Project Engineering Manager - Core Spreads Manufacturing

Location: Pratau, Germany

On-site

About the position

As a Project Engineering Manager – Core Spreads Manufacturing, you will be responsible for leading, coordinating, and delivering engineering and capital investment projects across the Core Spreads manufacturing network, with a primary focus on the Pratau and Katowice factories. The role is critical to strengthening manufacturing capability by implementing technically robust, safe, compliant, and cost-effective solutions that improve safety, quality, sustainability, reliability, capacity, and overall operational performance. The role covers the full project lifecycle, from initial business needs definition, feasibility assessment, concept development, budgeting, technical design, and supplier selection through installation, commissioning, qualification, operational handover, and post-implementation review. You will ensure that projects are delivered on time, within the approved budget, in accordance with company engineering standards, and in full compliance with safety, quality, food safety, GMP, and regulatory requirements.

You will:

• Lead engineering and capital expenditure projects within the Core Spreads factories, ensuring clear scope, objectives, deliverables, responsibilities, timelines, and governance are established from project initiation.
• Develop and manage project documentation, including business case inputs, user requirement specifications (URS), scope definitions, technical specifications, cost estimates, project schedules, risk registers, procurement packages, commissioning plans, and handover documentation.
• Coordinate engineering design, equipment selection, vendor technical clarification, procurement support, installation planning, construction supervision, commissioning, qualification, and start-up activities.
• Monitor project progress, costs, risks, and milestones, escalating issues where required and implementing corrective actions to ensure delivery against agreed targets.
• Ensure effective project close-out, including completion of technical documentation, training, asset registration, maintenance requirements, lessons learned, and operational handover to site teams.
• Perform engineering assessments, feasibility studies, option evaluations, and technical risk reviews to support investment decisions and project prioritisation.
• Analyse process, packaging, utilities, and equipment performance data to identify opportunities to improve reliability, increase efficiency, reduce waste, improve yield, reduce energy consumption, and optimise costs.
• Lead or support structured troubleshooting activities for recurring technical issues, applying root cause analysis and practical engineering problem-solving methodologies.
• Drive value creation, continuous improvement, and operational excellence initiatives in close collaboration with Manufacturing, Maintenance, Quality, and T&I teams.
• Support the standardisation of technical solutions, equipment specifications, and engineering ways of working across the Core Spreads manufacturing network.
• Work closely with Manufacturing, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Quality, Safety, Procurement, Finance, and T&I stakeholders to ensure project objectives are aligned with business priorities and site operational needs.
• Coordinate external suppliers, contractors, OEMs, and engineering service providers, ensuring clear technical communication, effective scope management, safety compliance, and high delivery performance.
• Prepare clear project updates, decision papers, presentations, budget summaries, risk assessments, and steering committee materials for site and regional leadership teams.
• Facilitate effective communication between sites, functions, and project teams to enable timely decision-making, resource availability, and smooth project execution during factory operations.
• Ensure all project activities comply with company engineering standards, site safety rules, contractor management requirements, food safety standards, quality systems, GMP requirements, and all applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
• Lead or support Management of Change (MoC) processes, ensuring that technical, operational, safety, quality, environmental, and financial impacts are appropriately assessed, documented, approved, and implemented.
• Promote a strong safety and compliance culture by ensuring that appropriate risk assessments, method statements, permit-to-work procedures, contractor supervision, and safe start-up practices are in place.
• Maintain accurate project records and support audit readiness through disciplined documentation, full traceability of decisions, and controlled handover of technical information.

So what does it take to be successful in this role?  

You have a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, or a related field, along with at least five years of experience in project engineering, process engineering, maintenance engineering, or capital project delivery within the food industry or a similarly regulated manufacturing environment. You bring solid knowledge of food processing, packaging technologies, hygienic design principles, operational excellence, and change management practices. You have a strong understanding of engineering project delivery processes, industrial equipment, utilities, process systems, packaging lines, commissioning, and operational handover. You have demonstrated experience managing project budgets, schedules, suppliers, contractors, risks, and cross-functional stakeholders in a manufacturing environment, and are able to balance strategic project objectives with practical factory execution, ensuring technical solutions are reliable, maintainable, scalable, and aligned with long-term site and category manufacturing strategies. You are fluent in both English and German, with strong analytical and problem-solving skills and a willingness to learn. You are an effective communicator and collaborative team player, open to traveling for project execution, supplier visits, factory acceptance tests (FATs), and on-site activities. Additionally, you are proficient in MS Office and engineering software such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks.

What's Next? 

If this position sounds interesting, please hit the apply button now! The deadline to apply is 7 August. 

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