Senior Thermal Process Engineer

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Senior Thermal Process Engineer

Full Time Management The Star Plant, Saint Louis, MO, US

2 days ago Requisition ID: 1113

About Deli Star: Who We Are

Deli Star is a next-generation food manufacturing company with a clear purpose: to nourish life through protein with integrity . We specialize in fresh, sous vide cooked proteins and patented food-safety technologies, serving some of the most trusted brands, and culinary teams across the United States. Our mission is ambitious: to build a world-class fresh sous vide system . We are working towards a future in which safe, nutritious, high-quality protein is fresh and accessible to more people.

Deli Star is not a typical food manufacturer. We combine the scientific rigor, quality standards and operational discipline required in food manufacturing with the energy, creativity and entrepreneurial mindset of a growth company. With a team of 150 employees and growing, we are large enough to make a meaningful impact while remaining small enough for talented people to influence how the company evolves.

We are proud of our strong customer partnerships, our rapid growth and our long-term commitment to building an innovative, technology-enabled manufacturing platform.

Our people-first culture is grounded in three core values: Trust, Resilience, and Creativity .

Role Overview

The Sr. Thermal Process Engineer is a senior operational leader responsible for the design, optimization, and scalability of Deli Star’s manufacturing processes, equipment, and facilities systems.

This role sits at the core of the Build team , leading Thermal Processing, Cook and Chill Processes, Plant Facilities functions for Deli Star operations. Food Safety & Quality, and Product Development to drive yield, uptime, throughput, and compliant scale-up. The Sr. Process Engineer ensures that plant utilities, equipment, and processes are engineered for reliability, food safety, and profitable growth. Plant utilities include HVAC, Boiler/Steam System, Refrigeration, Compressed Air, and Electrical System.

This role plays a critical part in advancing Deli Star’s fresh sous vide and cook-chill manufacturing platform by ensuring processes are robust, repeatable, and scalable.

Key Responsibilities

1. Process & Equipment Engineering

• Design, implement, and optimize Sous Vide and Chilling processes and production line layouts.
• Lead facility and equipment selection, specification, installation, and commissioning.
• Identify automation, equipment, and process opportunities to increase capacity, yield, and efficiency.
• Ensure all equipment and processes meet customer, regulatory, and food safety requirements.

2. Manufacturing Leadership

• Lead and supervise daily Thermal processing manufacturing operations to ensure production targets are achieved safely, efficiently, and on schedule.
• Manage, coach, and develop production team members to improve performance, engagement, and accountability.
• Ensure strict compliance with food safety standards, including HACCP, GMP, sanitation, and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate production schedules with planning, maintenance, quality assurance, and supply chain teams to maximize operational efficiency.

3. Continuous Improvement & Performance Optimization

• Analyze throughput, downtime, and workflow to identify constraints and improvement opportunities.
• Track, trend and improve KPI’s and report to Sr. Leadership.
• Work closely with Technology group to compile, organize and analyze data to optimize the sous vide process.
• Lead root cause analysis for process failures, equipment issues, and quality deviations.
• Drive Lean, CI, and Operational Excellence initiatives with measurable impact.
• Track, trend, and report key operational metrics monthly.

4. Facility and Mechanical Leadership

• Lead the Facility Maintenance team, including staffing, training, and scheduling.
• Develop and continuously improve preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Oversee Facility mechanical systems including boilers, HVAC, Refrigeration, compressed air (PMs, work orders, spare parts, downtime tracking).
• Manage the facility budget and report performance to senior leadership.

5. Project Management & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Lead capital projects, equipment upgrades, and plant engineering initiatives.
• Manage contractor and equipment vendor relationships.
• Partner with Finance to develop CapEx justifications, ROI models, and cost-impact analysis.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing, FSQA, Product Development, and Supply Chain to support plant performance and scale-up.

6. Process Validation & Scale-Up

• Lead process and equipment qualification and validation (IQ/OQ/PQ).
• Oversee new product and process validation documentation and execution.
• Partner with Product Development to ensure R&D concepts are scalable and plant-ready.
• Ensure all validated processes meet food safety, regulatory, and quality system requirements.
• Temperature mapping of critical Thermal Processing equipment, validation product cooks meet uniformity and food safety requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or related technical discipline
• 5+ years of food manufacturing, process engineering, or plant engineering experience
• Experience with sous vide or cook-chill manufacturing processes is a strong plus
• Experience with operation and design of Boiler, Refrigeration, HVAC, Electrical and other plant utilities
• Strong working knowledge of USDA, FDA, HACCP, GFSI/SQF
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, CI, Six Sigma preferred
• Proficient in CAD, Minitab, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace