iLocatum · 10 hours ago
Process and Project Management Engineer - Food
New Orleans, LA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
5+ years expiLocatum is seeking a Process & Project Management Engineer who plays a critical role in improving manufacturing performance and leading capital investments. This role focuses on increasing throughput, reducing waste, and driving operational discipline through structured management systems.
Staffing & Recruiting
Responsibilities
Analyze, optimize, and standardize manufacturing processes for cooked foods, sauces, and seasoning blends
Lead Lean initiatives including 5S, SMED, waste elimination, and process simplification to improve throughput and line reliability
Apply structured root-cause analysis to eliminate repeat failures and stabilize operations
Develop, maintain, and update SOPs, work instructions, and technical documentation
Support and reinforce a structured daily management system (tier meetings, KPI boards, accountability routines)
Use data, KPIs, and process trends to drive fact-based decisions and continuous improvement
Lead capital projects up to $5MM total installed cost, from scope development through commissioning
Partner with Finance to build business cases, ROI models, budgets, and cash flow forecasts
Track project spend, forecasts, and variances to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery
Oversee equipment layouts, process flows, utilities, and integration of new technologies
Manage contractors, integrators, and engineering firms to meet safety, quality, cost, and performance expectations
Provide engineering support for batching, blending, thermal processing, packaging, and sanitation operations
Recommend and implement automation, controls, instrumentation, and process monitoring improvements
Ensure compliance with FDA, USDA, FSMA, customer standards, and site food safety programs
Collaborate with Operations, Quality, R&D, Supply Chain, Maintenance, and Finance on trials and readiness activities
Identify cost-reduction opportunities and validate operational and financial savings
Support commissioning, start-up, and technology transfers
Train operators and supervisors on new processes, equipment, and standards
Lead by example with ownership, discipline, and accountability in a transformation-focused facility
Demonstrate an ownership mindset and accountability for results
Communicate clearly across all levels of the organization
Translate engineering decisions into financial and operational impact
Maintain strong organization, planning, and prioritization skills
Thrive in fast-paced, change-driven manufacturing environments
Champion continuous improvement and professional discipline
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, or related Engineering discipline
5+ years of experience in food manufacturing
Proven experience leading capital projects up to $5MM (scope, budget, execution)
Strong Lean manufacturing experience (5S, SMED, waste elimination, root cause analysis)
Solid knowledge of food safety, sanitation, FSMA, FDA/USDA, and sanitary design
Hands-on, plant-floor focused engineer comfortable in fast-paced environments
Strong Excel and KPI-driven data analysis skills
Excellent cross-functional communication and project management capability
Preferred
Experience with thermal processing, batching, blending, or RTE cooked systems
Experience with WMS, MES, or digital manufacturing tools
Background in turnaround or high-change manufacturing environments
Experience training frontline teams or supervisors
Six Sigma Green Belt or higher
Experience with structured operating systems (DMS, SQCDP, MOS, tier-based accountability)
Company
iLocatum
iLocatum is an executive search firm representing job openings in virtually every industry and job function across the country.
11-50 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageCompany data provided by crunchbase