Onsite MES Analyst — Ignition & Food Manufacturing

Ken’s Foods, Inc.; Marlborough (MA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Ken’s Foods, Inc. in Marlborough, MA is seeking a highly skilled MES Analyst to optimize manufacturing execution systems using Ignition. This onsite role partners with operations, QA, maintenance, and IT to enhance data accuracy, reporting, and plant efficiency across production lines.

The ideal candidate brings Ignition experience, strong analytical skills, and knowledge of FDA/USDA compliance, traceability, and continuous improvement in a regulated food environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, information systems, CS, or related field.
• 3+ years of MES/SCADA or manufacturing systems experience.
• Hands-on Ignition platform experience.
• Experience in food/beverage manufacturing preferred.
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma experience.

Responsibilities

• Oversee adoption, development, and support of Ken’s Foods MES.
• Serve as SME on Ignition and MES across the organization.
• Liaise between corporate and plant floor teams, the technical development team, and senior management.
• Provide training and assistance with the MES system.
• Create and maintain SQL queries, reports, KPIs, and production analytics.
• Ensure MES functionality aligns with food safety, traceability, and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Ignition Platform

Manufacturing Systems

Data Integration

Troubleshooting

Regulatory Compliance

Cross-functional Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Information Systems/CS/Industrial Technology/Food Science

Tools

Ignition Platform (Inductive Automation)

Job description

SUMMARY

We are seeking a highly motivated MES Analyst with experience in food manufacturing and the Ignition platform or similar MES to support, enhance, and optimize manufacturing execution systems across production operations. This role will serve as a key technical resource responsible for MES configuration, data integration, production reporting, and continuous improvement initiatives within a regulated food manufacturing environment. The ideal candidate combines manufacturing systems expertise with strong operational knowledge of food production processes, traceability requirements, and industrial automation systems. This role is 100% onsite in Marlborough, MA.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following:

The MES Analyst will be responsible for overseeing the adoption/development/and support of Ken’s Foods Manufacturing Execution System. This person will be tasked with being a subject matter expert on all facets of the system and work to ensure adoption and best practices across the organization. They will act as the key liaison between the corporate and plant floor teams, the technical development team, and the senior management team. They will work to provide training and assistance with the MES system.

MES & Ignition Platform Support

• Administer, configure, and support the Ignition platform for manufacturing execution and operational visibility.
• Develop and maintain Ignition projects, including:
• Production dashboards
• Downtime tracking
• OEE monitoring
• Recipe management
• Electronic batch records
• Traceability applications
• Quality and production reporting
• Troubleshoot MES and Ignition-related issues affecting manufacturing operations.
• Manage system integrations between Ignition, PLCs, SCADA systems, historians, ERP systems, and databases.
• Support gateway administration, tag management, alarming, scripting, and user security within Ignition.

Manufacturing & Operations Support

• Partner with operations, QA, maintenance, engineering, and IT teams to improve manufacturing efficiency and data accuracy.
• Analyze manufacturing data to identify trends, bottlenecks, downtime causes, and process improvement opportunities.
• Support digital transformation initiatives and plant-floor automation projects.
• Ensure MES functionality aligns with food safety, traceability, and regulatory compliance requirements.
• Assist in standardizing manufacturing processes across multiple production lines or facilities.

Reporting & Data Management

• Create and maintain SQL queries, reports, KPIs, and production analytics.
• Develop real-time dashboards and visualizations for plant operations and leadership teams.
• Support historical data collection and reporting for audits, investigations, and compliance tracking.
• Validate manufacturing data integrity and troubleshoot data flow issues.

Compliance & Documentation

• Maintain documentation for MES configurations, SOPs, workflows, validation protocols, and system changes.
• Support compliance with FDA, USDA, HACCP, SQF, GMP, and internal quality standards.
• Participate in change management, system testing, validation, and deployment activities.
• Assist with user training and development of work instructions.

Required Qualifications

• Deep understanding of Ignition or similar MES.
• Understanding of manufacturing operations including batching, packaging, filling, mixing, and material traceability.
• Familiarity with industrial automation systems and controls architecture.
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and communication skills.
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma experience.
• Experience supporting multi-site manufacturing operations.

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, Industrial Technology, Food Science, or related field.
• 3+ years of MES, SCADA, or manufacturing systems experience in a production environment.
• Hands-on experience with the Ignition platform by Inductive Automation or similar MES.
• Experience in food and/or beverage manufacturing strongly preferred.

Work Authorization Notice: Please note that we do not provide visa sponsorship or immigration support for this position. Applicants must already be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time, permanent basis without the need for current or future sponsorship.

The salary for this position is determined by a combination of experience, skills, and education level. The compensation range is $110K-135k annually.

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