Director of Equipment Engineering Research & Implementation
Company: Vevolution
Location: Seattle
Posted on: May 29, 2023
Job Description:
Director of Equipment Engineering Research & Implementation"We
are a plant-based food start-up providing scrumptious plant-based
chicken products."
- ShareHow to apply:After reading this job description
entirely,please submit a resume and cover letter describing your
skill set, experience, and why you are interested in working at
Rebellyous.About Us: We are a plant-based food start-up providing
scrumptious plant-based chicken products in the foodservice and CPG
channels. As a food production and manufacturing technology
company, we are working to substantially increase the volume and
lower the price of plant-based meat products to effectively serve
the market to replace animal-based meat on a large scale. We
achieve this through the design, development, and implementation of
new production equipment, methods and systems for enhanced
plant-based meat production. We operate three major divisions: 1)
Sales & Marketing 2) Manufacturing & Logistics 3) Equipment
Research & Development.Rebellyous Foods is seeking
askilled,conscientious,flexible, anddetail-orientedDirectorto lead
theEquipment Research & Development (ER&D)teamthrough mid-stage
equipment and process design, development, testing, and deployment
of novel equipment. In this position, the Director would
providetechnical,personnelandstrategic leadershipto the ER&D
team to support design, prototyping, building and deployment of new
equipment. We are looking for someonewho takes pride in working in
an extremelyfast-paced, constantly changing startup environment and
thrives working in anintensivemanufacturing work environment. We
are seeking amission-focusedand dedicated individual to work
collaboratively with several departments and help to strategically
grow the company.Flexibility, hard work, and keen follow through
are critical for the success for employees in a start-up
environment. Frequent after hours and weekend work is required.This
role requires extensive knowledge of major segments in the
organization, knowledge of several disciplines, and the ability to
integrate critical information from many diverse areas.As the
Director of Engineering Research and Implementation, you shall have
two job roles - the role of an Equipment Engineering Research and
Development Leader and that of an Industrial Equipment
Implementation Leader.Equipment Engineering Research and
Development Leader
- Serve as a strong team director to support 5-7 Food Production
Research Engineers and other scientific professionals in their work
by addressing bottlenecks, team challenges, skill gaps, performance
reviews, future growth opportunities, hiring/termination needs and
facility/resource planning.
- Lead the Equipment Research & Development (ER&D) department
through early-mid-late-stage equipment and process design,
development, testing and fundamental metrics research.
- Serve as a strong technical and project management lead for
fundamental and design research efforts to provide technical
project management and team direction. Use of Agile or similar
project management methods is necessary.
- Facilitate and participate in the design, prototyping, testing,
and building of new equipment in collaboration with the Production
Ops and Product Development departments.
- Reporting directly directly to the VP of Production Research
and Operations, oversee day-to-day management and execution of
ER&D strategy and sync strategy with collaborative efforts in
other departments.
- Maintain product, facilities, and R&D engineering needs
assessments and research plans and data.
- Lead and/or provide technical direction to ER&D team in the
following areas:
- Design facilities based on new equipment, processes, and
products.
- Direct R&D onnew manufacturing methods for current and
future production lies.
- Design for advanced preventative controls for new production
methods, equipment, and facilities based on principles of sanitary
design.
- Use of finite element analysis (FEA) and/or computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) to model material processing in production
equipment.
- Design of experiments (DOE) to determine optimal production
processes, equipment, and recipes.
- Working with third-parties to facilitate the fabrication of
prototypes and production equipment.
- Develop equipment and facility plans for the implementation of
novel equipment at the industrial scale. Develop plan for
transition to sustaining team.
- Execute project management methods to expertly trackequipment
development and implementation status and identify planning risks,
determine impact to implementation, and synthesize data into a lead
lot schedule and production ramp. Lay out detailed critical path
plans and time schedules, actively manage the required tasks,
establish mitigation plans in case of potential delays and
implement them as required. Develop knowledge of technical systems
to understand and manage dependencies between internal teams,
equipment vendors, and facility partners.
- Solicit bids and develop the scope of work for all major
outside contractual work. Oversee and coordinate the work of all
outside vendors and contractors, effectively manage the fulfillment
of their contractual obligations, including quality control of
their work.
- Partner with Operations to determine transition and acceptance
criteria for the deployment and commissioning.
- Ensure the projects are completed and delivered on schedule.
Validate requirements such as quality, performance, scalability,
and resource cost. Oversee cross-divisional teams developing the
staging and implementation plan for piloting/release in alignment
with Objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for
feature(s)/feature areas.
