Senior Process Engineer

Metro Associates; Sterling (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Metro Associates, on behalf of its client, seeks a Senior Process Engineer for its Sterling, Virginia operation. This onsite direct-hire role leads engineering, maintenance, reliability, automation, utilities, facilities, and capital project activities within a high-volume food manufacturing environment.

You will partner with Operations, Quality Assurance, Food Safety, Sanitation, Supply Chain, Finance, Procurement, and executive leadership to improve equipment reliability, production uptime,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years in engineering, maintenance, reliability, or technical operations in food manufacturing or related regulated environment.
• 7+ years leading engineering or facilities teams in 24/7 operations.
• Experience with capital projects, plant expansions, and commissioning.
• Strong knowledge of preventive and predictive maintenance, CMMS, and root-cause analysis.
• Familiarity with HACCP, GMP, SQF/BRC, USDA/FDA requirements.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute plant engineering strategies to improve safety, quality, throughput, and uptime.
• Support capital planning, budgeting, vendor selection, and commissioning.
• Provide technical leadership for processing systems, boilers, refrigeration, and automation.
• Partner with QA and Food Safety to support HACCP, GMP, SQF/BRC, USDA/FDA expectations.
• Drive continuous improvement using Lean, Six Sigma, and root cause analysis.
• Ensure OSHA, electrical, refrigeration safety, and environmental compliance.
• Manage engineering budgets, capex, and contractor spend; optimize utilities and MRO.
• Support new product introductions, line extensions, and process validations.
• Establish engineering standards, documentation controls, and training programs.
• Review RFQs, OEM drawings, FAT/PAT, and installation methods.

Skills

Leadership experience

Budget preparation

Vendor management

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem-solving

Project management

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

AutoCAD

Bluebeam

Procore

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Project

Job description

Senior Process Engineer

A leading global food manufacturer specializing in sous vide, refrigerated, and ready-to-eat products is seeking a Senior Process Engineer for its Sterling, Virginia operation. This is an onsite direct-hire opportunity offering an annual salary

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The Senior Process Engineer provides strategic and hands‑on leadership for engineering, maintenance, reliability, automation, utilities, facilities, and capital project activities within a high-volume food manufacturing environment. The role partners with Operations, Quality Assurance, Food Safety, Sanitation, Supply Chain, Finance, Procurement, and executive leadership to improve equipment reliability, production uptime, regulatory compliance, and long-term manufacturing capability.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute plant engineering strategies that improve safety, quality, food safety, throughput, labor efficiency, sanitation effectiveness, equipment uptime, and cost performance.
• Support capital planning and execution, including scope development, budgeting, vendor selection, contractor oversight, installation, commissioning, startup, and post-project validation.
• Provide technical leadership for sous vide processing systems, cook tanks, chill systems, vacuum packaging equipment, boilers, refrigeration, compressed air, water and wastewater systems, conveyors, automation, PLCs, HMIs, and facility infrastructure.
• Partner with Quality Assurance and Food Safety to support HACCP, GMP, SQF or BRC, USDA and FDA expectations, allergen controls, hygienic zoning, sanitation design, environmental monitoring, and food defense.
• Drive continuous improvement using root cause analysis, 5-Why, A3, Lean, Six Sigma, standard work, and data-driven problem solving.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, LOTO, electrical safety, refrigeration safety requirements, environmental regulations, company safety standards, and local building codes.
• Manage engineering and maintenance budgets, capital expenditures, contractor spend, utilities usage, MRO inventory, and cost-reduction initiatives.
• Support new product introductions, line extensions, process validations, packaging changes, capacity expansions, and automation improvements.
• Establish engineering standards, project management practices, documentation controls, sanitation-ready equipment design expectations, and technical training programs.
• Review subcontractor RFQs and competitive bids, OEM approval drawings, FAT and PAT activities, and installation means and methods.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field required; advanced degree preferred.
• 15 or more years of progressive engineering, maintenance, reliability, or technical operations experience in food manufacturing, refrigerated foods, ready-to-eat foods, protein processing, sous vide, aseptic, pharmaceutical, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.
• 7 or more years of leadership experience managing engineering, maintenance, reliability, automation, or facilities teams in a 24/7 manufacturing operation.
• Demonstrated experience leading capital projects, plant expansions, equipment installations, automation upgrades, and commissioning.
• Strong knowledge of preventive and predictive maintenance, CMMS systems, maintenance planning, reliability-centered maintenance, root cause analysis, and spare-parts management.
• Working knowledge of HACCP, GMPs, sanitation design, allergen control, environmental monitoring, SQF or BRC, and OSHA requirements.
• Experience with refrigeration, boilers, thermal processing, chilled-water systems, vacuum packaging, cook/chill operations, PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, conveyors, utilities, and plant infrastructure.
• Strong financial acumen, including budget preparation, capital justification, ROI analysis, vendor management, and cost control.
• Ability to read and interpret PFD, P&ID, ISO, and DWG drawings.
• Working knowledge of AutoCAD, Bluebeam, Procore, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Project, and related software.
• Excellent leadership, communication, problem-solving, project-management, and cross‑

Work Environment and Travel

Work is performed in office and food manufacturing environments, including refrigerated, wet, hot, and high‑noise production areas. The position requires regular plant‑floor activity and availability outside normal business hours for critical downtime, project installations, audits, inspections, or emergencies. Travel of approximately 40% to 60% may be required.

Metro Associates is conducting this search on behalf of its client. The client company name is confidential in this public posting.