Staff Engineer - Remote Drying Systems & Spray Drying

Agropur, inc.; Hull (IA); On-site; USD 124,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

401(k) with company contributions

Paid Time Off (3 weeks)

Paid holidays and 2 floating holidays

Paid parental leave

Advancement Opportunities

Job summary

Agropur, inc. is seeking a Staff Engineer - SME Dryers to lead the enterprise drying systems strategy, focusing on spray drying technologies for our dairy processing network.

You will provide technical leadership, review major capital projects, and drive optimization across facilities. The role requires deep knowledge of drying technologies, strong communication across teams, and a track record of establishing standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering (ChE preferred)
• 10+ years experience in membrane system process engineering and/or capital project development/execution
• Experience developing technical standards and specifications
• Demonstrated expertise in membrane system design, operation, troubleshooting and optimization
• Strong understanding of dairy processing
• Strong organizational and communication skills; ability to influence technical decisions across multiple facilities and stakeholder groups
• Experience facilitating technical reviews and driving follow-up actions
• Experience supporting capital projects
• Experience implementing standards and effective change management to ensure adoption
• Experience with whey processing, protein concentration, and dairy ingredient manufacturing
• Experience working with leading membrane system suppliers and OEMs.

Responsibilities

• Serve as enterprise SME for drying systems, with primary focus on spray drying
• Provide technical leadership for spray dryers, fluid bed dryers/coolers, and associated powder handling and air handling systems
• Lead technical reviews of major capital projects involving drying technologies
• Serve as final technical authority for drying-related engineering decisions
• Support strategic decisions regarding drying system design, technology selection, product capability, and system optimization
• Make high-quality technical decisions in ambiguous or high-risk situations
• Participate in concept development, feasibility studies, and engineering design reviews; review process designs and vendor proposals for drying systems
• Support Operational Excellence initiatives by addressing complex performance, product quality, reliability, and capacity challenges; identify optimization opportunities
• Build and maintain enterprise drying system design and operating standards; ensure compliance in partnership with Engineering Governance
• Establish and promote best practices for food safety and hygienic design, including prevention of contamination, CIP, allergen control, and regulatory compliance
• Establish and maintain best practices related to powder hazards and risk mitigation, including dust explosion prevention, zoning/ATEX considerations, ignition source control, and safe powder handling systems
• Provide technical guidance on thermal efficiency, energy consumption, and sustainability considerations
• Establish best practices for powder quality control, including particle size distribution, bulk density, moisture, solubility, and thermal stability
• Monitor and evaluate emerging drying technologies and assess potential to unlock new product platforms or improve cost, quality, safety, and sustainability performance

Skills

Membrane systems

Process engineering

Capital projects

Technical standards

Technical reviews

Dairy processing

Cross-facility influence

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering (ChE preferred)

Job description

Agropur, inc. is seeking a Staff Engineer - SME Dryers to lead the enterprise drying systems strategy, focusing on spray drying technologies for our dairy processing network.

You will provide technical leadership, review major capital projects, and drive optimization across facilities. The role requires deep knowledge of drying technologies, strong communication across teams, and a track record of establishing standards.