Process Engineer

ACIDE; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 72,000 - 88,000; Full time

Job summary

ACIDE in Melbourne is seeking a Process Engineer to design, control and improve fermentation, brining and acidification, hot-fill sauce manufacture, pasteurisation, filling and packing. You will ensure repeatable, safe, efficient processes as volumes grow and lead engineering work from bench to full-scale production.

You will report to the founder, define critical process parameters, validate new processes and drive continuous improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (chemical, process, food, production or industrial) or equivalent.
• At least two years' experience in a process or production engineering role in food, beverage or related manufacturing.
• Working knowledge of HACCP-based food safety systems, process validation and batch traceability.
• Confident with process data — measuring, analysing and acting on it.
• Able to work hands-on and autonomously in a small, cross-trained team.
• Full Australian working rights, or eligibility for employer sponsorship.

Responsibilities

• Define, document and control critical process parameters for fermentation, acidification (pH management), pasteurisation and hot-fill, and verify them against our registered food safety program
• Design and validate processes for new products; manage scale-up from trial batches to commercial runs
• Analyse yield, waste, cycle time and cost per unit; identify and implement process improvements
• Run root-cause analysis on batch deviations and quality issues and put corrective actions in place
• Specify, commission and maintain processing equipment; plan preventative maintenance and line changeovers
• Own batch records, traceability and recall-readiness from raw-material intake to dispatch
• Plan production scheduling across the brand lines against wholesale, distributor, retail and events demand
• Write and maintain SOPs and train production staff against them
• Report process and production KPIs to the Director

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Job description

The role

We're hiring a Process Engineer to design, control and improve the processes behind everything we make — fermentation, brining and acidification, hot-fill sauce manufacture, pasteurisation, filling and packing. Our products depend on tightly controlled chemistry: pH, salt and acid concentrations, temperature and time. Your job is to make those processes repeatable, safe and efficient as volumes grow, and to lead the engineering work that takes new products from bench to full-scale production. You'll report directly to the founder.

What you'll do

Define, document and control critical process parameters for fermentation, acidification (pH management), pasteurisation and hot-fill, and verify them against our registered food safety program

Design and validate processes for new products; manage scale-up from trial batches to commercial runs

Analyse yield, waste, cycle time and cost per unit; identify and implement process improvements

Run root-cause analysis on batch deviations and quality issues and put corrective actions in place

Specify, commission and maintain processing equipment; plan preventative maintenance and line changeovers

Own batch records, traceability and recall-readiness from raw-material intake to dispatch

Plan production scheduling across the brand lines against wholesale, distributor, retail and events demand

Write and maintain SOPs and train production staff against them

Report process and production KPIs to the Director

What you'll need

Bachelor's degree in engineering — chemical, process, food, production or industrial — or an equivalent qualification

At least two years' experience in a process or production engineering role in food, beverage or related manufacturing; fermentation, acidified or thermally processed foods highly regarded

Working knowledge of HACCP-based food safety systems, process validation and batch traceability

Confident with process data — measuring, analysing and acting on it

Able to work hands-on and autonomously in a small, cross-trained team

Full Australian working rights, or eligibility for employer sponsorship

What we offer

$80,000 + superannuation, full-time ongoing role with annual review

Direct line to the founder — your process decisions are implemented in weeks, not years

A growing Melbourne food brand that takes food safety, documentation and craft equally seriously