Category Engineer

Unilever•Chicago, IL

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Category Engineer, based at the Chicago - Kilbourn Factory, manages end-to-end delivery of condiment technology projects for the Dressings Category in North America. The role directly manages capital projects involving innovation and technology changes at Kilbourn and third-party manufacturers, supports day-to-day factory and reliability activities, and runs factory trials for pack and process changes. The position reports to the Category Engineering Manager, Dressings. The engineer leads the portfolio of category projects and trials at Kilbourn and represents the factory to external teams, including R&D, Brand, Procurement, and suppliers. The role leads technology, capital, innovation, capacity, and value-improvement projects, carrying out assessments, trials, technical support, and implementation with limited supervision. Work includes formulation, process, and equipment evaluations; industrial trials; preliminary engineering; project cost and timeline controls; commissioning plans; equipment commissioning; and production startup. The role also supports best practices and standards for technology changes and commissioning, provides technical input for new products and re-stages, and contributes to processing and packaging technology improvements. It develops and manages checkout, testing, and startup protocols for equipment, packaging lines, and control systems. The engineer collaborates across plants and with manufacturing, corporate engineering, R&D, marketing, innovation, and supply chain planning teams to deliver projects and savings initiatives on time. Assigned capital and innovation projects are typically valued at €0.1 million to €2 million, with safety as the top priority.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Chemical, Mechanical, or Industrial Engineering, or an equivalent technical degree.
At least 3 years of engineering experience in FMCG, foods, a related industry, an engineering consultancy, or equivalent technical experience.
Project management, maintenance, operations leadership, R&D, and/or continuous-improvement experience in a manufacturing environment.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to influence others.

Nice To Haves

First-hand experience delivering or leading startup for capital projects within Unilever or a similar FMCG environment.
At least 5 years of project engineering experience in FMCG, foods, a related industry, an engineering consultancy, or equivalent technical experience.
Experience working in an R&D team or deep knowledge of product development.

Responsibilities

Manage end-to-end delivery of Dressings Category condiment technology projects in North America.
Directly manage innovation and technology-change capital projects at Kilbourn and third-party manufacturers.
Support day-to-day factory and reliability activities and run trials for pack and process changes.
Lead the portfolio of category projects and trials at Kilbourn and represent the factory to external teams, including R&D, Brand, Procurement, and suppliers.
Lead technology, capital, innovation, capacity, and value-improvement projects for the dressings category.
Provide project estimates, assess options, conduct plant trials, and provide technical support.
Conduct project assessments, formulation/process/equipment evaluations, industrial trials, and preliminary engineering; manage costs and timelines; establish commissioning plans; and support commissioning and production startup.
Ensure compliance with hygiene, equipment, safety, specification, and best-practice standards.
Participate in establishing company-wide best practices and standards for technology changes and commissioning.
Provide technical support to the category engineering team for new products and re-stages, including innovation and renovation.
Contribute to technology improvements for processing and packaging equipment.
Develop and manage checkout, testing, and startup protocols for equipment, packaging lines, and control systems.
Participate in cross-plant improvement teams and collaborate with manufacturing engineers and category engineers to establish best practices.
Partner with plant manufacturing, corporate engineering, and the workforce, and contribute to innovation, restructuring, and strategic supply-chain investments.
Interface with R&D, marketing, innovation, and supply chain planning teams to deliver innovation and savings projects on time.
Deliver assigned capital and innovation projects on time and in full while adhering to company standards and prioritizing safety.
Bring new ways of working to the Engineering community and support the pursuit of the lowest installed cost.