Position Overview
The Senior Process Engineer supports and improves manufacturing processes as the organization grows operationally, expands production volumes, and increases use of co-manufacturing partners. This role helps ensure processes are efficient, reliable, scalable, and cost-effective across internal manufacturing facilities and external partners.
As a key technical resource for dairy processing, the Senior Process Engineer provides engineering support, troubleshooting, process optimization, and assistance with new product and equipment implementation. The role partners with Operations, Quality, R&D, Maintenance, and external manufacturing partners to improve production performance, support business growth, and maintain consistent product quality and food safety.
Responsibilities
Technical Support & Process Engineering
- Provide technical support for dairy processing technologies, including aseptic, ESL, pasteurization, homogenization, emulsification, filtration, and liquid/dry blending.
- Support internal manufacturing facilities and external co-manufacturing partners with process-related issues.
- Troubleshoot process challenges and participate in root cause analysis and corrective action implementation.
Food Safety & Regulatory Compliance
- Support compliance with applicable food safety and regulatory requirements, including PMO, FDA, USDA, and HACCP.
- Assist with validation and verification of critical control points (CCPs) and processing parameters.
- Participate in co-manufacturer evaluations, identify process-related gaps, and help develop improvement plans.
Innovation & Continuous Improvement
- Evaluate process improvements and new technologies that enhance manufacturing capabilities.
- Support the scale-up and commercialization of new products from pilot to full-scale production.
- Participate in sustainability initiatives focused on reducing water, energy, and material waste.
Process Optimization & Standardization
- Identify and implement opportunities to improve yield, throughput, efficiency, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
- Support the development and implementation of standardized processes and operating practices across facilities.
- Review production data to identify process inefficiencies and recommend improvements.
Capital Project Support
- Provide process engineering support for capital projects, including equipment selection, process design, layout, and system integration.
- Review engineering drawings, P&IDs, equipment specifications, and process documentation.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, contractors, and equipment suppliers to support successful project execution and startup.
Training & Knowledge Sharing
- Provide technical guidance and process training to Operations and other technical team members.
- Develop and maintain process documentation, work instructions, and technical standards.
- Share technical knowledge and support continuous improvement across the organization.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, food engineering, or related engineering discipline.
- 5–8 years of experience in food, dairy, beverage, or related manufacturing process engineering.
- Working knowledge of dairy processing operations, such as pasteurization, HTST/UHT systems, CIP, homogenization, and blending.
- Experience supporting manufacturing operations, troubleshooting process issues, and implementing process improvements.
- Familiarity with food safety and quality systems, including HACCP, FDA, USDA, and PMO requirements.
- Experience supporting capital projects, equipment installations, or process improvement initiatives.
- Familiarity with manufacturing systems and tools such as SCADA, MES, and production data analysis is preferred.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills.
- Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and external manufacturing partners.
- Ability to travel up to 35% of the time.
What We Expect of Our Applicants and Future Employees
- Honesty: tell the truth, do not hide mistakes or shortcuts.
- Integrity: do the right thing, even when no one is watching.
- Diversity: respect people who look, think, and work differently.
- Quality: take pride in work and hold yourself to a high standard.
- Respect: treat everyone with courtesy, from the line to the office.
- Responsibility: follow through on what you say you’ll do.
- Accountability: own mistakes, learn from them, and help fix issues.
Hours, Location and Pay
- Competitive base pay rate and benefits package for full-time employees.
- Standard business hours Monday-Friday at the Neenah, WI or Little Chute, WI manufacturing facility.
- Additional hours as needed to support business needs.
- Ability to travel up to 35% of the time.
Physical and Mental Demands
- Frequently required to sit, hear, use hands to type data, use a personal computer and telephone.
- Occasionally required to operate business machines and lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
- Specific vision abilities required: close vision and ability to adjust focus.
- Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
- Mental demands include multi-tasking, decision making, problem solving, comparing, copying, computing, compiling, analyzing, coordinating, and synthesizing data.
- Potential for exposure to chemicals, heights, loud noises, mechanical equipment, wet environments, and other potential hazards exists.
Safety Statement
At Trilliant and Horseshoe, safety is every employee’s first responsibility. Employees are expected to adhere to all safety practices, have the moral courage to stop unsafe acts, and immediately report unsafe conditions.
Disclosures
- The statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed and are not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required.
- Personnel may be required to perform duties outside normal responsibilities from time to time as needed.
- Responsible for following food safety/regulatory policies and procedures, executing responsibilities identified in standard operating procedures, and reporting food safety/regulatory concerns to the Production or Quality Manager.
