Principal Project Engineer - Food

You will step into a Principal Project Engineer role with a leading food manufacturer, taking ownership of complex, high-value capital projects across a fast-paced production environment. You will play a critical role in shaping the site's long-term capability, leading projects from concept through to commissioning while driving performance, reliability, and scalability.

What You Will Do
You will lead end-to-end delivery of capital projects, from feasibility and design through execution, commissioning, and handover.

You will manage multiple concurrent projects, prioritising timelines, budgets, and resources to meet business objectives.

You will partner closely with operations, maintenance, and quality teams to ensure projects align with production needs and deliver measurable performance improvements.

You will oversee external contractors, OEMs, and engineering partners, ensuring projects are delivered safely, on time, and within budget.

You will drive equipment selection, layout design, and process optimisation for high-speed, automated manufacturing and packaging lines.

You will support site strategy through capacity expansion, new product introduction, and continuous improvement initiatives.

You will implement structured project management methodologies, ensuring clear governance, reporting, and risk management.

You will lead commissioning and start-up activities, ensuring smooth integration into live production with minimal disruption.

You will contribute to long-term asset reliability through strong design standards, documentation, and handover to maintenance teams.

What You Will Bring
You will have 8-12+ years of project engineering experience within food, beverage, dairy, or similar manufacturing environments.

You will have a proven track record of delivering capital projects in automated, high-speed production settings.

You will bring strong technical knowledge across processing, packaging, and utilities systems.

You will have experience managing budgets, timelines, and cross-functional stakeholders on complex projects.

You will understand food safety and regulatory requirements, including HACCP, GMP, and industry standards.

You will be confident working with OEMs, EPC partners, and internal teams to drive project success.

You will be a hands-on, solutions-focused leader who can operate both strategically and at site level.