Plant Engineer

Leclerc Group•Kingsport, TN

About The Position

Leclerc is a family business with 120 years of experience, tradition and know-how passed down from people with heart. Thanks to our 1,900 employees in eight plants in Canada and the United States, we are constantly innovating to exceed the expectations of both small and large appetites. Position Summary Reporting directly to the Plant Manager and working in close collaboration with corporate engineering, the Plant Engineer advises and supports the plant management team in day-to-day operations. Being the primary contact with the corporate engineering team, he acts as the plant’s lead technical manager providing guidance to the maintenance as well as the technical and continuous improvement departments. This position brings method, structure and consistency while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and our various engineering processes. The plant engineer partakes in the development of Leclerc Foods production growth by recommending equipment that ensures operational efficiency, safety, quality, and long-term profitability of the plant.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Industrial or a related Engineering field or equivalent work experience (required);
Have 5 + years of manufacturing project management and/or plant maintenance experience (required);
Have 5+ years of experience preparing bid packages, working with Purchasing on contracts, and managing contractor activities (required);
Demonstrable expertise in Microsoft 365 suite of applications (required);
Demonstrable expertise in Autocad and/or design modeling software (required);
Strong oral and written communication skills, excellent judgment, strong sense of ethics & integrity, result oriented.;
Excellent people skills, maintain a positive attitude and ability to motivate people, specifically mentoring and coaching individuals;
Ability to adapt operational changes and need requirement; ability to work in a fast-paced, challenging, and consistently changing environment;
Excellent manual dexterity;
Strong physical endurance;
Ability to stand for long periods of time;
Ability to work greater than 8 hours daily as needed; flexible with work hours and be able to work overtime and weekends as needed;

Nice To Haves

Have 5+ years of experience working with critical building infrastructure and systems (preferred);
Familiarity with Allen-Bradley and Siemens controls systems (preferred);
Demonstrable experience with process improvement methodologies (eg Lean, Six Sigma) (preferred);
Have 3+ years of managerial experience (preferred);
Experience in the food or pharmaceutical manufacturing industry (preferred);
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification (preferred);

Responsibilities

As the direct link between the corporate Engineering management and the factory, the plant engineer has to be the technical manager guiding the maintenance, technical and improvement teams.
Analyze technology, resource needs, and market demand to plan and assess feasibility and equipment.
Accept ownership of all automation initiatives.
Prepare bid packages, work with Purchasing on contracts, and manage contractor activities;
Develop sound and cost-effective solutions to problems facing the operations team.
Assess the feasibility and soundness of proposed engineering solutions to include serving as the liaison with engineering consulting service, vendors and the corporate engineering management.
Prepare capital investment requests by determining the best equipment design and/or facility layout, developing estimates and provide justification for the expenditure
Manage contractor engineering activities and oversee management of delivery schedules, warranties, liquidated damages, and performance guarantees;
Coordinate start-up and commissioning of new equipment with operations;
Test newly installed machines and equipment to ensure fulfillment of contract specifications;
Maintain plant in a safe and productive state to ensure compliance with health and safety standards in order to achieve maximum productivity;
Review budget projections for current and upcoming projects and schedule forecasts to ensure plant projects are completed on-time and on-budget;
Provide engineering support to maintain, after, or curtail operations during emergencies;
Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.