Process Engineer

The Marzetti Company; Horse Cave (KY); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A specialty food manufacturer is seeking a manufacturing engineer to drive operational improvements at their Horse Cave campus. The ideal candidate will hold a BS degree in engineering and possess over five years of experience in process design, especially within the bakery industry. Responsibilities include designing manufacturing processes, troubleshooting production issues, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance efficiency. This role requires a strong understanding of automation and engineering technologies. Competitive salary and benefits available.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in process design or manufacturing engineering in the bakery industry.
• Capable of reading and creating P&IDs for process understanding.
• Experience in troubleshooting operational issues and recommending improvements.

Responsibilities

• Specify methods and equipment for manufacturing processes.
• Design feasibility tests for new processes in grain and dough handling.
• Lead design requirements development based on customer and performance standards.

Skills

Experience with continuous improvement

Lean methodologies

Six Sigma Green/Black belt

Automation systems understanding

Microsoft Office proficiency

Education

BS degree in engineering or technical field

Tools

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

Process simulation software

Job description

About Us

The Marzetti Company (Nasdaq: MZTI) manufactures and sells specialty food products. Our retail brands include Marzetti® dressings and dips, New York Bakery™ garlic breads, and Sister Schubert’s® dinner rolls, in addition to exclusive license agreements for Olive Garden® dressings, Chick-fil-A® sauces and dressings, Buffalo Wild Wings® sauces, Arby’s® sauces, Subway® sauces, and Texas Roadhouse® steak sauces and frozen rolls. Our foodservice business supplies sauces, dressings, breads, and pasta to many of the top restaurant chains in the United States. At Marzetti, our mission is to make every meal better through high-quality, flavorful food. Led by our purpose, to nourish growth with all that we do, our team members are dedicated to creating great tasting food and cultivating deep and lasting relationships.

Overview

Exciting things are happening at our Sister Schubert’s Horse Cave Campus as we continue our transformation toward world‑class operational excellence. This position is responsible for driving operational improvements across the plant through hands‑on engagement on the production floor. The individual will focus on increasing line speed and efficiency, reducing waste and downtime, and improving overall process performance.

Schedule & Flexibility

Monday–Friday, 6:00 am–2:30 pm core schedule. This role requires flexibility to support evening process control needs as necessary.

We kindly request that recruitment agencies and staffing firms refrain from submitting unsolicited resumes to our company. Any resumes sent without a prior agreement and access to proper submittal into the ATS will be considered the property of T. Marzetti, and we reserve the right to contact those candidates without any obligation to pay a fee.

Responsibilities

• Specifies methods, process steps, and equipment required to execute a new or improve an existing manufacturing process in our bakery network.
• Designs the feasibility testing approaches and oversees the execution that supports the development and validation of new processes specifically related to grain and dough processing.
• Troubleshoots the root causes of common‑cause and special‑cause variance.
• Recommends changes in designs or methods using statistical analysis.
• Partners internally with cross‑functional teams, manufacturing personnel, R&D personnel, and externally with suppliers to identify and develop solutions to manufacturing problems. Benchmarks internally and externally.
• Leads the development of design requirements by understanding product formulation, equipment design standards, customer requirements, and performance standards. Makes recommendations for engineering standards and specifications.
• Often supports Capital Project Managers in the identification and selection of equipment solutions. Leads alternative analysis comparisons between those potential solutions.
• Works with the project teams to develop commissioning and qualification execution strategies with a focus on defining intended use and measuring process capability against critical quality acceptance criteria.

Qualifications

• BS degree in engineering or a technical field is required, preferably in mechanical, chemical or food science engineering.
• Minimum of 5 years of prior experience in process design or manufacturing engineering with bakery industry experience.
• Experience reading and creating P&IDs and using Microsoft Office software is required.
• Understanding of automation systems and controls integration is required.
• CPG, nutritional, or food processing experience, and bakery experience is preferred.
• Experience with continuous improvement, Lean, or Six Sigma – Green belt or Black belt is preferred.

Technical Skills

• Engineering Technology: Works without supervision to provide technical guidance regarding new and advanced engineering technologies and specifications.
• Engineering Design: Able to leverage the appropriate methods, tools, processes and software for Engineering Design, including but not limited to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and process simulation.
• Engineering Technical Operations Support: Provides technical guidance when identifying and diagnosing operational problems and developing solutions to resolve issues.
• Compliance: Uses comprehensive knowledge and skills to act independently to achieve full compliance with applicable rules and regulations.