We make pet food taste great! For over 30 years, AFB International has been providing pet food solutions that enrich the lives of pets and their people.  Our palatants are specially designed to make pet foods, treats and supplements taste better, ensuring pets receive the vital nutrients they need. We know wagging tails, licking whiskers and empty bowls equal happy pets and happy pet parents. Join AFB and you'll be a part of a team of highly skilled professionals that provide the greatest contribution to our success as an organization. Our team members are diverse, creative, passionate experts who are genuinely dedicated to our mission, our customers, and the pets we serve worldwide. ​

Job Description

Summary A Manufacturing Engineer I designs, oversees, assesses, and implements processes that efficiently make products or provide services. The goal of a Manufacturing Engineer is to create systems that make the best use of workers, machines, materials, information, and energy. They review production schedules, design specifications, workflows, and other information to understand and adjust their company’s processes to make them more efficient. Manufacturing Engineers coach, enable and engage those closest to the work to get to root cause and systemically drive out loss via permanent countermeasures and standards. The Manufacturing Engineer will own all the standards and documentation in their zone.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

• Safety

  • Work with site management team to walk their zone looking for at risk behaviors and at risk conditions at the plant.

  • Assist EHS leader and Engineering on OSHA Safety Compliance Audit items.

  • Find and permanently fix defects in zone of responsibility.

  • Own Safety Map for zone of responsibility.

• Quality

  • Utilize zone expertise to create a variation reduction target for each product.

  • Collect and analyze production/process data & recommend improvements to ensure product consistency across every run.

  • Work with Commercialization leader to implement equipment to minimize process variation (e.g., dehumidification)

  • Create a process to validate new technologies that will feed the Management of Change process as well as our Engineering Standards.

  • Own, develop and improve Work Instructions, Standard Operating Procedures and Clean Inspect and Lubricate standards for zone.

• Reliability

  • Utilize Problem Solving skills coupled with paretoing losses to understand chronic vs. systemic issues and work with operators and engineering to implement temporary and permanent countermeasures.

  • Execute a robust tech transfer process to document learnings.

  • Utilize technology (Aveeva/MES) to implement continuous monitoring of process parameters.

  • Achieve 3% Year-Over-Year productivity improvement.

  • Identify potential process improvements (e.g., Single Minute Exchange of Die)

  • Own, identify, implement, and improve centerlines in zone of responsibility.

  • Assist Engineering and give feedback on equipment performance improvements in safety, quality and reliability as well as the controls roadmap.

  • Own Problem Solving for On Time Delivery, EBOS Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Action/Preventive action.

  • Create a process to validate new technologies.

Supervisory Responsibilities                                                           

This position does not have direct supervisory responsibilities. However, the incumbent will be required to effectively address and coach individuals who do not comply with site standards. Additionally, they should be adept at providing training to ensure that individuals adhere to site standards in areas of safety, quality, and controls.

Qualifications

• Required:

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Chemical, and Electrical Engineering from four-year ABET accredited college or university

  • 3-5 years experience

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual should have the following knowledge, skills and abilities:

• Knowledge of safety practices applicable to flavors production and ability to follow designated safety procedures.

• Ability to maintain accurate records relating to jobs as they are planned performed and completed. Skill to use electronic means for recording data.

• Excellent interpersonal communication skills to interact effectively with peers, co-workers, supervisors, and vendors as required.

• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, and governmental regulations.  Ability to effectively present information to team members, top management, and/or public groups.

• Ability to read drawings and interpret line diagrams, equipment layout drawings, and electrical prints.

• Knowledge and understanding of plc ladder logic programming and interpreting line diagrams and electrical schematics is beneficial.

• Proficient skill level in MS Office Applications such as Word and Excel

• Knowledge of algebraic and calculus mathematical concepts, theory, and application

• Knowledge of food product manufacturing equipment including but not limited to meat grinders, extrusion machines, and dry blend equipment is highly desired. Previous experience with food safety programs, including HACCP and cGMPs is beneficial.

• The ability to convey technical requirements through the use of AutoCAD or similar software to generate drawings, process flow diagrams as well as process and instrumentation drawings.

AFB International is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, or veteran status.