Process Engineer

Protea Recruitment Ltd | Food | Drinks | FMCG Recruitment Partner; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Protea Recruitment Ltd, a specialist in Food & FMCG recruitment, is helping a leading FMCG food manufacturer recruit a Process Engineer for their High Wycombe site. The role sits at the intersection of process engineering, product development and manufacturing, supporting scalable, quality-focused innovations from concept to production.

You'll collaborate with Product Development, Engineering and Operations to identify opportunities, solve technical challenges and deliver robust processes,

Qualifications

• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Food Process Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Experience in applied process engineering within food manufacturing (FMCG).
• Experience with pilot plant and factory trials.
• Familiarity with Lean Six Sigma or continuous improvement methods.

Responsibilities

• Support the development and implementation of new food manufacturing processes and technologies.
• Identify opportunities to improve product quality, robustness and manufacturing capability.
• Assess process capability and use data to recommend improvements.
• Ensure scalability and manufacturing considerations are embedded in product development.
• Support product development from bench scale to plant trials.
• Design and execute trials to understand process performance.
• Analyze data and provide actionable technical recommendations.
• Collaborate with product development, engineering and operations teams.
• Identify processing requirements for ingredients and packaging.
• Support technology transfer into manufacturing and sustainability initiatives.

Skills

Process engineering

Data analysis

Problem solving

Stakeholder management

Team collaboration

Education

Degree in Chemical Engineering or Food Process Engineering or related discipline

Tools

Pilot plant

Scale-up

Job description

Process Engineer

Location: High Wycombe

Industry: Food / FMCG

Function: R&D / Innovation

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.