of strategic engineering investments and projects that enable the plant’s growth, modernization, and competitiveness. You will be responsible for leading initiatives related to automation, installation of new lines, process optimization, and continuous improvement of industrial infrastructure.

In addition, this role plays a key part in ensuring that technical solutions are implemented with the highest standards of safety, efficiency, sustainability, and alignment with the business strategy.

You will be key to driving innovation, increasing production capacity, reducing operational costs, and ensuring that the plant has the technology needed to meet current and future demands.

Why Ornua?

• Ornua operates from 10 business units worldwide, including 12 production facilities, and has sales and marketing teams working in-market across all four corners of the globe.
• Our co-operative ethos lies at the heart of how we do business as a purpose and values-led organisation, creating value for Irish dairy farming families.
• Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together.
• We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Career Progression including Global Mobility opportunities.
• Comprehensive Benefits with regional specific offerings.

Why This Role Is Valuable:

As our Engineering Manager you will;

• Plan, lead, and supervise engineering projects, including new installations, capacity expansions, relocations, and the commissioning of production lines.
• Manage the full CAPEX project cycle: requirements definition, technical documentation, progress reports, feasibility analysis, specifications and layouts, budgeting, technical‑economic justification, execution, monitoring, and closure.
• Drive automation and digitalization initiatives that increase efficiency, reliability, and safety of production processes.
• Coordinate and supervise the work of external suppliers, installers, engineering firms, and contractors, ensuring compliance with deadlines, quality, and regulatory standards.
• Collaborate closely with Production, Maintenance, Quality, and Safety teams to ensure technical solutions meet operational and regulatory requirements.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives applied to industrial processes, installations, and technology.
• Ensure technical standardization of equipment, spare parts, software, and control systems to guarantee future sustainability and maintainability.
• Identify opportunities for energy optimization and sustainability, proposing solutions that enhance environmental performance and reduce costs.
• Promote internal innovation and encourage team participation in improvement and modernization projects.
• In addition to the responsibilities described, the person must perform any other tasks related to their professional category as assigned by their supervisor, including cleaning of the equipment used and, in case of emergency, any other necessary duties, always respecting the individual’s dignity.

What You Bring To The Role:

• University degree in Engineering.
• Extensive experience in engineering roles, preferably in an industrial/food‑processing environment.
• Leadership, decision‑making, organization, communication, data analysis, and results orientation.
• Fluent English – C1 level.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Strong commitment to quality, safety, and environmental standards.

Ornua has ambitious growth plans and we’re building a team to help enable and accelerate that growth. We are looking for people who share our values, are curious, forward-looking, take ownership and work together to build a future for themselves and Ornua.

Would you like to make an impact?

To learn more, please visit Ornua at www.ornua.com

Ornua values diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. We also strongly encourage women and other underrepresented groups in the manufacturing industry to apply. Your unique perspectives and experiences are highly valued and will be instrumental in driving our company’s continued success. Join us in shaping a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable future.

Ornua is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace. We will make every effort to provide for any reasonable accessibility needs you may have during your employment with us. If you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know — we’re here to support you.