Reporting to the Chief Supply Chain Officer, the Industrial Engineer will join our team at our high-volume frozen food manufacturing facility. This role is critical in driving plant reliability, process efficiency, and sustainable performance through data-driven problem-solving, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous improvement initiatives.
The ideal candidate brings a passion for operational excellence, a commitment to food and human safety, and a long-term mindset for optimizing the plant’s systems, assets, and workforce.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
Human Safety & Compliance
- Lead with a safety-first mindset, ensuring all employees return home safely every day.
- Implement and enforce OSHA standards, safety training, incident investigations, and corrective actions.
- Promote proactive safety engagement through risk assessments, behavioral observations, and safety committee leadership.
Food Safety & Quality
- Champion food safety protocols and maintain compliance with all FDA, USDA, and SQF/FSMA regulations.
- Partner with Quality Assurance to ensure robust systems for product quality, traceability, sanitation, allergen control, and compliance.
- Drive a “zero defect” mindset across the plant, ensuring product consistency, integrity, and customer trust.
- Lead and support audits, inspections, and internal reviews to ensure continuous improvement in food safety standards.
Reliability & Asset Performance
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective action planning (RCA & CAPA) for equipment failures and chronic performance issues.
- Partner with maintenance and production teams to develop and maintain predictive and preventive maintenance systems.
- Analyze downtime, yield loss, and throughput data to identify trends and prioritize engineering improvements.
- Develop and implement capital improvement projects that improve system reliability and reduce total cost of ownership.
Process Optimization
- Conduct time studies, process mapping, and line balancing to reduce waste and increase throughput.
- Design and improve workflows, layouts, and material handling systems for maximum efficiency and ergonomics.
- Support automation, controls integration, and standardization across equipment and production processes.
Long-Term Plant Performance
- Model scenarios and recommend strategic investments in equipment, layout, or staffing to support future growth.
- Develop KPIs and dashboards to track efficiency, downtime, reliability, and cost per unit.
- Serve as a technical thought partner for operations leadership on capacity planning, productivity goals, and change management.
KEY SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
Required:
- Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
- 3+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment (food preferred)
- Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and root cause analysis tools
- Proven ability to drive long-term improvements in equipment reliability and plant performance
- Proficient in Excel, Power BI, AutoCAD, and CMMS systems
Preferred:
- Experience in high-volume food production, particularly frozen or packaged goods
- Familiarity with SQF, HACCP, USDA, or FDA food safety standards
- Continuous Improvement or Lean Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or higher)
LOCATION
This position is based full time in North Sioux City, South Dakota
