Ohly is the third largest yeast extract producer in the world with sites in Germany and the USA. We develop, produce and deliver high-quality yeast-based flavors and specialty powders. Ohly is part of the $17.6bn turnover Associated British Food (ABF) Group. ABF is a broad portfolio of businesses which includes Primark, Ovaltine, Twinings, AB Enzymes, and is the world’s second largest producer of both sugar and baker’s yeast. ABF takes a long-term perspective on investment and performance and stimulates entrepreneurship by giving high degrees of autonomy to operational businesses. This means that decisions are taken as close as possible to their point of impact allowing teams the freedom to act, in order to be successfully flexible and fast. ABF invests a great deal in selecting and developing the right people for Ohly and the broader ABF group of companies.

Ohly has a great opportunity for a Process Engineer to join our team in Boyceville, Wisconsin. The Process Engineer supports the production of existing and new products (ProDry, nutritional, and extract products) at Ohly’s Boyceville operation. This includes optimization, process improvements, supporting innovation (scaling, changes), and is a key knowledge holder of their production processes.

Key Responsibilities Include:

Technology:

• Responsible for developing and owning the mass and energy balance for ProDry process and extract process.
• Lead implementation of manufacturing data systems (process historian, analytics, etc.).
• Provide the technical proficiency in the area of spray drying and extract processes to collaborate with Ohly team and customers to provide new ingredients according to market demands.
• Build and maintain a database of all products, properties, and relevant dust explosion properties.
• Build and maintain a database of all raw materials.
• Support toll manufacturing activities.

Production Support:

• Lead continuous improvement efforts through statistical analysis and Lean concepts including:
  • Identify production rate improvement opportunities.
  • Optimize the production process for existing products with focus on OEE.
  • Reduction of processing cost through yield improvement and new raw materials sources.
• Responsible for maintaining and developing the process control variables and troubleshooting guides.
• Own the process control variables for the Extract and ProDry processes. Responsible for periodic training of operations team on process control system and fundamental theory of the process.
• Lead and participate in teams to troubleshoot significant processing challenges.
• Track performance data and drive improvements in KPI’s.
• Provide input to CAPEX budgets and project scopes.
• Execution of smaller CAPEX projects.
• Assist and lead in MOC’s related to implementation in the production facility.

Innovation:

• Support innovation in scale-up and implementation of new products from pilot to commercial scale process and new process technologies.
• Support innovation in development of new products based on plant process capabilities.
• Responsible for development and modification of processes and procedures to ensure successful commercialization of new products.

Additional Items:

• Experience in experimental design/work plans, execution of experiments, the interpretation of data, and reporting of results.
• Provide safety leadership in all process engineering activities.
• Lead and actively participate in teams to reduce safety hazards in the plant.
• Assure compliance to Ohly Legal & Safety Procedures.
• Actively participate and lead development of Ohly culture and teams, including cross functional committees, time spent on-shift, hands-on engineering approach.
• Actively participate in Ohly Americas safety program by completing flash audits, near misses, attend monthly safety meetings, participate in toolbox talks, attend monthly safety audits, and complete annual safety training.

Job requirements:

Essential Skills & Knowledge:

• B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering, Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, or similar required.
• Min. 2 years of experience in industrial spray-drying processes preferred.
• Self-starter and flexible: Independent working style and able to effectively manage changing priorities.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills required.
• Able to think strategically when faced with complex processes.
• Demonstrates strong organizational and project management skills.
• Global vision.
• Team focused approach to problem-solving.

Desirable Skills & Knowledge:

• Master's Degree with previous experiences in process engineering or process development.
• Experience implementing process control technologies and systems.
• Experience with enzyme, protein isolation, and mixing processes.
• Hands-on experience in heat transfer and mechanical separations technology.
• Food processing and quality experience a plus.

Ohly operates based on our values of doing the right thing for our people, customers, and planet. We are committed to creating a diverse and welcoming workplace that includes colleagues with varied lifestyles, backgrounds, and experiences. We believe that enables us to better meet our values while innovating and delighting our customers throughout our global communities.

If you are a creative engineering professional with a process related background, passion for manufacturing, and would like to find out more about US based opportunities we’d love to hear from you.