- Develop the appropriate sourcing and commercial strategy in
collaboration with team members and delivers the Novel Equipment
Deployment Project Plan for all project materials, equipment, and
service as defined by annual planning / estimating list in
alignment with current policies and procedures
- Establishes key interfaces and builds relationships with
internal customers and key team members in support of alignment of
Novel Equipment Deployment project goals
- Monitors facility performance; reviews and analyzes financial
management reports;
- Propose & research new food production projects/equipment in
response to bottlenecks or waste in production line engineering and
facility operations.
- Establish food safety protocols for new production equipment in
accordance with FSMA, National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and
state food and agricultural agencies.
- Evaluate new and novel technologies for facility design,
operation, and establishment.
- Develop and maintain a comprehensive budget for R&D
efforts.Qualifications:Candidates should have the following
credentials:
- Six to ten years of experience in systems or equipment design
and research.
- Experience with industrial equipment implementation and CAPEX
projects in a food manufacturing environment.
- Three years' experience directly managing engineers or other
technical professionals required.
- Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical, equipment,
manufacturing, chemical, food engineering or similar degree is
required. Graduate degrees are highly preferred. Ph.D. in
engineering preferred but not required.
- Solid experience managing a research, design or implementation
team in a real-world setting.
- Experience using parametric-based CAD modeling programs
(AutoDesk Inventor or similar preferred). Experience or education
in FEA and/or CFD is highly preferred.
- Four to six years working in the food or a related industry,
preferably in direct food manufacturing or in production or
equipment engineering.
- Advanced experience leading and managing short and long-term
engineering projects and coordinating with internal employees and
external suppliers, vendors, and consultants.
- Direct experience designing equipment and automation systems is
necessary, preferably in the food industry.
- Knowledge of sanitary design principles is helpful.
- Willing to travel approximately 20% of the time to support
R&D projects, if necessary.
- Willing to apply creative solutions to solve workflow
bottlenecks;seeking a focused, fast problem solver.
- Compassionate people-management skills at all levels.
- Commitment to design for people safety, food safety and
supporting company safety initiatives.
- Experience in a start-up environment is highly desirable.
- Mission focused. Our company works to end factory farming of
animals.
- Flexible and willing to take on any tasks to support team
efforts.
- Excellent communication skills with strong attention to detail
and high levels of organization skill.
- Must operate with a sense of urgency and attention to detail
and capable of making decisions independently and exercising
excellent judgment.
- Handles confidential information with discretion.
- Strong work ethic, integrity, and personal accountability.
- Proficiency in G-Suite applications and ability to obtain a WA
state food worker card.
- Must have a valid driver's license.
- Excellent proven project management experience - proven track
record in achieving successful results with cross-functional teams
and projects.Position Type/Expected Hours of Work: All positions
regularly require long hours and can require weekend or after-hours
work.Physical Demands:Ability to stand for long periods of time,
stoop, kneel, and reach regularly. Ability to lift, push, pull up
to 35 pounds. We can provide reasonable accommodations for people
who may not be able to meet these requirements for specific
reasons.Location:Greater Seattle area. This position is located at
our facility in West Seattle, WA.Salary:The salary range for this
position is $120,000 - $180,000 depending on experience. Full Time
employee benefits include: Equity packages on a case-by-case basis,
eleven paid holidays, 21 days paid vacation, and sick leave
according to WA state law. We also offer medical, dental, and
vision insurance and cover 75% of the premium for employees. Some
positions offer a flexible WFH or hybrid work schedule. We provide
opportunities for professional development and frequently promote
from within.Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy:At
Rebellyous Foods, we aim to attract the most qualified and creative
problem-solvers to the mission of providing sustainable, affordable
meat alternatives. In achieving that goal, RF does not discriminate
on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender
expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital
status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of our
operations. Women, minorities, people of color, and those with
non-traditional educational and experiential backgrounds are
encouraged to apply. Further, we are committed to providing an
inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff,
subcontractors, vendors, and clients. Discrimination or harassment
in any form or based on any of the above factors is prohibited, as
is retaliation against a person who has made a complaint or given
information regarding possible violations of our policy.Job details
Location
Seattle, United States Job type
Contract, Full-time Salary
US$ 120,000 - US$ 180,000 per annum
Keywords: Vevolution, Seattle , Director of Equipment Engineering Research & Implementation, Engineering , Seattle, Washington
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