Dairy Manufacturing Process Engineer

Valid8 Financial, Inc.; Irvine (CA); Remote; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Dairy Manufacturing Process Engineer to lead and manage projects in dairy processing. This role involves collaborating with co-manufacturing partners to ensure successful startup and capacity expansion of dairy plants. The ideal candidate will possess strong project management skills and a deep understanding of dairy processing principles. With a focus on quality, safety, and efficiency, this position offers the opportunity to make a significant impact in the food industry. If you are passionate about improving processes and driving innovation, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of operations engineering experience in the dairy or food processing industry.
• Proven experience in project management and dairy processing.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with teams to execute plant capacity expansion projects.
• Troubleshoot technical challenges in equipment and process design.

Skills

Project Management

Dairy Processing

Engineering Principles

Communication Skills

Continuous Improvement Tools

Education

B.S. in Chemical Engineering

B.S. in Biochemical Engineering

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering

B.S. in Food Engineering

Tools

Project Management Tools

Job description

Location: Remote (Michigan or Ohio preferred)

Job Summary:

We are seeking a highly effective, data driven, results oriented Dairy Manufacturing Process Engineer to join our fast-growing company. This position will act as a Project Manager and will be responsible for working collaboratively with our co-manufacturing partners during the design, planning, coordination, and execution of the startup, ramp up and full capacity phases for existing plant capacity expansion projects and new plant launches. This role, working collaboratively with a cross functional team, ensures that all aspects of the planning, design and startup processes are aligned to meet and exceed expectations related to capacity, capability, quality and food safety objectives. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in project management, dairy processing, and a strong understanding of engineering principles. This position will eventually transition to a Dairy Process Optimization Engineer after these expansion projects are completed. The Dairy Process Optimization Engineer will work cross-functionally with our network of co-manufacturing partners and the Good Culture Operations team to improve quality, reduce costs, launch innovation and further expand capacity in each co-packing region.

Job Responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively with the engineering and operations teams of our co-manufacturing partners during the design, planning, coordination, and execution of the startup, ramp up and full capacity phases for existing plant capacity expansion projects and new plant launches.
• Work directly with the VP of Strategic Projects & CI to develop and document equipment baseline run settings, throughput standards, machine capabilities, mass balancing, capacity analysis, OEE analysis and process control point settings to deliver productivity, quality and company growth objectives.
• Be directly involved with the installation and commissioning of equipment such as cheese vats, curd processing equipment, pasteurizers, heat exchangers, homogenizers, whey handling systems, packaging lines, and many others.
• Support Good Culture and Co-manufacturers shared capital projects, from planning to completion, ensuring projects align with human safety, food safety, efficiency, capacity and quality goals.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design and implement process improvements for cottage cheese processing, production and packaging.
• Troubleshoot and help resolve technical challenges in equipment functionality, process design, and production scalability.
• After large scale capacity projects completed and validated for success, begin the transition to working cross-functionally with our network of co-manufacturing partners and the Good Culture Operations team as a subject matter expert (SME) to improve quality, reduce costs, launch innovation and further expand capacity in each co-packing region.
• Travel to manufacturing sites to support design, planning, coordination, and execution of the startup, ramp up and full capacity phases for existing plant capacity expansion projects and new plant launches.

Job Requirements:

• B.S. degree in a field of Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Food Engineering or related engineering / science discipline
• Proven experience in project management, preferably within the dairy or food processing industry
• A minimum of 5 years of operations engineering experience with progressive levels of responsibilities
• 5+ years industry experience in Food and Beverage, preferably with a background in dairy
• Working knowledge in sizing pumps, piping, valves, tanks, and other general dairy processing equipment
• Preferred experience in cheese making processes, including, pasteurization, separation, homogenization, fermentation, whey processing, etc.
• Experience with Continuous Improvement tools and techniques (e.g. center lining, cycle time reduction, line studies, speed trials)
• Proficiency in project management tools and creating detailed Project Gantt charts
• Ability to thrive in a challenging and fast paced entrepreneurial environment and develop it into a more sophisticated and scalable platform
• Proven track record of initiative, follow-through and results
• Strong communication skills to be able to present findings to stakeholders in a clear, concise and compelling manner
• Excellent people skills, with an ability to partner with a dynamic, new and growing Good Culture team and work directly with Co-Man Engineering and Ops teams in an effective way
• Travel - Up to 60% in the project phases of this position (primarily upper Midwest and Northeast) and up to 40% in the Optimization Engineering role

About Good Culture:

We believe that if you eat good things, and surround yourself with good, you’ll feel good. Simple as that. That’s why we decided to create a food company that offers real organic ingredients from trusted sources, promotes good health and tastes great. Our mission is to reinvent the food system, from the (actual) ground up. We are a cultured dairy company that currently makes pasture-raised cottage cheese, probiotic rich sour cream, cream cheese and probiotic milk. We’re on the look for some cultured healers!

Good Culture is an equal opportunity employer. At Good Culture we also believe a great culture fosters and values a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce. We seek individuals of all backgrounds and experiences to apply for this position. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Good Culture is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.