Plant Engineer

Overview

The Pictsweet Company is growing! A 4th generation family owned company established in 1945, Pictsweet is a frozen vegetable producer with agricultural roots. We are hiring a Plant Engineer in our Santa Maria, CA office.

The Plant Engineer will be responsible for the successful mechanical operations of the Santa Maria plant through the effective use and maintenance of machinery and equipment. The engineer will be a member of the plant Emergency Response Team and must live within close proximity to the Santa Maria facility. 

Position Reports to: Director of Engineering (Corporate)

Salary Range is $100,000 to $130,000 USD

Work Location: In person

• Benefits begin on first day of employment for Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA, & FSA
• 100% Company paid benefits include Group Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, & Long-Term Disability Insurance
• 401k with Employer Match
• Vacation days, sick leave, & ten paid holidays

Responsibilities

• Organize, direct, evaluate, and control departmental resources (financial, material).
• Monitors and ensures compliance with all regulations relating to food safety and personnel safety such as FDA, USDA, and OSHA. Complies with all other regulations and laws affecting the company (business law, trade secrets, personnel practices, etc.).
• Assist in SOPs development on food safety and food quality for the Santa Maria Plant.
• Assist the Santa Maria Plant in tracking corrective action for annual audits. Prepares and distributes spreadsheets, coordinates meetings, and assists in maintaining documentation. Is the document officer for BRC audit.
• Design preventive maintenance programs to insure optimum longevity and usage of plant and equipment. Plans and coordinates routine maintenance of equipment.
• Collects waste water samples, has samples tested, maintains documentation, and coordinates corrective action if needed.
• Responsible to creatively adapt engineering principles to operations to provide the most cost-effective return on investment.
• Direct responsibility for engineering projects and is responsible for maintenance activities.
• Anticipates future challenges to production capability. Plans and develops appropriate actions to avert potential problems.  Constantly seeks innovative ways to improve maintenance performance, which contributes to the productive capability of the company.
• Delegates responsibility and communicates assignments with clarity. Empowers subordinate personnel to achieve maximum performance.
• Evaluates mechanical performance and plans appropriate adjustments.
• Attends quality meetings, as needed. Helps investigate when foreign materials are found in production through quality checks or customer complaints.
• Controls and authorizes expenditures related to machinery repair and maintenance.
• Maintains appropriate mechanical records and reports.
• Serves on the Emergency Response Team and participates in all required meetings. Reports to plant during the event of an ammonia leak, and assist the team in a response.  Serves as an Incident Commander.
• Assists in both internal and external food safety audits.
• All other tasks as needed.

Qualifications

• BS Degree in Mechanical Engineering from an ABET accredited institution
• 3.25 overall GPA
• Firm understanding of the fundamentals of refrigeration, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, machine design, materials, and mechanics of materials
• Ability to effectively communicate engineering designs and concepts through sketches, drawings, and written documents
• Experience preferred, particularly in ammonia industrial refrigeration, food plant/sanitary designs, and plant engineering

• The Pictsweet Company is an equal opportunity employer.  M/F/V/H