Food Process Engineering Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Please note: We are specifically seeking candidates with industrial/process manufacturing engineering experience (ideally food manufacturing) - not software, consumer product, or general mechanical engineering backgrounds.

We are seeking a highly experienced manufacturing/process engineering professional to support complex CapEx and infrastructure projects within food manufacturing and process production environments on a part-time/contract basis (~10-20 hours/week for ~6 months, with potential to extend).

This is not a general engineering role. Ideal candidates will have substantial experience in food process manufacturing, chemical/process engineering, or similarly complex regulated manufacturing environments, including facility infrastructure, process equipment integration, utilities, and production line design.

Strong preference for candidates with hands-on experience in food, beverage, dairy, protein, ingredient, fermentation, or other sanitary/process manufacturing industries.

This contract requires travel up to 25% domestically and Canada. Ideally individual would be based in Bay Area/available for some onsite in-person meetings at our Headquarters in Emeryville, CA but it is not required.

Scope of Services

External Engineering Firm Sourcing & Evaluation

• Identify, evaluate, and recommend qualified external engineering firms capable of supporting capital expenditure and manufacturing infrastructure projects.
• Solicit proposals from selected firms for defined engineering scopes.
• Provide comparative analysis of proposals, including technical approach, assumptions, cost structure, and schedule.

Technical Oversight & Value Engineering

• Serve as the primary technical liaison between the company and selected external engineering firms.
• Review and challenge engineering assumptions, cost estimates, and technical approaches to ensure designs represent cost-effective and value-engineered solutions.
• Provide technical input on engineering feasibility, equipment integration, and manufacturing requirements.

Project Management & Coordination

• Track engineering deliverables against agreed scope, milestones, and schedule.
• Maintain organized documentation of engineering plans, deliverables, and technical decisions.
• Coordinate cross-functional technical reviews and ensure incorporation of stakeholder feedback.
• Identify risks, constraints, and potential delays early, and escalate appropriately with recommended mitigation strategies.

Facility Integration & Contractor Coordination

• Coordinate with general contractors, Facilities Manager, and internal teams to support pilot plant facility integration, including ventilation connections, air handling systems, water supply, and drainage connections.
• Ensure engineering plans align with facility capabilities and construction timelines.

Site Evaluation & Engineering Support

• Travel to manufacturing or partner facilities as needed to evaluate sites, support engineering reviews, coordinate with site engineering teams, and assess feasibility of proposed engineering solutions.

Deliverables

• Evaluation and recommendation of external engineering firms for project scopes.
• Comparative proposal analysis and engineering vendor selection recommendations.
• Project tracking documentation outlining engineering scope, milestones, risks, and status updates.
• Technical review feedback and value-engineering recommendations for proposed designs.
• Coordination of engineering reviews and documentation of key technical decisions.

Preferred Candidate Profile

• 10+ years of engineering experience supporting industrial manufacturing, process manufacturing, or food production environments.
• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related engineering discipline strongly preferred.
• Significant experience supporting CapEx, facility expansion, utilities, infrastructure, and manufacturing process projects within food manufacturing or similarly regulated process industries.
• Deep familiarity with food processing systems, sanitary process design, CIP/COP systems, piping, utilities, production line integration, and food-grade manufacturing environments.
• Experience working within active manufacturing facilities where uptime, operational continuity, food safety, and production constraints must be carefully managed.
• Proven ability to oversee and critically evaluate external engineering firms, contractors, equipment vendors, and technical proposals.
• Strong understanding of value engineering, constructability, process flow optimization, equipment integration, and manufacturing feasibility.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional stakeholders including operations, maintenance, quality, food safety, R&D, and external contractors.
• Comfortable operating in lean, fast-paced environments with evolving priorities, ambiguity, and high ownership expectations.