Sr Manager Process Engineer

Danone North America, LLC; Louisville (CO); Hybrid; USD 116,000 - 167,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401k Plan

Wellness Program

Tuition Reimbursement

Flexible Time Off

Paid Parental Bonding Leave

Hybrid work environment

Job summary

Danone North America is seeking a Sr Manager Process Engineer to lead process design, scale-up, validation, and commercialization across dairy, plant-based, cultured and adjacent platforms. The role provides technical leadership across R&I, Operations, Quality & Food Safety, Engineering, Procurement, suppliers and co-manufacturers.

The position requires 10+ years of progressive process-engineering and the ability to mentor technical talent, drive stage-gate processes, and deliver scalable,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Chemical, Process, Food, Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive process-engineering or industrialization experience in regulated environments.
• Proven ability to scale processes from bench/pilot to manufacturing and establish robust operating windows.
• Ability to mentor talent, lead cross-functional work, and communicate risks to senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead process strategy, design, scale-up, validation, and commercialization for programs.
• Define process parameters, scale-up rules, control plans, and mitigation strategies; resolve major issues.
• Design and execute pilot/plant trials and translate results into decision-ready recommendations.

Skills

Process engineering

Scale-up

Cross-functional leadership

Industrialization

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's or PhD (preferred)

Job description

Sr Manager Process Engineer

Job Locations

US-CO-Louisville

Short Intro and About the Job

The Sr Manager Process Engineer leads process design, scale-up, validation, and commercialization across dairy, plant-based, cultured, and adjacent food platforms. The role delivers safe, cost-effective, scalable consumer‑preferred solutions and provides technical leadership across R&I, Operations, Quality & Food Safety, Engineering, Procurement, suppliers, and co‑manufacturers.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership, Process Design & Industrial Scale-Up

• Lead process strategy, design, scale-up, validation, and commercialization for complex innovation, renovation, productivity, quality, and capacity programs.
• Apply deep expertise in mixing, thermal and aseptic processing, homogenization, fermentation, filtration, filling, sanitation, controls, and automation.
• Define critical process parameters, operating windows, scale‑up rules, control plans, and risk mitigations; lead resolution of high‑impact manufacturing issues.

Portfolio, Program & Stage‑Gate Leadership

• Lead multiple strategic technical programs and own R&I process‑engineering deliverables through stage‑gate, including scope, resources, risks, trials, documentation, and recommendations.
• Design and execute pilot and plant trials, analyze results, and communicate decision‑ready conclusions to technical, operational, and business leaders.
• Build reusable standards, scale‑up playbooks, and lessons learned to improve speed and first‑time‑right commercialization.

Manufacturing Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Apply engineering fundamentals, statistical methods, and plant data to optimize unit operations and distinguish process variation from systemic capability gaps.
• Partner with manufacturing teams to establish sustainable operating standards, monitoring, and corrective actions.

Equipment, Automation & Capital Projects

• Define process and user requirements for pilot equipment, including hygienic design, utilities, instrumentation, automation, data collection, and cleanability. Work with OPS Engineering to ensure industrial equipment meets desired requirements.
• Guide equipment selection and capital projects from concept through commissioning and start‑up, ensuring product, process, food‑safety, operability, and scale‑up requirements are met.

Quality, Food Safety & Technical Governance

• Ensure process designs and commercialization plans meet GMP, HACCP, sanitary design, validation, regulatory, and internal food‑safety requirements.
• Partner with Quality & Food Safety to assess risk, resolve deviations, define validation evidence, and review key process and change‑control documentation.

Technical Influence, Capability Building & External Partnerships

• Mentor technical contributors, deliver training, and build organizational process‑engineering capability without direct supervisory responsibility.
• Serve as a senior subject‑matter expert; influence cross‑functional and global partners; and evaluate suppliers, co‑manufacturers, emerging technologies, and digital tools.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

• Work spans office, laboratory, pilot plant, and manufacturing environments and requires plant‑floor presence, appropriate PPE, and approximately 40-50% travel.

Compensation & Benefits

The salary range for this position is $116,000 - $167,000 USD. The exact salary offered will depend on several factors, including the candidate's relevant experience, geographic location, internal equity, and market conditions. Danone North America additionally offers a performance‑based bonus and has a strong benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription Drug Coverage, 401k Plan, Wellness Program, Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Flexible Time Off, and Paid Parental Bonding Leave, among other benefit plan options. To give our employees flexibility, Danone is a hybrid work environment. This role is considered a “hybrid” position that allows for flexible work, meaning it is a role where collaboration with key stakeholders in Danone Hubs occurs. While you may have the option to work from home on a schedule as agreed to with your supervisor, you are also expected to regularly report to your assigned office location at least 3 days per week.

About You

The ideal candidate will bring a combination of education, experience, and skills that enable them to excel in this position. The following qualifications outline what we're looking for, including both required and preferred criteria:

Education & Experience

Must Have

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Chemical, Process, Food, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive process‑engineering, scale‑up, or industrialization experience in food, beverage, CPG, or another regulated hygienic manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success scaling processes from bench or pilot to manufacturing and establishing robust operating windows and validation plans.
• Ability to mentor technical talent, lead cross‑functional work across projects and sites, and communicate risks and recommendations to senior stakeholders.

Preferred

• Master's degree or PhD in engineering, food science, or a related technical discipline.
• Advanced expertise in thermal or aseptic processing, fermentation, filtration, mixing, homogenization, hygienic design, and product-process interactions.
• Lean Six Sigma or equivalent problem‑solving expertise, plus experience with capital projects, suppliers, co‑manufacturers, or global teams.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Expert command of engineering fundamentals, scale‑up principles, process dynamics, equipment capability, and hygienic manufacturing.

Strong knowledge of GMP, HACCP, sanitation, thermal validation, process risk, instrumentation, controls, and manufacturing data systems.

Advanced data analysis and statistical skills, with the ability to integrate formulation, rheology, processing, equipment, packaging, and shelf‑life requirements.

Strong project leadership, prioritization, communication, and influencing skills, with comfort operating hands‑on in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.

About Us, We offer and What's next

Life at Danone

With approximately 5,000 employees and 13 production locations across the U.S., our vibrant culture and endless growth opportunities are just a couple of the reasons our employees call themselves “Proud Danoners.”

Learn more about Life at Danone

Our Brands

When you join us, you’ll work with some of the best‑known food and beverage brands in the world, including Activia, DanActive, Danimals, Dannon, evian, Follow Your Heart, Happy Family Organics, International Delight, Light + Fit, Nutricia , Oikos, Silk, So Delicious Dairy Free, STK Cold Brew Coffee , Too Good & Co, and YoCrunch.

Learn more about our mission.

Our Purpose

We're committed to making a positive impact on our world. Rooted in our mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible, we're proud to be the world's largest B Corp.

Our Benefits

• Physical Wellbeing: We pay for the majority of your medical benefits - which include medical, dental and vision - with our competitive 80%/20% cost-sharing model.
• Mental Wellbeing: Danoners receive fitness discounts, unlimited flexible time off and hybrid work schedules. We also have a range of programs that support mental health and substance abuse.
• Financial Support: We offer a performance-based bonus, a 401(k) plan, tuition reimbursement, employee discount programs and voluntary perks.
• Family Care: We offer caretaker benefits, 18 weeks of parental bonding, fertility, surrogacy, adoption benefits and pet insurance.

Learn more about our benefits.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Danone North America is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. It is our policy to give equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to legally protected characteristics, or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state/provincial and/or local law. For our EEO policy statement and your EEO rights under law click here.

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