Job Description:
Principal Project Engineer
The Principal Project Engineer will be a project manager for the larger and more complex projects executed by the Processing or Packaging team. This position will be responsible for all aspects of planning and executing projects from ideation to project closure. Depending on business needs you will potentially lead projects in process areas, buildings and infrastructure, general manufacturing processes, and packaging systems. Own the overall leadership of major capital projects through the Mars Snacking Engineering Execution Standard for executional excellence in project delivery. These roles will either be based out of Waco, TX or Jackson, TN, or require significant travel to all our major sites across North America.
What are we looking for?
Bachelor of Science in engineering; an advanced degree in engineering, MBA or PMP certification considered a plus.
Minimum of 10 years of experience in a comparable technical position - food, beverage, pharmaceutical or related industry preferable.
In-Depth understanding of project management principles and general knowledge of engineering disciplines: Building, Infrastructure, Civil, Utilities, Process, Packaging, Electrical and Construction.
In-depth understanding of functional engineering area of expertise – process or packaging manufacturing in food or related industry.
Team skills - high performance team experience.
Excellent communication, listening and influencing skills.
Good innovation management.
Thrives working in ambiguous situations.
Ability to travel approximately 50% or more requirement depending on project demands.
What will your key responsibilities be?
Develop and execute projects of $50M+ that meet business objectives, while ensuring compliance with safety, quality, security and environmental standards.
Member of the Engineering Leadership team, focused on upskilling the process engineering team in various process technologies and project management execution.
Develop standards for equipment, systems and engineering processes and collaborate with other senior engineers and global technical teams.
Work with R&D and global technical teams to support the development of technology platforms for providing a sustained technical advantage.
Participate in staffing and management strategy for engineering associates that may be distributed across multiple Mars Snacking sites.
What can you expect from Mars?
Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
A strong focus on learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.
Skills Required
- Bachelor of Science in Engineering
- Advanced degree in engineering or MBA
- PMP certification
- Minimum of 10 years experience in a comparable technical position (food, beverage, pharmaceutical or related industry preferred)
- In-depth understanding of project management principles and general knowledge of engineering disciplines: Building, Infrastructure, Civil, Utilities, Process, Packaging, Electrical and Construction
- In-depth understanding of process or packaging manufacturing in food or related industry
- High-performance team experience / strong team skills
- Excellent communication, listening and influencing skills
- Innovation management experience
- Ability to thrive working in ambiguous situations
- Ability to travel approximately 50% or more
Mars Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mars and has not been reviewed or approved by Mars.
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Healthcare Strength — The benefits package is positioned as comprehensive, with broad medical coverage and additional protections like life insurance and short- and long-term disability. Mental health support is emphasized, including free mental health services and wellbeing programming under initiatives such as Mars Be Well.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is highlighted as market-leading in the U.S., with an example of 18 weeks fully paid for both parents. Additional family-related leave types such as sick time for caregiving and bereavement leave are also described as part of the overall package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings are described as strong, including 401(k) matching (with a 6% match cited) and pension plans in some cases. The broader package also references retirement savings options and contributions aligned to local market practice, supporting long-term financial security.
Mars Insights
What We Do
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, ORBIT®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, SKITTLES®, WHISKAS®, COCOAVIA®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world’s pets through our pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, Pet Partners™, and VCA™. We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive.
