Pilot Plant Engineer

Colgate • Piscataway, NJ

15h • $94,000 - $133,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company operating in over 200 countries specializing in Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care, Skin Care, and Pet Nutrition. Our products are trusted in more households than any other brand in the world, making us a household name! Join Colgate-Palmolive, a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for people, their pets, and our planet. Guided by our core values—Caring, Inclusive, and Courageous—we foster a culture that inspires our people to achieve common goals. Together, let's build a brighter, healthier future for all. The Pilot Plant Engineer is responsible for leading the development and implementation of capital investments and projects, ensuring equipment is maintained, upgraded, and continuously improved to meet formulation and operational requirements across Personal Care (PC), Oral Care (OC), Skin Health (SH), and other categories as needed. This role partners closely with operations, quality, and global/regional Category Manufacturing Services (CMS) and Process Development & Innovation (PD&I) engineers to bring new products and processes to life. The position is based at Colgate-Palmolive’s Global Process Technology Center (PTC) in Piscataway, NJ.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in a Chemical, Mechanical, Industrial Engineering or equivalent Engineering discipline.
• Minimum of 6+ years of experience in cGMP regulated facilities or equivalent.
• Knowledge of cGMP and IQ / OQ / PQ Validation.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with managing capital projects, budgets and contractors.
• A strong background in quality systems, validation, understanding of cGMP and 21 CFR 210 & 211, and experience in working in a regulated industry (ie. FDA).
• Knowledge of Capital Expenditure Budget and Capital Procurement.
• Working knowledge of SAP, validation software (KNEAT), InBatch or similar plant/ quality related computer system.
• Must be proficient in continuous improvement methodologies.
• Demonstrate project management skills, ability to communicate effectively and deliver results in a fast paced work environment.
• A working knowledge of production processes and control systems.
• Teamwork orientation with excellent interpersonal and team skills.
• Master's Degree in a technical field.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for ensuring full compliance with Colgate-Palmolive, local, state, federal standards and guidelines related to EOHS, Quality, and Regulatory within the PTC.
• Owns and optimizes the performance and reliability of all processing (making, filling, finishing equipment) and utility systems/ assets (e.g., USP water system), driving continuous improvement in asset performance.
• Develops and maintains equipment specifications, technical documentation, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Validates and transfers factory procedures aligned with performance, reliability, quality and EOHS standards.
• Leads projects end-to-end, including project definition, planning, capital expenditure management, vendor engagement, technology transfer and subsequent system installation, start-up , and troubleshooting.
• Serves as the primary technical lead for the processing area’s technology transfer activities, ensuring the successful implementation of new materials, products and capital projects from R&D into the pilot plant and supporting global/regional process engineering for subsequent implementation.
• Drives and implements standardization, simplification, and margin improvement projects and programs across all processing systems, providing project/ program management leadership as needed.
• Serves as the primary technical resource for Operations and Quality, leading problem - solving efforts and providing critical technical expertise.
• Provide technical leadership for Skin Health Category formulations and processes, troubleshooting scale-up issues and optimizing yields, quality, and throughput.
• Partner with CMs to implement process controls and conduct experimental manufacturing orders (EMOs).
• Champions and upholds company values and leadership principles across all daily business activities and team interactions.
• Manages/ leads projects and programs as per business needs.

Benefits

• Salaried employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, paid parental leave, disability coverage, and participation in the 401(k) retirement plan with company matching contributions subject to eligibility requirements.
• Additional benefits include a minimum of 15 vacation/PTO days (hourly employees receive a minimum of 120 hours) and 13 paid holidays (vacation days are prorated based on the employee's hire date within the calendar year).
• Paid sick leave is adjusted based on role and location in accordance with local laws. Detailed information regarding paid sick leave entitlements will be provided to employees upon hiring and may be subject to adjustments based on changes in legislation or company policies.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level