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For more than 115 years, Ferrara has created sugar confections that enable moments of sweetness, celebration, and connection for candy lovers of all generations. Today, the company is the #1 sugar confectioner in the United States. Ferrara boasts a passionate team of nearly 9,000 employees creating and delivering hundreds of products sold under 20 popular brands like Brach’s®, NERDS®, SweeTARTS®, Laffy Taffy®, and Trolli® to more than 66 million U.S. households annually and popular Dori snacking products under brands such as Dori, Gomets, Pettiz, and Yogurte 100 in Brazil. Additionally, Jelly Belly, known world-wide for its confections, was acquired in November of 2023.

Sr. Director, Process Engineering

Job Location: Chicago

Bellwood, IL & surrounding Chicago area

Want to make an impact?

Reporting directly to the Vice President of Engineering, the Senior Director Process Engineering is responsible to provide process engineering leadership and technical support to the plants, enabling manufacturing excellence as a competitive advance.

This leader actively collaborates with the R&D and Commercialization teams driving innovation and growth, through active participation and support of new product introductions and renovations.

This role partners with equipment suppliers and technology providers to think “outside the box” to encourage and deploy innovative process solutions and capabilities.

The role is based in Chicago, Illinois and will require 20-30% travel, both domestic and international.

Ways you will make a difference

Lead transformation of Process Engineering to a highly focused and high performing team that achieves superior business results by challenging the status quo, enabling new technologies and building technical capability across the manufacturing organization
Drive optimization of manufacturing processes to enhance efficiency, productivity, quality, safety and sustainability, while unlocking capacity and reducing costs
Actively support Quality and Food safety by collaborating with plants and the Corporate Quality team to resolve customer quality issues related to manufacturing process
Support our Drive to Zero safety goal by securing new process equipment and systems are designed to eliminate any potential people safety hazards; and by participating in risk assessments of current process systems and equipment to remove potential hazards
Support our Zero Emissions strategic objective by incorporating Sustainability into new process design and optimization of existing manufacturing processes
Represent manufacturing by actively collaborating with R&D during in New Product Development in evaluating new process design concepts, design, prototypes and technology validation
Lead industrialization during introduction and start-up of new process technologies and assets, in partnership with R&D, Project Engineering and site operations and maintenance teams
Working with equipment OEM’s and technology providers, lead deployment and industrialization of new process solutions to enable state-of-the-art manufacturing
Empower the Early Management Pillar and methodology through specifying, configuring and optimizing process designs from concept through commissioning, qualification, validation, start-up
Support and enable AM Step 3 though ownership of engineering standards and equipment specification to enable Design for Operability, Maintenance, Reliability, Safety and Quality
Support and provide technical expertise during design process simulations, Factory Acceptance Testing and Site Acceptance Testing
Support M&A activities during due diligence assessment of process systems and technologies
Provide on-call support to manufacturing to resolve manufacturing equipment issues and failures
Enable process technical knowledge transfer and capability of plant operations, maintenance and leadership teams
Lead Continuous Improvement initiatives to improve existing processes for best-in-class future manufacturing for food safety, quality and cost

Skills that will make you successful

Demonstrated ability and success in leading a transformational and organizational evolution
Demonstrated advanced knowledge and strong technical capabilities in state-of-art production machinery and processes, with specific expertise in sugar confectionary technology
Demonstrated knowledge in advanced process controls
Critical thinking skills, use of logic, reasoning, and fact-based calculations to identify alternative solutions, conclusions, and approaches to solve process equipment issues
Proven ability and skills in root cause analysis, FMECA, PDCA or other applicable problem-solving methodologies to identify, assess and resolve problems
Strategic thinking: able to “see around corners”, synthesize insights from disparate data sources, and develop convicted, high-accountability recommendations
Ability to lead change and effectively influence and persuade others to think out-of-the-box
Familiarity with applicable food safety, health and people safety regulations and practices
Strong written and oral communication and listening skills, ability to work effectively with senior leaders – inside and outside of the organization
Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills, and ability to effectively communicate new concepts
Excellent interpersonal skills in a multicultural environment across all levels of employees
Strong leadership and ability to inspire, motivate, and guide colleagues to a common goal and vision
Results oriented and ability to deliver successful outcomes
Strong interpersonal skills: empathy, integrity, enthusiasm, collaborative, driving consensus
Desire and ability to be a supportive and proactive business partner across the organization
Ability to interface cross functionally with other teams (e.g., R&D, Commercialization, Quality, Safety, Manufacturing, Project Engineering, OEM’s)
Financial acumen and ability to effectively manage and control costs

Experiences that will support your success

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, Chemical or Electrical Engineering from an accredited University or equivalent technical school
15-20 years of progressive experience in food manufacturing, preferably in sugar confectionary, or other related food consumer packaged goods
Demonstrated experience in TPM, Lean or Six Sigma continuous improvement methodologies, with specific experience working with continuous improvement tools, such as BDA, 5S, Kaizen, RCA, FMECA
Proven track record to effectively drive results through influence and collaboration

#LI-AG1

Ferrara’s success in industry-leading innovation has been driven by deep consumer insights, strong retailer co-creation and partnerships, and a dedication to diversity of thought, experience, and people. A privately held company, Ferrara has its global headquarters in Chicago and an operational network of more than 27 locations in North America, Brazil, and China that includes manufacturing, distribution, sales, and R&D facilities. Ferrara is a privately held Ferrero related company. Learn more at www.ferrara.com or www.linkedin.com/company/ferrara-.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees, employment decisions and opportunities at Ferrara will be based on merit, qualifications, and abilities, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital or civil union status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, military or veteran status, disability, handicap, genetic information, pregnancy (childbirth or related medical condition), or on any other basis prohibited by law. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including selection, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.