Senior Process Engineer - Food Manufacturing & Automation

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

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,