Director of Process Engineering
Listed on 2026-02-16
-
Engineering
Manufacturing Engineer, Process Engineer -
Manufacturing / Production
Manufacturing Engineer
Overview
Location:
St. Louis, MO
Reports to:
VP Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Department:
Build = Manufacturing + Engineering + Supply Chain
Director of Process Engineering
Location:
St. Louis, MO
Reports to:
VP Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Department:
Build = Manufacturing + Engineering + Supply Chain
About Deli Star
Deli Star is a privately held, growth-focused food manufacturer with over 38 years of leadership in fresh protein innovation. As pioneers in fresh sous vide and post-pasteurization technologies, we combine the operational rigor of a scaled manufacturer with the mindset of a continuous improvement and innovation-driven organization.
Following a successful operational rebuild, Deli Star is entering its next phase of growth—focused on plant excellence, disciplined scale-up, and engineering-led productivity. This role is central to that mission.
Role OverviewThe Director of Process Engineering is a senior operational leader responsible for the design, optimization, and scalability of Deli Star’s manufacturing processes, equipment, and facilities systems.
This role sits at the core of the Build team, partnering closely with Manufacturing, Maintenance, Food Safety & Quality, and Product Development to drive yield, uptime, throughput, and compliant scale-up. The Director of Process Engineering ensures that plant systems, equipment, and processes are engineered for reliability, food safety, and profitable growth.
This role plays a critical part in advancing Deli Star’s fresh sous vide and cook-chill manufacturing platform by ensuring processes are robust, repeatable, and scalable.
Key Responsibilities- Design, implement, and optimize manufacturing processes and production line layouts.
- Lead equipment selection, specification, installation, and commissioning.
- Identify automation, equipment, and process opportunities to increase capacity, yield, and efficiency.
- Ensure all equipment and processes meet customer, regulatory, and food safety requirements.
- Analyze yields, throughput, downtime, and workflow to identify constraints and improvement opportunities.
- Lead root cause analysis for process failures, equipment issues, and quality deviations.
- Drive Lean, CI, and Operational Excellence initiatives with measurable impact.
- Track, trend, and report key operational metrics monthly.
- Lead the Maintenance and Facilities team, including staffing, training, and scheduling.
- Develop and continuously improve preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
- Oversee maintenance systems (PMs, work orders, spare parts, downtime tracking).
- Manage the maintenance and facilities budget and report performance to senior leadership.
- Lead capital projects, equipment upgrades, and plant engineering initiatives.
- Manage contractor and equipment vendor relationships.
- Partner with Finance to develop Cap Ex justifications, ROI models, and cost-impact analysis.
- Collaborate with Manufacturing, FSQA, Product Development, and Supply Chain to support plant performance and scale-up.
- Lead process and equipment qualification and validation (IQ/OQ/PQ).
- Oversee new product and process validation documentation and execution.
- Partner with Product Development to ensure R&D concepts are scalable and plant-ready.
- Ensure all validated processes meet food safety, regulatory, and quality system requirements.
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical discipline.
- 10+ years of food manufacturing, process engineering, or plant engineering experience.
- Experience with sous vide or cook-chill manufacturing processes is a strong plus.
- Strong working knowledge of USDA, FDA, HACCP, GFSI/SQF.
- Experience with Lean Manufacturing, CI, Six Sigma preferred.
- Proficient in CAD, Minitab, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace.
Engineering-Led Impact:
Own the systems, equipment, and processes that define plant performance and scalability.
Clear Growth Path:
Opportunity to grow into a VP Manufacturing / Engineering leadership role.
Plant-Centered Leadership:
Hands-on…
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