Plant Engineering Specialist

Salary:

$115,650 per year +

Company Paid Health Reference:

JOB-7985

Plant Engineering Specialist Manufacturing Engineer needed for a large, packaged goods company located near Augusta, WI. The Plant Engineering Specialist, under the supervision of the Engineering Manager, will lead process improvement and capital projects across the entire site, which include Production, Distribution, Utilities, and Facilities. This is a

DIRECT HIRE

position and Starting pay is $115,650 + annual bonus and company paid insurance. Candidates must be willing to work on site at the plant in Wisconsin. The Plant Engineering Specialist is responsible for driving performance improvements across plant production, packaging/distribution, and wastewater, facility, and grounds operations. This role leads projects from planning through execution, ensuring safe delivery, high-quality outcomes, and alignment with scope, budget, and organizational goals. This position combines strong technical expertise with project management and leadership skills to optimize productivity, reduce costs, and enhance operational efficiency. The Specialist coordinates resources, sets clear priorities, and partners with cross-functional teams to deliver results while supporting the development and performance of team members. Success in this role requires the ability to apply mechanical, chemical, biological, and electrical engineering principles to solve complex, cross-disciplinary challenges. The Specialist also collaborates with internal departments and external partners, while supporting maintenance and reliability efforts to maximize equipment performance, uptime, and long-term asset health. The ideal candidate is a continuous improvement champion with strong interpersonal and facilitation skills. They are self-driven, adaptable, and equally effective working independently or as part of a team. This individual leads with professionalism and confidence, fostering collaboration while contributing to the growth and development of others.

Job Duties/Responsibilities:

Essential Functions 30%

• Continuous Improvement:

  Improve manufacturing and distribution line efficiencies by identifying, analyzing data, planning, and implementing process or equipment changes. 30%

• Maintenance Management:

  Assist in the development of a world class maintenance process at the site. This will include organizational design, training, supervision, and support systems. 30%

• Project Management:

  Responsible for management of projects (capital and non-capital) including justifying, designing, planning, spec review, installation, start-up & troubleshooting. Assure projects meet all safety and quality standards and are done on time, on budget, with minimal production interruption. 5%

• Mentor/Training:

  Provide engineering expertise as a resource and advisor to technicians, operators, management, and process teams internally and across the business. 5%

•

Collaborate/Standardization/Compliance:

Collaborate with internal & external customers/suppliers, community & regulatory resources to assure we are in compliance with different standards (e.g. city, DNR, EPA, OSHA, etc.) and assure where possible standardization across company sites.

Supplemental:

Fiscal Responsibility:

manage major capital projects specific to project budget.

Education:

Bachelor's degree in engineering discipline. (Required)

Experience:

5+ years' experience in food manufacturing is preferred. Experience with design and implementation of electrical, controls, and mechanical hardware / systems.

Skills:

Knowledge of some or all of the following systems would be a plus but not mandatory: Mechanical systems (e.g. conveyor, fluid delivery, thermal processing) Electrical systems (e.g. PLC, WonderWare, sensors, automation) Chemical and Biological Systems (e.g. Micro-biology, Water Treatment, Waste Water) Continuous Improvement Tools (e.g. Statistics, Lean, 6 sigma) Willingness to work in plant environment Preferred PLC experience

CAD / 3D

Modeling experience