About the position
The Director of Process Engineering leads with a focus on new process development and process control to deliver exceptional manufacturing performance and a strong competitive advantage. With equal parts innovation and continuous improvement mindset, this leader will be an important leader in the R&D organization. You will drive innovation, technological advancements, and continuous improvement across the organization. With a focus on process design, scale-up, and efficiency optimization, you will lead the development of new technologies and methodologies that enhance product quality, food safety, operational efficiency, and sustainability. You will play a critical role in designing, testing, and validating new processes, ensuring they are scalable and commercially viable. Working closely with Food Scientist, Nutrition, Quality, and Engineering teams, you will introduce and refine innovative processing solutions, leveraging data-driven insights to improve manufacturing consistency, cost efficiency, and sustainability.
Responsibilities
- Drive innovation, technological advancements, and continuous improvement across the organization.
- Lead the development of new technologies and methodologies that enhance product quality, food safety, operational efficiency, and sustainability.
- Design, test, and validate new processes, ensuring they are scalable and commercially viable.
- Collaborate with Food Scientist, Nutrition, Quality, and Engineering teams to introduce and refine innovative processing solutions.
- Champion process innovation and collaborate with cross-functional teams to de-risk new technologies.
- Analyze complex process challenges using statistical modeling and advanced problem-solving methodologies.
- Influence and lead cross-functional teams to shape the future of process engineering.
- Ensure seamless technology transfer from concept to commercialization.
Requirements
- 10+ years of experience in process engineering, specializing in R&D-driven process design, scale-up, and optimization.
- Deep technical knowledge of complex food processing systems.
- Strong foundation in continuous improvement methodologies such as TPM, Lean, Six Sigma, and DOE.
- Experience in developing and implementing new process technologies.
- Expertise in advanced process controls and smart manufacturing.
- Strong problem-solving and data-driven decision-making skills.
- Ability to influence and collaborate across teams.
- Strategic mindset capable of synthesizing technical insights into actionable business decisions.
- Compelling communication skills to engage with executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Willingness to travel up to 60%.
Nice-to-haves
- Experience in the pet food industry.
- Familiarity with AI-driven process optimization.
- Experience with pilot plant to full commercial production scaling.
Benefits
- Dog-friendly office in Greenwich Village.
- Market-competitive compensation and equity packages.
- Comprehensive Healthcare, Dental, and Vision.
- Company supported mental health benefits.
- 12 week paid parental leave.
- Competitive 401k plan with company match.
- Flexible PTO.
- Discounted fresh food for your pup.
