Staff Engineer - SME Dryers

Agropur•Eden Prairie, MN

6d•Remote

About The Position

We are looking for a Staff Engineer - SME Dryers to join Agropur. Drying Systems serves as the enterprise technical authority for industrial drying technologies across the manufacturing network, with primary expertise in spray drying and supporting knowledge in other drying methods (e.g., fluid bed, drum, belt, and freeze drying). This role provides deep subject matter expertise in the design, operation, optimization, troubleshooting, and strategic application of drying systems supporting food and dairy processing operations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering (ChE preferred)
10+ years experience in membrane system process engineering and/or capital project development/execution
Experience developing technical standards and specifications
Demonstrated expertise in membrane system design, operation, troubleshooting and optimization
Strong understanding of dairy processing
Strong organizational and communication skills; ability to influence technical decisions across multiple facilities and stakeholder groups
Experience facilitating technical reviews and driving follow-up actions
Experience supporting capital projects
Experience implementing standards and effective change management to ensure adoption
Experience with whey processing, protein concentration, and dairy ingredient manufacturing
Experience working with leading membrane system suppliers and OEMs.

Responsibilities

Serve as the enterprise subject matter expert for drying systems, with primary focus on spray drying
Provide technical leadership for spray dryers, fluid bed dryers/coolers, and associated powder handling and air handling systems
Lead technical reviews of major capital projects involving drying technologies
Serve as the final technical authority for drying-related engineering decisions
Support strategic decisions regarding drying system design, technology selection, product capability, and system optimization
Make high-quality technical decisions in ambiguous or high-risk situations (e.g., fouling, powder quality variation, thermal degradation, capacity limitations)
Participate in concept development, feasibility studies, and engineering design reviews; review process designs and vendor proposals for drying systems
Support Operational Excellence initiatives by addressing complex performance, product quality, reliability, and capacity challenges; identify optimization opportunities (e.g., yield improvement, energy efficiency, uptime, product consistency)
Build and maintain enterprise drying system design and operating standards; ensure compliance in partnership with Engineering Governance and drive adoption across the network
Establish and promote best practices for food safety and hygienic design, including prevention of contamination, cleanability (CIP), allergen control, and compliance with regulatory and internal quality standards
Establish and maintain best practices related to powder hazards and risk mitigation, including dust explosion prevention, zoning/ATEX considerations, ignition source control, and safe powder handling systems
Provide technical guidance on thermal efficiency, energy consumption, and sustainability considerations, including heat recovery, air system optimization, and evaluation of emerging low-energy drying technologies
Establish best practices for powder quality control, including particle size distribution, bulk density, moisture, solubility, and thermal stability
Monitor and evaluate emerging drying technologies and assess their potential to unlock new product platforms or improve cost, quality, safety, and sustainability performance