Our story goes back more than 150 years, to the chilly southern coast of Scandinavia. From our early success in Sweden and Denmark, we’ve grown into the world’s leading specialist producer of plant-based oils, employing more than 4,000 people across the globe. We work with our customers to make the products you love even better. The oils we produce go into making your chocolate extra-creamy or putting the crunch into your croissant. And it’s not just food — we work across industries to create products that are higher quality, healthier, and better for the planet. Everything we do is about Making Better Happen. AAK Locations This position can be based at one of our European hubs: Hull (UK), Karlshamn (Sweden), Malmö (Sweden), Aarhus (Denmark), or Zaandijk (Netherlands). About The Role We are seeking an experienced and strategic Director Engineering Europe to lead AAK’s engineering function across the European region. Reporting to the Director Operations Europe, this is a high-impact leadership role accountable for capital investment masterplan, engineering excellence, safety, ESG initiatives, and organizational development within the European manufacturing footprint. The Director of Engineering Europe will provide clear direction and leadership on Capex planning, asset management, and investment strategies, ensuring they align with AAK’s long-term business objectives. You will also act as the regional linking pin into the Global Engineering Excellence function and the Global Innovation function, ensuring alignment of standards and driving world-class practices in project delivery, safety, and sustainability. This is a senior leadership role with significant influence on investment priorities, technology development, and people strategy within the engineering discipline. Key Responsibilities Capital Management Develop and deliver a strategic CapEx roadmap/masterplan in collaboration with sites, engineering teams, and finance, ensuring value chain optimization, network design, clear site roles, and efficiency gains at reduced cost. Lead the planning, execution, and review of regional CapEx projects, ensuring alignment with business goals, scalability, and ROI. Integrate asset management and reliability engineering into a proactive asset replacement and investment program. Engineering Oversee the development, implementation, and execution of engineering standards to ensure best practice in project management, operational reliability, and cost effectiveness across all European sites. Stay informed about technological developments in oils processing and packaging, integrating relevant advancements into site investment programs to ensure continuous improvement and future readiness. People, Organization & Network Provide direction to the direct team while cultivating collaboration across our matrix organization, building a strong community with local and indirect teams to align on workforce planning, headcount, technical capability, knowledge management, and organizational design. Lead the regional engineering network and establish a clear engineering people strategy. Represent Europe Engineering within the Global Engineering Excellence function (standards and practices) and the Global Innovation function (new solutions and approaches). Safety & ESG Champion a safety-first culture by overseeing the development and implementation of best-in-class safety policies and behavioral safety programs, striving for zero incidents through training, engagement, and continuous improvement. Drive environmental sustainability initiatives, reducing Europe’s carbon footprint, optimizing energy and water usage, and supporting AAK’s science-based targets while ensuring compliance with European regulations. About You You are a proven engineering leader with deep functional knowledge and a strategic mindset. You bring credibility, authority, and the ability to influence across sites and global functions. We expect you to bring: University degree in engineering or a relevant discipline, preferably with a postgraduate qualification (or equivalent experience). Demonstrated capability in strategic investment planning, CapEx management, and program and project management. Strong functional expertise in food or process industry production processes. Minimum 5 years in functional management roles, with at least 3 years at director level, showcasing your ability to lead complex programs and teams. Exceptional business knowledge, leadership, and general management capability. Experience building and leading business or functional teams with strong cross-site influence. You are analytical, structured, and results-oriented, with a track record of delivering complex projects to high standards. At the same time, you are a people leader who inspires teams, drives collaboration, and fosters innovation. Contact and information Please apply via our career portal. For more information about the position, please contact: Luuck van Kooten, Talent Acquisition Manager Europe via Luuck.van.kooten@aak.com About AAK Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen. We specialize in plant-based oils that are the value-adding ingredients in many of the products people love to consume. We make these products better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable. At the heart of AAK’s offer is Customer Co-Development — combining our desire to understand what better means for each customer, with the unique flexibility of our production assets and our deep knowledge of many products and industries, including Chocolate and confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant-based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice and Personal Care. Our 4,000 employees support our close collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 15 dedicated Customer Innovation Centers, and more than 20 production facilities. Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and with our headquarters in Malmö, Sweden, AAK has been Making Better Happen for more than 150 years. AAK prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, religion, veteran status, and any other class protected under applicable law in any aspect of employment