Your Opportunity as a Senior Process Engineer
Join one of Smucker's fastest-growing businesses and help shape the future of the Uncrustables® brand. As a Senior Process Engineer, you'll lead manufacturing improvements across Sandwich Making and Bakery Operations, drive continuous improvement initiatives, develop engineering talent, and deliver projects that improve safety, quality, productivity, and plant performance.
This is a highly visible leadership role with opportunities to influence strategy, mentor engineers, and make a lasting impact on a growing operation.
Location: McCalla, AL | Uncrustables® Manufacturing
In This Role You Will:
Lead Continuous Improvement
- Drive safety, quality, productivity, and reliability improvements across manufacturing operations.
- Analyze performance gaps and lead root cause investigations using Operations Excellence tools.
- Develop, execute, and track site and department Master Plan initiatives.
- Lead troubleshooting efforts and implement sustainable process improvements.
Deliver Technical & Business Results
- Partner with Operations, Engineering, and R&D to evaluate and implement new products, processes, and technologies.
- Coordinate and lead plant trials, process validations, and startup activities.
- Identify and execute cost savings, efficiency, and capacity improvement projects.
- Lead capital projects from concept through startup, including funding requests and project execution.
- Serve as a subject matter expert for critical manufacturing systems and processes.
Develop People & Build Capability
- Lead onboarding and mentoring for Process Engineers, Interns, and Co-Ops.
- Coach engineers through performance management, career development, and skill growth.
- Build technical capability within operations teams and foster a high-performance culture.
- Provide leadership across cross-functional teams to deliver key business objectives.
What we are looking For:
Minimum Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, or related Engineering discipline.
- Manufacturing experience required; food or consumer packaged goods experience preferred.
- 3+ years of project management and/or capital project experience.
- Demonstrated success leading continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives.
Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:
- Experience with food processing, packaging, or ingredient technologies.
- Strong problem-solving and root cause analysis capabilities.
- Ability to lead projects and influence teams across multiple functions.
- Excellent communication, coaching, and relationship-building skills.
- Familiarity with capital project delivery and manufacturing startup activities.
- Ability to support occasional off-shift or weekend activities.
- Willingness to travel up to 30% for vendor and Smucker site visits.
Why Uncrustables®?
- Make a direct impact at one of Smucker's newest and fastest-growing manufacturing facilities.
- Lead high-visibility projects that drive business growth.
- Work with advanced manufacturing technology and automation.
- Accelerate your career through leadership development and technical growth opportunities.
- Join a collaborative culture focused on innovation, continuous improvement, and employee development.
Help bring America's favorite frozen sandwich to life while building a rewarding career with The J.M. Smucker Company.
The Right Place for You
We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.
Stay connected with us on LinkedIn®
We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, or related Engineering discipline
- Manufacturing experience
- 3+ years of project management and/or capital project experience
- Demonstrated success leading continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives
- Food or consumer packaged goods experience
- Experience with food processing, packaging, or ingredient technologies
- Strong problem-solving and root cause analysis capabilities
- Ability to lead projects and influence cross-functional teams
- Excellent communication, coaching, and relationship-building skills
- Familiarity with capital project delivery and manufacturing startup activities
- Ability to support occasional off-shift or weekend activities
- Willingness to travel up to 30% for vendor and company site visits
The J.M. Smucker Co. Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about The J.M. Smucker Co. and has not been reviewed or approved by The J.M. Smucker Co..
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs are described as strong, with a company 401(k) match, immediate vesting in some materials, and access to an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. These elements contribute to a favorable view of total compensation value.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave for all parents and on-site childcare at key locations signal a family-forward approach. Additional supports such as adoption assistance and pet-related leave reinforce this emphasis.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off, seasonal compressed schedules, and flexibility options are highlighted across materials. The ability to start with substantial PTO and buy additional time enhances perceived time-off breadth.
The J.M. Smucker Co. Insights
What We Do
Each generation of consumers leaves their mark on culture by establishing new expectations for food and the companies that make it. At The J.M. Smucker Co., it is our privilege to be at the heart of this dynamic with a portfolio that appeals to each generation of people and pets with products found in 90 percent of U.S. homes and countless restaurants. This includes a mix of iconic brands consumers have always loved such as Folgers®, Jif® and Milk-Bone® and new favorites like Café Bustelo®, Smucker’s® Uncrustables® and Rachael Ray® Nutrish®. By continuing to immerse ourselves in consumer and pet parent preferences for food, how it’s purchased and how the companies that make it should operate, we will maintain the important role we play in their lives. This will allow us to continue growing our business and the positive impact we have on all of those who count on us.
