Director of Process Engineering

Director of Process Engineering

Location: St. Louis, MO
Reports to: VP Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Department: Build = Manufacturing + Engineering + Supply Chain

About Deli Star

Deli Star is a privately held, growth-focused food manufacturer with over 38 years of leadership in fresh protein innovation. As pioneers in fresh sous vide and post-pasteurization technologies, we combine the operational rigor of a scaled manufacturer with the mindset of a continuous improvement and innovation-driven organization.

Following a successful operational rebuild, Deli Star is entering its next phase of growth—focused on plant excellence, disciplined scale-up, and engineering-led productivity. This role is central to that mission.

Role Overview

The Director of Process Engineering is a senior operational leader responsible for the design, optimization, and scalability of Deli Star’s manufacturing processes, equipment, and facilities systems.

This role sits at the core of the Build team, partnering closely with Manufacturing, Maintenance, Food Safety & Quality, and Product Development to drive yield, uptime, throughput, and compliant scale-up. The Director of Process Engineering ensures that plant systems, equipment, and processes are engineered for reliability, food safety, and profitable growth.

This role plays a critical part in advancing Deli Star’s fresh sous vide and cook-chill manufacturing platform by ensuring processes are robust, repeatable, and scalable.

Key Responsibilities

1. Process & Equipment Engineering

• Design, implement, and optimize manufacturing processes and production line layouts.

• Lead equipment selection, specification, installation, and commissioning.
• Identify automation, equipment, and process opportunities to increase capacity, yield, and efficiency.

• Ensure all equipment and processes meet customer, regulatory, and food safety requirements.

2. Continuous Improvement & Performance Optimization

• Analyze yields, throughput, downtime, and workflow to identify constraints and improvement opportunities.

• Lead root cause analysis for process failures, equipment issues, and quality deviations.
• Drive Lean, CI, and Operational Excellence initiatives with measurable impact.

• Track, trend, and report key operational metrics monthly.

3. Maintenance & Facilities Leadership

• Lead the Maintenance and Facilities team, including staffing, training, and scheduling.

• Develop and continuously improve preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Oversee maintenance systems (PMs, work orders, spare parts, downtime tracking).

• Manage the maintenance and facilities budget and report performance to senior leadership.

4. Project Management & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Lead capital projects, equipment upgrades, and plant engineering initiatives.

• Manage contractor and equipment vendor relationships.
• Partner with Finance to develop CapEx justifications, ROI models, and cost-impact analysis.

• Collaborate with Manufacturing, FSQA, Product Development, and Supply Chain to support plant performance and scale-up.

5. Process Validation & Scale-Up

• Lead process and equipment qualification and validation (IQ/OQ/PQ).

• Oversee new product and process validation documentation and execution.
• Partner with Product Development to ensure R&D concepts are scalable and plant-ready.

• Ensure all validated processes meet food safety, regulatory, and quality system requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical discipline.

• 10+ years of food manufacturing, process engineering, or plant engineering experience.
• Experience with sous vide or cook-chill manufacturing processes is a strong plus.
• Strong working knowledge of USDA, FDA, HACCP, GFSI/SQF.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, CI, Six Sigma preferred.

• Proficient in CAD, Minitab, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace.

Why Join Deli Star

Engineering-Led Impact
Own the systems, equipment, and processes that define plant performance and scalability.

Clear Growth Path
Opportunity to grow into a VP Manufacturing / Engineering leadership role.

Plant-Centered Leadership
Hands-on ownership of yield, uptime, scale-up, and operational excellence at our flagship facility.

Strategic Visibility
Work directly with executive leadership on capital planning, operational KPIs, and plant strategy.

People-First Culture
Access to leadership development, executive coaching, and a culture focused on accountability and growth.

Competitive Compensation
Market-competitive salary, bonus eligibility, and full benefits including health, 401(k), and wellness programs.

• Comprehensive benefits (medical, dental, vision, etc.) that begin on day one of hire.
• Voluntary benefits including additional life, disability, short term disability, etc.
• 401k & company provided match
• Unlimited PTO
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Company led Leadership & Development Programs
• 10 Company Paid Holidays
• Bonus Incentive Programs (Note, bonuses are subject to the rules governing the program, whereby an award, if any, depends on various factors, including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance.)