Senior Project Manager, Engineering

POSITION SUMMARY

Senior Project Manager, Engineering leads the Engineering function for the company’s food‑grade CPG and nut harvesting/processing facilities, with responsibility for all capital projects, capital project management, managing contractors, and supporting facility packaging and processing equipment and facility utility infrastructure. This dynamic role works cross‑functionally across the organization and indirectly supports maintenance reliability programs, maintenance strategy, and ensuring projects support human safety, production efficiency, quality, and regulatory compliance.

The role partners closely with Operations, Quality, Safety, Supply Chain, and other functions to deliver throughput, cost, and continuous improvement objectives in large‑scale agricultural operations and a high‑speed manufacturing environment. The role reports directly to the Senior Director Manufacturing.

• Full responsibility to manage the annual capital plan from plan approvals, oversight of all projects, and leading larger capital engineering projects.
• Ensures project management is run effectively delivering projects on time, at or below cost, and succeeding in project deliverables while meeting overall organizational expectations.
• Works closely with contractors and OEMs on new technologies, improved equipment performance, and drives overall equipment and manufacturing/processing engineering improvements.
• Supports and coaches functions as a technical resource for Operations, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and all Agricultural Operations.
• Implements and optimizes processing and packaging lines for husking, drying, cracking, sorting, roasting, seasoning, enrobing, panning, packing, and other associated CPG operations, ensuring OEE and yield targets.
• Supports efficient use of plant utilities and infrastructure (steam, compressed air, refrigeration, water/wastewater, power) with focus on energy efficiency and Hawaii‑specific cost/availability constraints in collaboration with Plant Manager and EHS.
• Leads capital planning and execution (scoping, justification, vendor selection, installation, commissioning) for new equipment, expansions, and facility upgrades.
• Tracks and manages cash flow on capital projects working with Accounting and Finance along with other key stakeholders.
• Leads with both a Value Engineering mindset and leverages lean manufacturing and continuous improvement principles (5S, value stream mapping, SMED, line balancing, waste reduction) to improve line design throughput and reduce cost per pound.
• Ensures engineering projects comply with OSHA, FDA/FSMA, USDA (if applicable), environmental regulations, and local/state of Hawaii codes and permitting.
• Partners with Quality and Food Safety to ensure hygienic equipment, allergen control, sanitation‑friendly layouts, and supports root‑cause analysis for customer or regulatory issues.
• Maintains plant layouts, drawings, and documentation; standardizes work instructions and change control for process and equipment changes.
• Possesses a range of analytical and mechanical skills with a high tolerance for uncertainty in dynamic conditions.
• Develops and manages departmental budget (labor, MRO, capital) and reports performance via KPIs (downtime, OEE, MTBF, maintenance cost, energy use).
• Prepares monthly reports for the business, including productivity metrics and budget costs, partnering with finance and accounting.
• Fulfills any additional duties or projects assigned, demonstrating flexibility and an initiative‑taking approach to meeting organizational needs.
• Adheres to Company policies and procedures in all duties, reflecting Company values in behavioral conduct both on‑site and off.

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or related Engineering field; advanced degree or PE license preferred but not required.
• 5+ years of project management in manufacturing/operations; food, CPG, or nut/agribusiness processing experience strongly preferred.
• Project Management certification preferred but not required.
• Strong knowledge of lean/continuous improvement tools and reliability‑centered maintenance practices.
• Familiarity…