Plant Engineering Manager (Beef)

Position Summary

The Plant Engineering Manager is responsible for leading all engineering, maintenance, and utilities functions within a USDA-inspected beef harvest facility. This role ensures the safe, reliable, and compliant operation of all plant equipment, refrigeration systems, infrastructure, and utilities while supporting production efficiency, food safety, animal welfare, and regulatory compliance. The position plays a key leadership role in continuous improvement, capital planning, and minimizing downtime in a high-volume, cold-environment protein processing operation.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering & Maintenance Leadership

• Lead, develop, and manage the maintenance and engineering team, including supervisors, technicians, and contractors

• Establish preventive and predictive maintenance programs for harvest floor equipment, fabrication lines, refrigeration, boilers, wastewater, and utilities

• Ensure rapid response to equipment failures to minimize production downtime

• Drive root cause analysis and permanent corrective actions for recurring issues

USDA, Food Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure all equipment and facility systems meet USDA, FSIS, OSHA, EPA, and local regulatory requirements

• Support food safety, HACCP, and Sanitation programs through proper equipment design, maintenance, and documentation

• Partner with Quality Assurance and Operations during audits, inspections, and regulatory reviews

• Maintain accurate maintenance records, SOPs, PMs, and change management documentation

Capital Projects & Continuous Improvement

• Lead capital projects including new equipment installations, line upgrades, refrigeration improvements, and infrastructure expansions

• Develop capital budgets, ROI analyses, timelines, and vendor management plans

• Apply Lean Manufacturing, TPM, and continuous improvement principles to reduce waste, improve uptime, and increase throughput

• Support automation, reliability engineering, and modernization initiatives

Utilities & Infrastructure Management

• Oversee critical systems including ammonia refrigeration, compressed air, boilers, water systems, wastewater treatment, and electrical distribution

• Ensure safe operation of high-risk systems and compliance with PSM and mechanical integrity programs

• Manage energy efficiency, sustainability, and cost-reduction initiatives

Safety & Risk Management

• Promote a strong safety culture with emphasis on lockout/tagout, confined space, hot work, and chemical safety

• Ensure compliance with OSHA standards and company safety policies

• Lead incident investigations and corrective action implementation

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Operations, QA, Sanitation, Animal Welfare, and Corporate Engineering teams

• Support production schedules, seasonal volume changes, and labor planning

• Communicate effectively with plant leadership on performance, risks, and improvement opportunities

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or related field) required

• Equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered

Experience

• 7+ years of engineering and/or maintenance leadership experience in a food manufacturing environment

• Strong preference for experience in beef, pork, poultry, or protein processing

• Experience working in a USDA-inspected facility required

• Proven leadership in high-volume, 24/7 manufacturing operations

Technical Skills

• Deep understanding of harvest floor equipment, conveyors, saws, hide pullers, fabrication equipment, and packaging systems

• Experience with ammonia refrigeration systems (IIAR standards preferred)

• Knowledge of CMMS systems, PM programs, and reliability tools

• Familiarity with PLCs, electrical systems, and automation preferred

Leadership & Competencies

• Strong people leadership and team development skills

• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making abilities

• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, cold, and demanding environment

• Strong communication skills with both hourly and salaried teams