Staff Engineer – Product Engineering

Niagara Bottling•Diamond Bar, CA

4d•$123,642 - $176,189•Onsite

About The Position

As a member of the Product Engineering team, you’ll play a pivotal role in introducing groundbreaking products for both leading brands and private label partners. Your work will directly shape Niagara’s success and growth, driving the launch of new beverages that delight customers and set industry trends. This is your opportunity to lead high-impact projects, collaborate with talented teams, and make a visible difference in a fast-paced, dynamic environment where your ideas and expertise fuel the future of beverage manufacturing. The Staff Product Engineer is a recognized technical and program leader who independently manages complex, multi-site new product development (NPD) programs from concept through commercialization. With a proven record of successful launches, this role blends advanced project leadership, systems-level technical expertise, and commercial acumen to inform strategy and accelerate outcomes. The Staff Product Engineer anticipates cross-functional impacts, influences decisions across technical and business disciplines, and steps into ambiguity to drive results. They model ownership and integrity, streamline processes responsibly, and mentor the team to raise the bar.

Requirements

6 Years – Experience in Field or similar manufacturing environment
6 Years – Experience in Position
6 Years – Experience managing people/projects experience may include a combination of work experience and education

Nice To Haves

10+ Years– Experience in Field or similar manufacturing environment
10+ Years – Experience working in Position
10+ Years – Experience managing people/projects experience may include a combination of work experience and education
Demonstrated mastery in end-to-end commercialization, including site readiness, scale-up, and post-launch stabilization.
Expert-level project/program management; able to lead through influence across functions and external partners.
Proficiency with PM and data tools (e.g., MS Project/Planner, Excel/Power BI, PLM/ERP); experience creating custom tools/dashboards.
Strong communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills; executive-ready presence.
Program Leadership & Delivery at Scale: Consistently delivers complex programs on-time, on-budget, and to spec across multiple sites or partners.
Systems Thinking & Integration: Connects product design, processing technology, packaging, quality, and supply chain into a coherent, optimized plan.
Decision Quality & Critical Thinking: Makes fast, sound decisions with imperfect data; documents rationale and adjusts as new data emerges.
Strategic Influence: Shapes technical and commercial strategies through credibility and respectful influence, not just authority.
Technical Depth: Strong in beverage processing, P&IDs, packaging line design/operations, and their interactions with product characteristics and quality systems.
Business Acumen: Translates technical choices into P&L impact (COGS, capex, throughput, yield, OEE, labor, scrap).
Change Leadership: Improves processes, eliminates waste, and streamlines work ethically and responsibly.
Mentorship & Ownership: Sets the standard for professionalism, integrity, and career ownership; invests in developing others.
Master's Degree in Engineering, Product Design, Manufacturing or other related field
Project Management Professional (PMP)

Responsibilities

Independently lead multiple high-impact programs, owning scope, capital plans, timelines, and cross-functional alignment; set execution standards and hold teams accountable.
Use deep experience across Product, Process, and Packaging to shape program strategy and change outcomes; frame trade-offs for senior leaders with clear technical and commercial implications.
Partner with Finance, Commercial, and Procurement to evaluate proposals (COGS, capex, yields, run rates, MOQs/lead times). Quickly advise what’s feasible, what isn’t, and the business impact.
Understand how product characteristics, processing technologies (e.g., beverage processing, thermal/non-thermal, CIP/SIP), and packaging lines (filling, capping, labeling, secondary/tertiary) interact; design plans that optimize end-to-end flow, quality, and cost.
Lead rigorous technical reviews and readiness assessments across the full manufacturing process; perform site assessments to identify gaps (capacity, capability, utilities, tooling, quality systems) and co-create mitigation plans.
Translate development science and quality guidelines into practical manufacturing controls (CTQs, process windows, sampling/inspection, SPC), explaining “why it matters” to drive adoption and compliance.
Drive structured risk management (FMEA-style thinking, decision logs), escalate early with options and recommendations, and make tough calls for the good of the business.
Build and standardize tools, templates, and dashboards that improve forecasting, capacity planning, and issue resolution; share broadly and train teams.
Cultivate supplier partnerships, qualify alternates, and creatively compress lead times while transparently communicating risk, contingencies, and change control.
Refine Stage-Gate/Governance, propose policy and KPI updates, and streamline workflows without compromising ethics, safety, or quality.
Coach Senior/Level II/Level I engineers in program leadership, technical depth, commercialization excellence, and professional ownership; model respectful influence and integrity.
Provide succinct, insight-rich updates to senior leaders; convert technical complexity into clear choices with quantified impact.

Benefits

Paid Time Off for holidays, sick time, and vacation time
Paid parental and caregiver leaves
Medical, including virtual care options
Dental
Vision
401(k) with company match
Health Savings Account with company match
Flexible Spending Accounts
Expanded mental wellbeing benefits including free counseling sessions for all team members and household family members
Family Building Benefits including enhanced fertility benefits for IVF and fertility preservation plus adoption, surrogacy, and Doula reimbursements
Income protection including Life and AD&D, short and long-term disability, critical illness and an accident plan
Special discount programs including pet plans, pre-paid legal services, identity theft, car rental, airport parking, etc.
Tuition reimbursement, college savings plan and scholarship opportunities