Senior Process Engineer

Cayuga Milk Ingredients, LLC; City of Auburn, Northern (NY, KY); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 179,000; Full time

Job summary

Cayuga Milk Ingredients, LLC in Auburn, NY is seeking a Senior Process Engineer to optimize dairy manufacturing processes, automation systems, and utilities. The role collaborates across Operations, Maintenance, Quality, R&D, Supply Chain, and Engineering to drive improvements and support product commercialization.

Ideal candidates have 7+ years in dairy or highly automated environments, with experience in PLC/SCADA, sanitary design, and capital project execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant engineering field is required.
• 7+ years of engineering experience in dairy, food, beverage, or highly automated environments.
• Experience with process optimization and capital project execution.
• Dairy processing experience is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead process improvement and operational excellence initiatives to improve safety, quality, yield, throughput, reliability, and cost.
• Provide technical support for dairy processing systems including milk receiving, pasteurization, membrane filtration, evaporation, drying, packaging, and utilities.
• Design, troubleshoot, and optimize PLC, HMI, SCADA, instrumentation, and process control systems.
• Support capital projects from concept through commissioning and startup, including vendor review and FAT/SAT.
• Ensure compliance with FDA, PMO, SQF, OSHA, and other regulatory requirements.

Skills

Process optimization

Automation systems

Data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical, Automation, or Food Engineering

Related field

Tools

Allen-Bradley/Rockwell PLCs

HMIs/SCADA

VFDs & instrumentation

CAD software

Job description

Description

Position Title: Sr. Process Engineer

Reports To: Director of Engineering

FLSA Status: Exempt

Job Grade: 12

Pay Range: $125,000- $179,000

Position Overview

The Senior Process Engineer is responsible for optimizing manufacturing processes, automation systems, utilities, and production equipment across Cayuga Milk Ingredients' operations. This role drives operational excellence through process improvement, automation, capital project support, and equipment reliability initiatives while ensuring the highest standards of food safety, quality, sustainability, and regulatory compliance.

Working cross-functionally with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, R&D, Supply Chain, and Engineering, the Senior Process Engineer identifies and implements solutions that improve productivity, yield, efficiency, and overall plant performance. This position serves as a key technical resource supporting process innovation, capacity expansion, and commercialization of new products and technologies.

Key Responsibilities

Process Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality, yield, throughput, reliability, and cost reduction.
• Analyze process and production data to identify opportunities for optimization and waste reduction.
• Conduct root cause analysis and implement sustainable corrective actions for process and equipment issues.
• Support initiatives that improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), process capability, and resource utilization.

Process & Automation Engineering

• Provide technical support for dairy processing systems including milk receiving, pasteurization, membrane filtration, evaporation, drying, packaging, and utilities.
• Design, troubleshoot, and optimize PLC, HMI, SCADA, instrumentation, and process control systems.
• Develop and maintain process documentation, control narratives, P&IDs, and automation standards.
• Support advanced process control strategies and digital manufacturing initiatives.

Capital Projects & Innovation

• Support capital projects from concept through commissioning and startup.
• Develop technical specifications, review equipment designs, and assist with vendor selection.
• Participate in FAT/SAT activities, validation efforts, and operational handoff.
• Support the evaluation and implementation of new technologies and process improvements.

Utilities, Sustainability & Compliance

• Support optimization of refrigeration, steam, compressed air, water, and wastewater systems.
• Identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency, water conservation, and sustainability performance.
• Ensure compliance with FDA, PMO, SQF, OSHA, environmental regulations, and company standards.

Technical Leadership

• Serve as a key technical resource for Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and Engineering teams.
• Mentor employees on process optimization, troubleshooting, and automation best practices.
• Support new product commercialization and implementation of engineering best practices across the organization.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical, Automation, or Food Engineering, or related field.

Experience

• 7+ years of engineering experience in dairy, food, beverage, or other highly automated manufacturing environments.
• Experience with process optimization, automation systems, and capital project execution.
• Dairy processing experience highly preferred.

Technical Skills

• Knowledge of dairy processing systems, sanitary design, and food manufacturing operations.
• Experience with Allen-Bradley/Rockwell PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, VFDs, and process instrumentation.
• Proficiency with engineering documentation, CAD software, and manufacturing data analysis tools.
• Familiarity with FDA, PMO, SQF, and OSHA requirements.

Core Competencies

• Continuous Improvement
• Process Optimization
• Automation & Controls
• Project Management
• Problem Solving & Root Cause Analysis
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Food Safety & Quality
• Technical Leadership

Physical Requirements

• Ability to navigate all areas of the facility, including office spaces, warehouse areas, and the exterior perimeter.
• Must wear required personal protective equipment (PPE) as necessary to safely perform job duties.
• Ability to stand, sit, and carry out tasks throughout a full shift, with appropriate meal breaks.
• Physically capable of standing, bending, stooping, kneeling, reaching, twisting, lifting, pushing, pulling, climbing, balancing, and crouching as needed.
• Able to lift and move items weighing up to 50 pounds independently and heavier objects with reasonable accommodations.
• Visual acuity sufficient to perform job duties accurately.
• Capable of assessing weights, judging distances, and working at various heights.

Work Schedule

Monday-Friday 6am-4pm with the ability to flex to meet the needs of a 24/7/365 operation

Compensation

At Cayuga Milk Ingredients, we value a fair and comprehensive approach to compensation. Our wage range for this role is determined by various factors, including skill sets, experience, training, licensure, certifications, and organizational needs. It is not typical for an employee to start at or near the top of the range for the position. Compensation decisions are made based on individual job circumstances considering skill level, previous experience, and education requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Cayuga Milk Ingredients is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Non-Discrimination Policy

The contractor will not discriminate against employees or applicants for discussing or disclosing their own pay or the pay of others. However, employees with access to compensation information as part of their job duties are prohibited from disclosing this information to unauthorized individuals, except in specific circumstances outlined by applicable laws and regulations (41 CFR 60-1.35(c)).

General Statement

All Cayuga employees recognize that the success and prosperity of the company is everyone’s responsibility. All employees must be self-starters who can relate to all levels of the organization.

Disclaimer

• All requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.
• This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by their supervisor.
• The company reserves the right to add to or revise an employee's job duties at any time at its sole discretion.
• This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” employment relationship.

Disclaimer: For Recruiter’s and Staffing Agencies

• At Cayuga Milk, our Human Resources Team leads most of our hiring efforts and takes pride in connecting directly with talented individuals who share our values and passion for what we do. Most of our roles are filled through applications submitted via our careers site or through direct outreach from our team.
• While we occasionally partner with external recruitment agencies, we do so only with those on our existing, pre-approved vendor list. Currently, we are not adding new agencies to that list.
• If an unsolicited resume or candidate submission is received from an agency or recruiter not authorized by our Human Resources Team, it will be treated as a direct application. Cayuga Milk will not be responsible for any placement or referral fees related to these submissions.