Process Engineer

Danish Crown A/S; Rochdale; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Early finish Fridays

Autonomy in spend management

Structured development

Job summary

Danish Crown UK is seeking a Process Engineer to standardise production settings, drive lean improvements, and ensure safe, reliable, and efficient line performance. You will partner with Operations and Engineering to translate issues into actionable technical requirements and maintain SOPs across shifts.

The role focuses on process control, standardisation, and capability building, with a strong emphasis on continuous improvement and hands-on problem solving in a fast-paced FMCG environment.

Qualifications

• Degree in a technical discipline related to process engineering.
• Strong exposure to FMCG/food manufacturing is preferred.
• Demonstrated lean manufacturing and continuous improvement experience.

Responsibilities

• Define standardised process settings for production lines to ensure consistency and efficiency.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on throughput, waste reduction, and stability.
• Act as day-to-day technical interface between Operations and Engineering teams.
• Develop, review, and maintain SOPs and standard work instructions.
• Support line balancing, capability building, and troubleshooting across shifts.

Skills

Process engineering

Lean manufacturing

Continuous improvement

Line balancing

Effective communication

Education

Process Engineering degree

Mechanical/Industrial Engineering

Related technical discipline

Job description

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The Process Engineer is a key member of the Operations team and serves as the primary technical link between Operations, Engineering, and the frontline leadership structure.

The role is responsible for driving stable, efficient, and standardised production processes through strong process control, lean manufacturing principles, and disciplined continuous improvement.

Working in close partnership with Production Managers, Area Supervisors, Line Leaders, and Optimisers, the Process Engineer ensures production lines are technically capable, correctly set up, and supported to run safely and consistently at optimal performance.

The Process Engineer defines standard settings, develops SOPs, supports line balancing, and builds capability across the operation, ensuring that performance improvements are sustained rather than person‑dependent. The role combines hands‑on operational understanding with a solid foundation in engineering principles to improve performance, reliability, and productivity.

What you will be doing

Process Control & Standardisation

• Own and define standardised process settings for production lines to ensure consistent output, built‑in quality, yield, and efficiency.
• Monitor and control critical process parameters, responding to deviations and supporting structured root cause resolution.
• Ensure process changes are controlled, documented, and communicated effectively, working with the Senior Operations Administrator to maintain version control.
• Provide clear technical standards that enable Line Leaders to run lines confidently and consistently.

Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement

• Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives focused on:
  • Throughput, efficiency, and waste reduction
  • Process stability and repeatability
  • Labour and line performance optimisation

Support data‑driven decision making with Lean methodologies including structured problem solving (e.g. RCA), working with Production Managers and Area Supervisors to translate analysis into practical actions.

Operations–Engineering Interface

• Act as the day‑to‑day technical interface between Operations and Engineering teams.
• Translate operational performance issues identified by operations team into clear technical and engineering requirements.
• Support Engineering with process input during trials, changes, upgrades, and improvement projects.
• Ensure engineering changes are practical, operable, and aligned with production realities and labour capability.

Training, Performance & Capability Building

• Develop, review, and maintain SOPs and standard work instructions for production processes.
• Support consistency and discipline in how processes are run across shifts and teams, reinforcing built‑in quality and right‑first‑time behaviours.
• Support operational teams with day‑to‑day process troubleshooting and performance optimisation.
• Partner with Optimisers to improve slicing stability, yield performance, and giveaway control.

Support the introduction and embedding of new products, processes, or ways of working, ensuring smooth handover to operational ownership

What you will bring

Education

• Degree or equivalent qualification in:
  • Process Engineering
  • Manufacturing, Mechanical, or Industrial Engineering
  • Or a related technical discipline

Professional Experience

• Experience working in a process engineering or operations support role ideally within Food FMCG Manufacturing
• Strong exposure to shop floor operations and production line performance.
• Experience with lean manufacturing and continuous improvement techniques.
• Strong understanding of production processes and fundamental engineering principles.
• Good knowledge of:
  • Process control and standardised settings
  • Line balancing and labour efficiency
• Confident communicator able to influence operators, Line Leaders, Area Supervisors, and engineers.
• Structured problem solver with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Practical, hands‑on approach with the ability to work cross‑functionally in a fast‑paced operational environment.

Joining Danish Crown in this role offers you exceptional autonomy to manage defined spend areas independently and directly influence our commercial outcomes. Reporting to the Head of Procurement Operations and Sustainability, you will operate within a supportive, forward-thinking team where your market insights and sourcing strategies will drive tangible business improvements.

We offer a structured schedule with an early finish every Friday, working within an environment that values professional development, career growth and collaboration. You will have the opportunity to stretch your capabilities, shape supplier relationships across multiple UK sites and contribute to our ongoing sustainability and commercial goals.

About us

Danish Crown UK is a business built on trust, teamwork and ambition. We exist to deliver food that people believe in, and we know that takes strong leadership and collaborative cultures.

Our leadership principles guide us. We act for the good of the whole organisation. We hire brilliant people and help them grow. We are ambitious, curious and open to new ideas. We build trust by accepting mistakes as part of development. We believe real leadership is earned through example, not title.

Whoever joins us will help create a workplace where people feel safe to speak up, share ideas, challenge old ways of working and stretch themselves to achieve more. If that sounds like the environment where you thrive, we would love to hear from you.