Process Engineer

Protea Recruitment Ltd | Food | Drinks | FMCG Recruitment Partner; High Wycombe; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Protea Recruitment Ltd is seeking a Process Engineer to join a leading FMCG food manufacturer’s global R&D and Innovation function. You will contribute to process development, scale-up and manufacturing readiness.

The role intersects process engineering, product development and manufacturing, collaborating with Product Development, Engineering and Operations to identify opportunities, solve technical challenges and ensure scalable, high-quality outputs.

Qualifications

• Degree in Chemical Engineering or closely related discipline.
• Experience in applied process engineering within food, snacks or FMCG manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and process capability.
• Knowledge of food ingredients, functionality, formulation, handling and processing.
• Experience using structured engineering and problem-solving methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Support the development and implementation of new food manufacturing processes and technologies.
• Identify opportunities to improve existing processes, product quality, robustness and manufacturing capability.
• Assess process capability and use data and scientific principles to identify opportunities and recommend improvements.
• Ensure manufacturing and scalability considerations are incorporated into product development from an early stage.
• Support the development of products from bench scale through pilot plant and factory trials.
• Design and execute structured trials and experiments to understand product and process performance.
• Analyse and interpret process and product data to provide clear technical recommendations.
• Apply process engineering and problem-solving methodologies to overcome technical challenges.
• Work closely with Product Development, Engineering, Operations and other technical teams.
• Evaluate ingredient functionality, formulation, handling and processing requirements.
• Work with equipment, ingredient and technology suppliers to identify new solutions and processing opportunities.
• Support process validation, scale-up and technology transfer into manufacturing.
• Contribute to continuous improvement, productivity and sustainability initiatives.
• Ensure appropriate technical documentation and project requirements are completed throughout development.

Skills

Process engineering

Data analysis

Project collaboration

Problem solving

Lean Six Sigma

Scale-up

Communication

Education

Chemical Engineering

Food Process Engineering

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Process Engineer to join the global R&D and Innovation function of a leading FMCG food manufacturer.

This role sits at the intersection of process engineering, product development and manufacturing, supporting the development of innovative new products and processes from early-stage concepts through to manufacturing scale.

You’ll work closely with Product Development, Engineering and Manufacturing teams to identify new process opportunities, solve technical challenges and ensure products and processes are designed with scalability, quality and commercial viability in mind.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the development and implementation of new food manufacturing processes and technologies.
• Identify opportunities to improve existing processes, product quality, robustness and manufacturing capability.
• Assess process capability and use data and scientific principles to identify opportunities and recommend improvements.
• Ensure manufacturing and scalability considerations are incorporated into product development from an early stage.
• Support the development of products from bench scale through pilot plant and factory trials.
• Design and execute structured trials and experiments to understand product and process performance.
• Analyse and interpret process and product data to provide clear technical recommendations.
• Apply process engineering and problem-solving methodologies to overcome technical challenges.
• Work closely with Product Development, Engineering, Operations and other technical teams.
• Evaluate ingredient functionality, formulation, handling and processing requirements.
• Work with equipment, ingredient and technology suppliers to identify new solutions and processing opportunities.
• Support process validation, scale-up and technology transfer into manufacturing.
• Contribute to continuous improvement, productivity and sustainability initiatives.
• Ensure appropriate technical documentation and project requirements are completed throughout development.

About You

We’re looking for someone with a strong process engineering foundation combined with an understanding of food product development and manufacturing.

You’ll ideally have:

• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Food Process Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Experience in applied process engineering within food, snacks or FMCG manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and process capability.
• Knowledge of food ingredients, functionality, formulation, handling and processing.
• Experience using structured engineering and problem-solving methodologies.
• Ability to analyse process data and translate findings into practical recommendations.
• Experience with product and/or process scale-up.
• Experience supporting pilot plant and factory trials.
• Understanding of how product design and manufacturing processes interact.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical capability.
• Ability to work independently on technical projects and collaborate across multiple functions.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, process capability, statistical process control, continuous improvement or similar methodologies would be particularly advantageous.

Previous experience supporting the development and launch of new food products would also be highly beneficial.