Process Engineer – Food Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement

Tirlán; Ireland; On-site; EUR 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Tirlán is seeking a Process Engineer for a 12-month fixed-term contract in Kilkenny. You will work across our Operations & Supply Chain network to drive process engineering excellence, improve manufacturing performance and deliver continuous improvement initiatives.

You will collaborate with Operations, Quality, Engineering and R&D to identify improvements, optimise performance and support new products and technologies.

Qualifications

• Third-level qualification in Food Science, Food Engineering, Food Technology or related discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years manufacturing experience, preferably within a dairy or food processing environment.
• Lean Six Sigma qualification, or proven track record applying Lean Six Sigma in manufacturing.
• Experience delivering technical projects within the food industry.
• Experience in statistical data analysis would be an advantage.
• Strong problem-solving skills with data and process knowledge to drive improvements.
• Ability to communicate effectively and build relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience in project leadership and managing cross-functional initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Provide process engineering expertise across multiple manufacturing sites.
• Support delivery of capital investment and engineering projects.
• Apply Lean Six Sigma methodologies to identify and implement process improvement opportunities.
• Analyse process performance data to identify root causes, improve efficiency and reduce waste.
• Develop and implement process controls that improve Right First Time, OEE, productivity and cost efficiency.
• Partner with Operations teams in management and optimisation of product recipes.
• Benchmark manufacturing processes and identify opportunities to reduce variation and improve consistency.
• Promote standardisation and share engineering best practices across sites.
• Collaborate with maintenance teams to improve equipment reliability and reduce downtime.
• Assess process capability against customer requirements and support improvement initiatives.
• Work with Operations and R&D on new product development and reformulation projects.
• Coordinate process-related change control activities and plant trials.
• Explore emerging technologies to enhance manufacturing performance.
• Contribute to development of a central process technology knowledge base.
• Share learnings and build collaboration across sites to support continuous improvement.

Skills

Problem-solving

Communication skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Food Science/Engineering/Food Technology degree

Lean Six Sigma certification

Tools

Statistical data analysis

Job description

Tirlán is seeking a Process Engineer for a 12-month fixed-term contract in Kilkenny. You will work across our Operations & Supply Chain network to drive process engineering excellence, improve manufacturing performance and deliver continuous improvement initiatives.

You will collaborate with Operations, Quality, Engineering and R&D to identify improvements, optimise performance and support new products and technologies.