R&D Process Engineer, Pet Food Innovation — Scale & Impact

The J.M. Smucker Company; Akron (OH); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation package

Job summary

The J.M. Smucker Company is seeking an R&D Process Engineer for Pet Food Innovation in Orrville, OH.

This role focuses on designing and executing trials, scaling up new products, and delivering technology that enhances pet nutrition through extrusion, thermal processing, and pilot plant work. You will collaborate with Operations, Engineering, and Product Development to solve complex challenges, optimize processes, and bring innovative products to life.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in food and/or pet food manufacturing.
• Hands-on experience with food extrusion and process optimization.
• Experience leading pilot plant, scale-up, and commercialization trials.
• Knowledge of ingredient functionality, food safety, and process validation.
• Experience using DOE and statistical tools (JMP, Minitab, Aspen, etc.) to improve process performance.
• Proven success leading cross-functional projects and driving technical solutions.

Responsibilities

• Design, execute, and interpret trials for food processing innovations, facilitating knowledge sharing and collaboration among teams.
• Lead the scale-up and commercialization of new products and technologies with strong teamwork and communication.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship, guiding lab activities and developing training programs.
• Collaborate across departments to identify process improvement opportunities and align with business goals.
• Engage in die and manifold design, applying CAD tools as needed.
• Analyze processing data using modeling and simulation to set specifications and guide decisions.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and manage capital projects with vendor coordination.
• Lead DOE efforts and encourage cross-functional contributions to system and process enhancements.
• Operate independently on projects with minimal supervision while promoting team collaboration.

Skills

DOE / statistics

Cross-functional leadership

Data analysis

Process optimization

Education

Bachelors in Food Science/Engineering

Tools

JMP

Minitab

Aspen

Job description

The J.M. Smucker Company is seeking an R&D Process Engineer for Pet Food Innovation in Orrville, OH.

This role focuses on designing and executing trials, scaling up new products, and delivering technology that enhances pet nutrition through extrusion, thermal processing, and pilot plant work. You will collaborate with Operations, Engineering, and Product Development to solve complex challenges, optimize processes, and bring innovative products to life.