Director of Engineering

Overview

Seeking a forward-thinking Director of Engineering to lead manufacturing engineering excellence at the cutting edge of plant-based food and beverage production. Overseeing, maintenance and engineering groups, this role is responsible for ensuring world-class performance across our production processes – driving both operational reliability and efficiency. The ideal candidate is a hands-on, strategic leader with deep experience in food processing who thrives in a fast-paced, innovative environment.

Responsibilities

Operational & Process Excellence

• Ensure that all manufacturing processes consistently deliver the highest product quality and operate at peak efficiency
• Partner with the Sr. Production Manager to support and enable complex food production operations — including ingredient handling, reconstitution/mixing, liquid thermal heat processing, and in-process quality controls, engineering systems, clean-in-place systems, etc.
• Lead the design, optimization, and enhancement of these manufacturing systems and processes to ensure they meet performance, quality, and safety standards
• Develop and update engineering documentation and SOPs to reflect best practices and ensure processes are scalable and repeatable

Capital & Strategic Planning

• Develop annual capital investment upgrade strategies aligned with risk, capacity, innovation, and other needs as may be determined
• Build and manage 3-5 year capital plan based on risks and business needs
• Ensure capital projects are executed flawlessly

Troubleshooting & Issue Resolution

• Provide hands-on leadership in identifying, diagnosing, and resolving process-related issues – with an emphasis on Safety, Quality, and compliance
• Develop your department leadership to provide the same hands-on support for their frontline contributors
• Act as a first responder to critical plant incidents affecting product integrity or production continuity
• Proactively communicating the issues and resolution to those issues

Data-Driven Continuous improvement

• Implement process capability enhancements through data logging, analytics, and trend analysis
• Proactively drive improvements through performance monitoring and root cause analysis

Utilities Oversight

• Define, assess, and manage plant utility requirements, support preventative maintenance procedures and resolve utility-related issues
• Ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal requirements for our utilities, building codes, wastewater, drinking water, air quality, etc.

Engineering Project Leadership

• Lead the design and execution of any new manufacturing or utility installations – from definition through successful implementation
• Lead cross-functional engineering teams to deliver complex projects on time, on budget, and satisfy technical requirements of the business
• Collaborate with product development to embed quality assurance and operational efficiency into product design, qualification and commercialization
• Other duties may also be assigned

Qualifications

Minimum

• 10 - 15 years of hands-on experience in food processing and manufacturing, ideally with hands-on working knowledge of aseptic beverage manufacturing and thermal processing
• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering or other engineering discipline (Food Technology preferred)
• Strong knowledge of CIP/sanitary design and food equipment standards
• Experience managing Ammonia Chiller Systems
• Working knowledge and experience reading/understanding PLC computer controls
• Demonstrated passion for “world class” food manufacturing and innovation in process design
• imagination for creating and implementing new, unique and exciting food related processes
• Strong and decisive leadership, especially in managing troubleshooting teams, tackling multiple fast-moving projects
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional engineering and troubleshooting teams
• Proven ability to manage engineering budgets and timelines effectively

Preferred

• Experience with beverage sterilization equipment
• Experience with microbiological analysis and testing methods
• Extensive knowledge of and experience with PLC computer controls

The expected salary range for this position is between $180,000 - $190,000 per year based on a full-time schedule. Location, confirmed job-related skills and experience will be considered in setting the actual salary. As a full-time employee, you will be eligible to enroll in Califia’s employee benefits program. You may also be eligible to participate in the company’s bonus program which may be subject to change.

The Company is committed to providing equal opportunity for employees and applicants in all aspects of the employment relationship, without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law.