Plant Engineering Manager

Jack Link's Protein Snacks•Perry, GA

22h•Onsite

About The Position

The Plant Engineering Manager oversees all engineering, maintenance, utilities, and automation systems within a large, highly automated USDA food manufacturing plant. This leader ensures equipment reliability, regulatory compliance, continuous improvement, and long‑term asset health while driving operational excellence in a 24/7 production environment. The role blends technical depth, leadership, strategic planning, and hands‑on problem solving across mechanical, electrical, controls, and facility systems.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or related field).
7–10+ years of engineering or maintenance leadership in food manufacturing, CPG, or high‑automation environments.
Experience in FDA, USDA‑regulated or ready‑to‑eat (RTE) facilities strongly preferred.
Demonstrated success managing large capital projects and cross‑functional initiatives.
Strong understanding of industrial equipment, automation, and utilities within a high-speed CPG company.
Ability to manage complex timelines, contractors, and budgets.
Experience with USDA, HACCP, GMPs, and food safety engineering requirements.
Proven ability to coach, mentor, and build high‑performing technical teams.
Skilled in using CMMS, OEE data, and reliability metrics to guide improvements.
Expertise in RCA, FMEA, and structured problem‑solving methodologies.
Fundamental understanding of Sanitary Design Principals, sanitation practices and requirements, and mitigation strategies.

Nice To Haves

Professional certifications (PE, PMP, Six Sigma) are a plus.

Responsibilities

Set the technical vision for the plant, ensuring engineering strategies align with production goals, food safety requirements, and long‑term asset health. This includes defining engineering standards, approving equipment specifications, and guiding the plant’s automation roadmap.
Build a high‑performance culture across maintenance, reliability, and controls teams. Provide coaching, succession planning, and skills development for technicians, supervisors, and engineers.
Serve as the plant’s technical authority, partnering with Operations, Quality, Sanitation, and Corporate Engineering to solve complex problems and drive plant‑wide improvements.
Own the plant’s reliability strategy, including preventive, predictive, and condition‑based maintenance programs (TPM).
Ensure accurate work order management, asset histories, and spare‑parts control. Use data to identify chronic failures and optimize PM frequencies.
Lead root cause analysis (RCA), FMEA (FMECA, FMEDA), and reliability‑centered maintenance (RCM) to reduce unplanned downtime.
Track MTBF, MTTR, PM compliance, and maintenance cost per unit to drive continuous improvement.
Oversee PLCs, SCADA, production & line control systems, and automated material handling.
Ensure seamless communication between equipment, sensors, and plant‑wide control systems.
Implement secure access, patching, and network segmentation for industrial control systems.
Guide teams through complex automation failures, ensuring rapid recovery and long‑term corrective actions.
Ensure all engineering and maintenance activities meet USDA, FDA, HACCP, GMP, and internal food safety standards.
Lead equipment and facility design reviews to ensure compliance with sanitary design principles.
Maintain documentation, validation records, and maintenance logs to support USDA inspections and third‑party audits.
Manage engineering changes to ensure they do not compromise food safety or regulatory compliance.
Lead multi‑million‑dollar projects from concept to commissioning.
Define project requirements, equipment specifications, and ROI analyses.
Oversee bidding, selection, and performance of engineering firms and contractors.
Ensure equipment validation, operator training, and performance testing meet design intent.
Ensure critical plant utilities including ammonia refrigeration, boilers, compressed air, wastewater, and HVAC are maintained.
Ensure compliance with PSM (Process Safety Management), environmental permits, and OSHA standards.
Identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption and improve sustainability.
Oversee structural, roofing, flooring, and environmental controls to maintain a safe, sanitary environment.
Drive Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, and Kaizen initiatives to improve throughput and reduce waste.
Partner with Operations to analyze downtime, speed losses, and quality losses.
Develop engineering SOPs, PM standards, and troubleshooting guides.
Evaluate emerging technologies (vision systems, robotics, predictive analytics) to enhance plant performance.
Own the engineering and maintenance budgets, including labor, spare parts, contractors, and capital expenditures.
Identify opportunities to reduce maintenance costs without compromising reliability.
Develop 3–5-year capital plans with Central Engineering, equipment replacement strategies, and facility improvement roadmaps.
Champion a strong safety culture across engineering and maintenance teams.
Lead hazard analyses, LOTO program improvements, and machine guarding compliance.
Provide technical leadership during safety incidents, equipment failures, or utility disruptions.