Staff Engineer – SME Dryers

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Idaho, +4 more states.

📋 Description

• Act as the enterprise subject matter expert for drying systems, primarily concentrating on spray drying.

• Offer technical leadership for spray dryers, fluid bed dryers/coolers, and related powder handling and air handling systems.

• Lead technical evaluations of significant capital projects that involve drying technologies.

• Function as the ultimate technical authority for engineering decisions related to drying.

• Assist in strategic decisions regarding the design of drying systems, selection of technologies, product capabilities, and system optimization.

• Make high-quality technical choices in ambiguous or high-risk environments.

• Engage in concept development, feasibility assessments, and engineering design reviews; evaluate process designs and vendor proposals.

• Contribute to Operational Excellence initiatives by tackling complex challenges related to performance, product quality, reliability, and capacity.

• Develop and maintain enterprise drying system design and operational standards; ensure compliance and promote adoption throughout the network.

• Create and advocate best practices for food safety and hygienic design, encompassing contamination prevention, cleanability (CIP), allergen control, and regulatory compliance.

• Set and uphold best practices regarding powder hazards and risk management, including dust explosion prevention, zoning/ATEX considerations, ignition source control, and safe powder handling systems.

• Provide technical advice on thermal efficiency, energy usage, sustainability, heat recovery, air system optimization, and emerging low-energy drying technologies.

• Establish best practices for powder quality control, covering particle size distribution, bulk density, moisture, solubility, and thermal stability.

• Monitor and assess emerging drying technologies to evaluate their potential impact on product quality, cost, safety, and sustainability performance.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering (Chemical Engineering preferred).

• Over 10 years of experience in membrane system process engineering and/or capital project development and execution.

• Proven experience in developing technical standards and specifications.

• Demonstrated proficiency in membrane system design, operation, troubleshooting, and optimization.

• Strong knowledge of dairy processing.

• Excellent organizational and communication skills; capable of influencing technical decisions across various facilities and stakeholder groups.

• Experience in facilitating technical reviews and ensuring follow-up actions are taken.

• Background in supporting capital projects.

• Experience in implementing standards and effective change management to ensure compliance.

• Familiarity with whey processing, protein concentration, and dairy ingredient manufacturing.

• Experience with leading membrane system suppliers and OEMs.

• Travel Requirement: 50%.

🏝️ Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Short and Long-term Disability Insurance.

• 401(k) with 7% company contributions.

• 3 weeks of Paid Time Off.

• Paid holidays and 2 floating holidays.

• Paid parental leave.

• Opportunities for advancement.

• Remote work, Monday–Friday.