Senior Process Engineer

AgCertain Industries; Ames (IA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

AgCertain Industries in Ames, IA, seeks a Senior Process Engineer to provide operational leadership and ensure safe, GMP-compliant production. The role entails leadership, training, scheduling, inventory management, process system reliability, and cross-functional coordination with design and engineering.

You will lead continuous improvement initiatives, oversee documentation, and support plant projects from concept to execution, maintaining safety and quality across all processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering field; MBA preferred.
• Minimum five years of industry experience in a technical role.
• Experience in biodiesel, ethanol, food processing, or manufacturing is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational leadership to ensure safe and GMP-compliant production.
• Lead safety committees and ensure regulatory compliance across operations.
• Train, develop, schedule, and manage inventory for production areas.
• Analyze equipment performance, bottlenecks, and process data to drive improvements.
• Design and maintain reporting tools for throughput, quality, safety, and cost.
• Coordinate with design, engineering, and manufacturing to meet specs.

Skills

Leadership

Training & development

Safety leadership

Cross-functional liaison

Process improvement

SOP adherence

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

MBA preferred

Tools

Pumps

Motors

Valves

Heat exchangers

Job description

Job Details

Job Location: Ames, IA 50010

The Senior Process Engineer is responsible for providing operational leadership to ensure commercial execution. This role is accountable for the safe fulfillment of production needs in accordance to GMP policies and plant SOPs. Additionally, they are responsible for the leadership, training and development, scheduling, inventory management, process system and equipment reliability within production areas.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Operate safely and appropriately in all AgCertain situations and environments


• Lead safety committee to ensure all operations comply with applicable safety regulations consistently


• Gain and utilize complete understanding of glycerin, oil refining process, water recovery and reuse system in order to lead continuous improvement activities


• Be a qualified trainer of employees for proper performance of production processes based on SOPs


• Analyze production equipment downtown, cycle time, and process data across AgCertain manufacturing facilities to identify trends, bottlenecks, and root causes


• Design, build, and maintain reporting tools that give visibility into throughput, quality, safety, and cost performance


• Lead critical company initiatives that have high visibility with leadership; provide direction and structured accountability to teams on various projects


• Be involved in the complete design and execution of processes and construction projects used in the manufacturing process


• Act as a liaison between design, engineering, and manufacturing


• Coordinate manufacturing abilities with engineering specifications, requests, and product design requirements


• Have a thorough understanding of and be able to apply Occupational Safety and Good Manufacturing Practices to procedures within the plant/understand how they affect the production process


• Follow all written procedures (SOPs) and work instructions that pertain to the respective area, including the production of glycerin, and reusable water, maintenance of equipment, and sanitation of equipment/production areas


• Complete all required documentation accurately and in a timely manner


• Assist with writing and revising controlled documents such as SOPs, work instructions, and associated forms


• Identify and lead continuous improvement initiatives while implementing new solutions and streamlining workflows to boost efficiency and reduce costs


• Apply engineering principles to troubleshoot deficiencies, reduce waste, improve production efficiency, and improve product quality


• Manage and coordinate Management of Change projects for the plant include completion and delegation of process information updates, SOP creation or updates, operator training, process control updates, equipment design updates, etc.


• Support commissioning efforts through Installation Qualification, Operational Qualification, and Process Qualification stages


• Develop an in-depth understanding of assigned utility system(s) to create a system overview training document, perform as built changes to drawings, create LOTO procedure(s) and create preventative maintenance and reliability strategy documents or procedures


• Be an active member of the Crisis Management Team, Recall Team, and Food Safety Team with a working understanding of the food safety and quality systems (HACCP, GMP, and SQF) to ensure product quality


• Participate in all company trainings


• Perform additional duties as assigned

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering field; Master of Business Administration (MBA) preferred


• Minimum five (5) years industry experience within a technical role


• Prior experience in a biodiesel, ethanol, food processing plant or manufacturing facility preferred


• Physical abilities to include the ability to lift 50 lbs (23 Kg), able to climb several flights of stairs and not affected by heights


• Proven leadership skills and experience managing a team


• Possess a mechanical aptitude for operation and maintaining pumps, motors, valves, heat exchangers, heaters and other processing equipment


• Must be able to operate heavy equipment (electric forklift, diesel telehandler forklift, etc.) once trained


• Excellent communication, organizational, management, and computer skills


• Ability to interact professionally and effectively with internal and external customers


• Act with humility, honesty, integrity, and a commitment to safety


• Abide by Good Manufacturing Practices in all areas of the facility