Job Abstract

Creative Engineering Leader for innovative dairy company!

We’re seeking an outstanding Processing Engineer to help Straus Family Creamery directly manage tactical and strategic initiatives for our Operations team. You’ll be joining an organization that has prized innovation since its inception and which has a great workplace culture, the highest quality dairy products, and a compelling set of activities to help revitalize the family farming and rural communities. We seek an individual that has a strong commitment to sustainable farming and food, thereby helping ensure the sustainability of organic farming, pastures, fields, and food sheds. If you’ve also worked directly with maintenance, production, processing, and quality teams on innovative dairy processing techniques – that would be a huge plus.

Your track record should include 1-2 roles where you managed concurrent processing and engineering projects – ideally in fluid dairy manufacturing – and in collaborations with Operations, Quality, and Senior management teams, utilizing these relationships to help support these projects and processes and improvements within the business unit. 

In just one year, you will have taken on the primary responsibility for overseeing engineering activities in our recently relocated “state of the art” processing and packaging facility which is poised for growth and expansion. You will have successfully leveraged your expertise to develop, implement, and coordinate projects that optimize OEE manufacturing performance, created a culture of problem solving and Continuous Improvement that delivers consistently positive results on initiatives related to processes and systems - safety, capital projects, production reliability improvement, cost performance, yield improvement, reduction of waste, adherence to HSE standards,etc.. You will have established effective KPIs and maintenance engineering objectives that will drive improvement year after year as we plan for future growth of our creamery operations, while developing relationships across the organization with our Executive and Senior Leadership teams who are passionate about current and upcoming projects. 

If you would like to own these successes, send us a copy of your resume along with a half-page write-up of your experiences in engineering in an organic food company. Your comparable accomplishments and success is much more important to us than your chronological resume.

JOB OBJECTIVE: To amplify impact of Straus Family Creamery’s (SFC) new state of the art processing and packaging facility which is poised for growth and expansion. The Processing Engineer leverages their expertise to develop, implement, and coordinate projects that optimize OEE manufacturing performance and deliver positive results in all creamery operations. Develops and manages continuous improvement initiatives to improve performance of processes and systems, including but not limited to safety initiatives, capital projects, production reliability improvement, cost performance, yield improvement, reduction of waste, adherence to HSE standards. 

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Be the leader in developing manufacturing continuous improvement efforts and problem-solving initiatives by partnering with all plant cross functional teams through to successful implementation
• Key resource in alignment with HSE initiatives and goals
• Key owner in the development of process documentation, process change implementation and insuring proper SOP documents and training procedures
• Identification of manufacturing issues and conducts root cause analysis and problem-solving initiatives to resolution
• Liaison with Production and Quality teams to conduct engineering studies on processes to improve production efficiencies and ensure quality standards are achieved
• Be the technical support on process expansion projects
• Identify and lead initiatives in cost reduction efforts, yield loss containment, quality improvement and safety
• Primary resource to identify best available technology in production expansion/optimization pertaining to process equipment and controls
• Successfully manage capital projects to meet growth and optimization of existing processes
• Develop and maintain capacity planning models to provide key data on identifying future expansion capacity needs to meet sales forecasting
• Leads the OEE program tracking, reporting and leadership in specific prioritized system problem solving efforts
• Generate process flow diagrams and block diagrams for all systems for engineering documentation
• Conduct water and energy balance studies to baseline usage and develop plans for reduction
• Participate in maintaining compliance with all associated regulatory agencies
• Participate in the development of the 3 year capital plan
• Engage with key operations leaders to provide expertise and assistance on various initiatives. 

EDUCATION/KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

• BS degree in an Engineering discipline, required
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in a dairy processing, food or beverage manufacturing organization, required
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in a leading role working with internal and external cross-functional teams, required
• Project Management (capital improvements) and budget and cost management experience, required
• Experience with management of concurrent projects and initiatives and meeting defined deliverables, goals, and timelines, required
• Advanced analytical, mechanical, and electrical troubleshooting skills, required
• Understanding of purchasing requirements and experience working with national contracts PSM (Process Safety Management) and good understanding of process control, required
• Working knowledge of electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic systems as well as gas systems, liquid propane, boilers and refrigeration, and PLC (Programmable Logic Controls), required
• Wastewater and waste treatment knowledge and experience, required
• Dairy and/or liquid processing & refrigeration experience, required
• PSM (Process Safety Management) experience and good understanding of process control, required
• Proficient in Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM), required
• Strong interpersonal skills, ability to build relationships at all levels, and ability to maintain a positive working environment, required
• Passion for organics industry, sustainability, and responsible business, preferred
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Flexibility to work different shifts when required, to be on call after hours, and to work weekends and all holidays, required

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to work in a manufacturing environment

• Extended periods of standing, sitting, walking, climbing, bending, stooping, pushing, pulling, turning the head and torso, reaching, grasping, bending and flexing the arms, legs, wrists, hands, and fingers. – Repetitive at times

• Ability to work on a computer and look at a computer screen for extended periods of time

• The senses of being able to see, hear and have full power of speech are required

• The ability to climb and balance is essential

• Ability to work in confined spaces

• Ability to withstand temperatures ranging from -20° to 100° Fahrenheit

• Working in cold, wet, humid environments

• Ability to work in high allergen environment

• Ability to withstand noise produced by manufacturing and warehouse machinery up to 90 decibels