Engineer

Job Location: Hershey, PA 


Summary: 

Reporting to the Staff Engineer in the Product Commercialization group and working at the Technical Center in Hershey, PA, the Process Engineer with moderate direction participates in the development, execution, and implementation of low to medium complexity projects.  They will be expected to develop the ability to demonstrate and apply technical knowledge and expertise while sharing technical expertise within their functional area and cross functionally within the organization.   A successful candidate is expected to develop problem solving skills and the capability to communicate technical subject matter written and verbally cross functionally and with their manager.  They will be expected to develop the capability to influence cross functional team members and build personal networks to provide engineering solutions.

Specific Role Focus Area:

• Leveraging knowledge and experience to drive product innovation and growth for the US market as a priority, but also supporting projects in International markets as required
• Developing new products and processes
• Supporting project design and methodology
• Problem solving through application of knowledge and creative thinking
• Ensuring project execution and technology transfer
• Observing, recording, and evaluating experimental data to draw conclusions
• Preparing project reports and presentations
• Providing instruction to Technical Support employees

This role will interact and partner with:

• Technical and professional employees within Global R&D and Tech Center Operations
• Plant Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, and Quality Assurance
• Other Corporate Engineering functions (Project Management, Electrical, Packaging, Civil, Utilities)
• Quality and Regulatory Compliance
• Procurement
• Marketing
• Operations Business Development
• Manufacturing Alliances
• External Vendors

Travel Expectations:

• Travel Required

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

Capital Project Development:

• Provide process engineering information for the development of capital projects, including process design and equipment selection, creation of P&ID’s, and process turnover document to the regional engineers.  
• Support capital projects, which could potentially include the preparation of equipment and construction bid specifications, acquisition, installation, commissioning, and start-up of process equipment.  
• Provide information and documentation to manufacturing that is critical for the day-to-day operations and troubleshooting of systems.
  

Process Development:

• Work with multifunctional teams in the development of new products and processes (from bench top to production scale) that are suitable for implementation in a manufacturing facility within the commercialization timeline.
• Identify key unit operations and understand the impact of key processing parameters in the conversion of raw ingredient and in-process material to finished product.  
• Work closely with product development scientists and quality personnel to understand ingredient functionality, in-process conversions, and finished product specifications.
• With guidance, design and setup pilot plant systems/tests to mimic the “future” manufacturing system.  During testing, collect critical information and data to help identify and size key unit operations. 
• Create pilot plant and manufacturing PFD’s and potentially preliminary P&ID’s.
• Plan and execute plant trials to validate manufacturing feasibility, identify process risks, determine output rates, and confirm rework/waste assumptions.
• Provide capital cost estimates and engineering review documents for the various stages of the Commercial and Capital approval gate processes.
• Participate in co-manufacturing evaluations for new products.
• Become familiar with Hershey organizations, workflow processes and training programs. Understand the product and project approval process. and learn the requirements for scheduling and operating in the pilot plant.

Project Implementation Support:

• Participate in training of manufacturing personnel including operators, supervisors, QA, and maintenance on the key operating parameters of the process to ensure that consistent product is being manufactured.
• Responsible for process support, trouble-shooting, and optimization during startup of new products or processes.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required to perform major duties/responsibilities:

Confectionery, Food, Consumer Goods or Pharmaceutical is desirable. The preferred candidate should have knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), process scale-up, PFD’s, food safety, and unit operations while understanding the importance of interactions between ingredients and equipment.  Candidates should be comfortable operating laboratory, pilot plant, and plant equipment and be comfortable with MS Office programs.

• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Must be open to and comfortable with change.
• Must be able to execute projects in a timely manner.

Education and Experience:

• BS in Chemical, Mechanical, or related Engineering field.
• 0-2 years experience in Food Processing, Confectionery, Pharmaceutical or related industries
  

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The policy of The Hershey Company is to extend opportunities to qualified applicants and employees on an equal basis regardless of an individual's race, color, gender, age, national origin, religion, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other categories protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.
 
The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Minority/Female/Disabled/Protected Veterans.  

You may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our online application process as a result of a disability.
You can request an accommodation via phone or email.  

To request an accommodation via phone, please call 1 877-804-1794 and leave a voicemail with your contact information.  You may also email a request for accommodation to ApplicationHelp@hersheys.com. Please be sure to include “Accommodation Needed” in the subject line. This will ensure that your email is routed to the appropriate contact who will handle your request.