Corporate Project Engineer

Volpi Foods; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Volpi Foods, a family-owned producer of authentic dry-cured Italian meats, seeks a Corporate Project Engineer to drive capital projects and continuous improvement. This role emphasizes hands-on learning on the production floor, partnering with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and Food Safety to identify opportunities and deliver results.

The successful candidate will develop technical, project management, and leadership skills for increasing project ownership, with a strong emphasis on

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical, Manufacturing, Agricultural, or related engineering discipline required.
• 0-3 years of engineering, manufacturing, project management, or related experience preferred.
• Experience with AutoCAD or similar design software preferred.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to development and execution of capital projects across Volpi Foods facilities.
• Assist project owners in defining objectives, scopes, budgets, schedules, and implementation plans.
• Solicit, evaluate, and compare contractor and equipment proposals.
• Develop equipment layouts, facility designs, and process flows using AutoCAD.
• Coordinate contractors, suppliers, and internal stakeholders during project execution.
• Support installation, startup, commissioning, and punch-list activities.

Skills

Go-and-see mindset

Analytical

Communication

Project coordination

Mechanical aptitude

MS Office proficiency

On-site / field work

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

Job description

Volpi Foods is a growing, family-owned producer of authentic dry-cured Italian meats with manufacturing operations spanning multiple facilities. We are seeking a Corporate Project Engineer to support capital projects and operational improvement initiatives that drive the continued growth of our business.

This role serves as a corporate engineering resource supporting project owners throughout the organization in the planning, development, execution, and documentation of capital and continuous improvement projects. Responsibilities include project scoping, equipment research, vendor coordination, quote solicitation, AutoCAD design work, contractor management, startup support, and project documentation.

This is not a desk engineering role. Successful candidates will possess a strong "go-and-see" mentality, spending significant time in our facilities learning processes firsthand, identifying opportunities, and helping teams solve problems.

Success in this role will be driven by curiosity, initiative, and a willingness to learn directly from the people, processes, and equipment that keep our operations running every day.

This position is designed to develop future project and engineering leaders within Volpi Foods. The successful candidate will build the technical, project management, and leadership skills necessary to assume increasing levels of responsibility and project ownership throughout their career.

Key Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the development and execution of capital projects across all Volpi Foods facilities.
• Assist project owners in defining project objectives, scopes, budgets, schedules, and implementation plans.
• Solicit, evaluate, and compare contractor, consultant, and equipment vendor proposals.
• Research and recommend new equipment, technologies, and process improvements.
• Develop equipment layouts, facility designs, process flows, and engineering drawings utilizing AutoCAD and related engineering tools.
• Assist in the development of capital requests, project budgets, and supporting documentation.
• Coordinate contractors, suppliers, and internal stakeholders throughout project execution.
• Support project installation activities, startup efforts, commissioning, and punch-list completion.
• Maintain facility as-built drawings, engineering documentation, and engineering standards.
• Track project schedules, costs, and status updates.
• Identify and support cost savings and continuous improvement initiatives throughout manufacturing operations.
• Partner with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Food Safety, and other cross-functional teams to improve plant performance.
• Spend significant time within manufacturing operations observing processes, gathering information, and supporting implementation efforts.
• Assume increasing levels of project responsibility, leadership, and ownership as knowledge, experience, and capability grow.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Team player with a focus on delivering results.
• Strong curiosity and desire to learn.
• Initiative and willingness to take ownership of assigned responsibilities.
• Mechanical aptitude and interest in manufacturing environments.
• Strong organizational, analytical, time-management, and problem-solving skills.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with employees at all levels of the organization.
• Comfortable spending significant time on the production floor.
• Strong "go-and-see" mentality and desire to learn directly from processes and people.
• Desire to grow into larger project leadership responsibilities over time.
• Capacity to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Excellent computer proficiency, especially in Outlook, Word, Excel, and Power Point.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical, Manufacturing, Agricultural, or related engineering discipline required.
• 0-3 years of engineering, manufacturing, project management, or related experience preferred.
• Experience with AutoCAD or similar design software preferred.
• Food manufacturing or consumer packaged goods (CPG) experience is a plus but not required.

Physical Requirements:

Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

Must be able to lift 40 pounds at times (or repeatedly for the full shift).