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21-Jan-2026

Process Engineer – Food Manufacturing

Location: Melbourne, Victoria

Package: Competitive base + Super

The Company

My client is a well-established food manufacturing business operating in a technically advanced, high-care production environment. The organisation is recognised for its strong safety culture, quality standards, and commitment to continuous improvement, with ongoing investment in people, processes, and capital projects to support long-term growth.

The Role

My client is seeking an experienced Process Engineer to take ownership of process performance across liquid flavours, aseptic purées, and fruit preparation lines. This is a hands-on, floor-based role focused on process optimisation, stability, and continuous improvement, supporting production teams while ensuring safety, quality, efficiency, and compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and optimise end-to-end processes across liquid flavour blending, emulsification, homogenisation, aseptic purée, and fruit preparation lines
• Drive process capability, robustness, and repeatability
• Lead process validation, scale-up, and industrialisation of new products
• Develop and maintain process flow diagrams, mass and energy balances, and critical control parameters
• Troubleshoot complex process issues including yield loss, fouling, blockages, and texture failures
• Own and drive the site Continuous Improvement roadmap aligned with Lean and OEE
• Lead structured problem solving using A3, 5 Why, Fishbone, and Pareto methodologies
• Identify and deliver improvements in OEE, yield, downtime, labour productivity, and utilities
• Act as technical authority on the production floor and support shift-level problem solving
• Coach operators and team leaders to build process understanding and ownership
• Ensure compliance with HACCP, GMP, FSANZ, customer standards, and QMS
• Support audits, investigations, and risk assessments
• Lead line upgrades, equipment installations, automation projects, and CAPEX justifications
• Work closely with Maintenance teams and OEMs
• Contribute to cost, capacity, and investment planning through a strong understanding of COGS and operational efficiency

About You

• Degree qualified in Chemical, Food, or Process Engineering
• 5–10 years’ experience in food or beverage manufacturing
• Strong background in liquid processing, thermal processing, and aseptic or high-care environments
• Experience with process validation, troubleshooting, and industrialisation
• Comfortable operating in multi-shift manufacturing environments
• Structured thinker with calm authority on the production floor
• People-first leadership style with strong communication skills
• Commercially aware, resilient under pressure, and highly accountable

On Offer

• Competitive base salary + Super
• A key technical leadership role within a respected food manufacturing business
• Strong exposure to operations, continuous improvement, and capital projects
• Opportunity to influence process performance, quality, and long-term operational strategy
• Supportive, collaborative environment focused on safety, excellence, and continuous improvement