Plant Engineer

Judge Direct Placement; Morgantown (KY); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Judge Direct Placement is seeking a Senior Plant Engineer to lead engineering, reliability, and capital projects in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment in Kentucky. You will drive process improvements, equipment performance, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure safe, efficient, high-quality operations.

The role requires 7+ years in food manufacturing or regulated production, experience with proteins, and a track record in leading capital projects ($500K–$5M+).

Qualifications

• Bachelors in engineering or equivalent.
• 7+ years in food manufacturing or regulated production.
• Experience with proteins (meat, poultry, fish).
• Experience leading capital projects ($500K–$5M+).
• Strong automation, utilities, refrigeration, and packaging knowledge.
• Proven CI, Lean, Six Sigma, and reliability experience.

Responsibilities

• Guide plant engineering strategy and support daily operations.
• Manage upgrades, expansions, and facility improvements from concept to commissioning.
• Reduce downtime via RCM, RCA, and predictive maintenance.
• Improve throughput, yield, and cost with Lean/Six Sigma.
• Ensure activities meet USDA, FDA, HACCP, and related standards.
• Travel to vendors, training seminars, other plants, and corporate office for strategy meetings.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Reliability engineering

Continuous improvement

Process optimization

Education

Engineering degree (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Chemical)

Tools

Maximo

Job description

Our client is searching for a Senior Plant Engineer to lead engineering, reliability, and capital projects in a fast-paced manufacturing plant. Drive process improvements, equipment performance, and cross-functional collaboration to support safe, efficient, high-quality operations.

Responsibilities:

• Guide plant engineering strategy and support daily operations.
• Manage upgrades, expansions, and facility improvements from concept to commissioning.
• Reduce downtime through RCM, RCA, and predictive maintenance.
• Improve throughput, yield, and cost using Lean/Six Sigma.
• Ensure engineering activities meet USDA, FDA, HACCP, and standards.
• Requires travel to vendors, training seminars, other plants and to the corporate office for periodic technical strategy meetings and capital planning sessions.

Qualifications:

• Engineering degree (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Chemical).
• 7+ years in food manufacturing or regulated production.
• Experience with proteins (Meat, poultry, fish)
• Experience leading capital projects ($500K-$5M+).
• Strong knowledge of automation, utilities, refrigeration, and packaging systems.
• Proven CI, Lean, Six Sigma, and reliability experience.
• Automation experience and working knowledge of the plant Computerized Maintenance Management System (Maximo) preferred.