Engineering Project Manager

RecruitAbility Ltd; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

RecruitAbility Ltd is seeking a Senior Engineering Project Manager to join a leading U.S. agribusiness and dairy foods cooperative. You will drive multi‑million capital projects from concept through closeout, across process, packaging, utilities, and automation.

Travel to plant sites is required; the role involves office and manufacturing environments with a strong emphasis on safety, reliability, and value realization. Competitive compensation and annual bonus potential are highlighted.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field.
• Experience leading complex, major capital projects ($10M–$100M) through all project phases.
• Strong knowledge of project controls, cost forecasting, cash-flow planning, contract strategy, change management, safety, and regulatory compliance.
• In‑depth understanding of reliability principles, sanitary design, and manufacturing operations.
• Proven track record of managing external engineering consultants, construction contractors, OEMs, and equipment suppliers.
• Effective leadership, negotiation, executive communication, and cross‑functional stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to work in office, manufacturing, and active construction environments with travel to plant and project sites.

Responsibilities

• Lead major capital projects from concept through closeout.
• Own project cost, schedule, scope, risk, change‑order management, contingency, capital forecasting, and reporting.
• Develop charters, business cases, capital requests, execution plans, budgets, risk registers, and stakeholder communication plans.
• Lead commissioning, qualification, startup support, performance verification, and asset handover to Operations and Maintenance.
• Provide technical leadership across process, packaging, utilities, facilities, infrastructure, automation, reliability, and capacity‑expansion projects.
• Drive reliability‑by‑design, sanitary design, safety, quality, environmental compliance, sustainability, and maintainability.
• Manage engineering consultants, contractors, OEMs, vendors, and construction partners to deliver safe, compliant solutions.
• Collaborate with Procurement and Legal on vendor selection, bid evaluations, contract strategy, and supplier performance.
• Partner with site Reliability and Maintenance teams to improve asset performance and lifecycle costs.
• Recommend project execution strategies and escalate key risks to leadership.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Negotiation

Executive communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder management

Cost forecasting

Safety compliance

Regulatory compliance

Reliability principles

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field

Job description

Our client is one of America’s premier agribusiness and dairy food companies and is a member-owned cooperative with industry-leading operations that span the spectrum from agricultural production to consumer foods. With annual sales of over $19B, they are one of the nation’s largest cooperatives, ranking 232 on the Fortune 500. Building on a legacy of more than 100 years of operation, they today operate some of the most respected brands in agribusiness and food production including Dairy Foods, Animal Nutrition, and others.

To support major capital investments across an already state-of-the-art agribusiness manufacturing network, they are looking for a Senior Engineering Project Manager to join their team. This position plays a critical role in driving safe, reliable, and cost-effective capital project delivery while ensuring alignment with business priorities, plant needs, engineering standards, and long‑range capital plans. The role is responsible for leading major capital projects (typically in the $10M–$100M range) from concept development through closeout, maintaining full accountability for scope, schedule, budget, risk, safety, quality, and operational readiness across process, packaging, utilities, infrastructure, automation, and reliability initiatives.

What You Get to Do

• Lead major capital projects from concept development, scope definition, estimating, design, and procurement through construction, commissioning, startup, and closeout.


• Own project cost, schedule, scope, risk, change‑order management, contingency, capital forecasting, monthly cash‑flow projections, and performance reporting.


• Develop comprehensive project charters, business cases, capital requests, execution plans, budgets, risk registers, and stakeholder communication plans.


• Lead commissioning, qualification, startup support, performance verification, and the smooth transition of assets to Operations and Maintenance.


• Provide technical leadership across process, packaging, utilities, facilities, infrastructure, automation, reliability, and capacity‑expansion projects.


• Drive reliability‑by‑design, sanitary design, safety, quality, environmental compliance, sustainability, and maintainability principles into project execution.


• Manage engineering consultants, contractors, OEMs, vendors, and construction partners to deliver safe, compliant, and technically sound solutions.


• Collaborate with Procurement and Legal on vendor selection, bid evaluations, contract strategy, commercial terms, and supplier performance.


• Partner with site Reliability and Maintenance teams to improve asset performance, reduce lifecycle costs, and support sustainable plant operations.


• Recommend project execution strategies, delivery models, team structures, and resource requirements while escalating key business, financial, technical, or safety risks to leadership.

What You NEED to SUCCEED in This Challenging Role

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field.


• Demonstrated experience leading complex, major capital projects ($10M–$100M scope) through all project phases, including engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, startup, and closeout.


• Strong knowledge of project controls, cost forecasting, cash‑flow planning, contract strategy, change management, safety, and regulatory compliance.


• In‑depth understanding of reliability principles, sanitary design, and manufacturing operations across process, packaging, utilities, facilities, or automation systems.


• Proven track record of managing external engineering consultants, construction contractors, OEMs, and equipment suppliers.


• Effective leadership, negotiation, executive communication, and cross‑functional stakeholder management skills.


• Ability to work in office, manufacturing, and active construction environments with travel to plant and project sites as required.

What Is in It for YOU at This \"Best Places to Work\" Company?

• Excellent compensation plan includes competitive salary and annual bonus


• Opportunities for career growth and advancement within the organization.


• Financial well‑being through retirement plans, income protection, HSA, and more.


• Focus on health and wellness with a comprehensive benefits package and counseling programs.