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Process Engineering Manager, Food Manufacturing (Contract)

Emeryville, CA

Eat Just is on a mission to build a healthier, safer, and more sustainable food system—starting with what’s on your plate. From pioneering plant-based eggs to making real meat without slaughter, we’re reimagining the future of food in ways that are better for people and the planet.

We’re a lean, passionate team of scientists, chefs, engineers, and operators who believe that doing hard things well can make a meaningful difference. We’ve brought groundbreaking innovations to market, like Just Egg and GOOD Meat, and we’re just getting started.

If you’re excited by big challenges, real impact, and the chance to shape what the future tastes like—we’d love to meet you.

Learn more about Eat Just and our products →

Please note: We are specifically seeking candidates with industrial/process manufacturing engineering experience (ideally food manufacturing) — not software, consumer product, or general mechanical engineering backgrounds.

We are seeking a highly experienced manufacturing/process engineering professional to support complex CapEx and infrastructure projects within food manufacturing and process production environments on a part-time/contract basis (~10–20 hours/week for ~6 months, with potential to extend).

This is not a general engineering role. Ideal candidates will have substantial experience in food process manufacturing, chemical/process engineering, or similarly complex regulated manufacturing environments, including facility infrastructure, process equipment integration, utilities, and production line design.

Strong preference for candidates with hands-on experience in food, beverage, dairy, protein, ingredient, fermentation, or other sanitary/process manufacturing industries.

This contract requires travel up to 25% domestically and Canada. Ideally individual would be based in Bay Area/available for some onsite in-person meetings at our Headquarters in Emeryville, CA but it is not required.

 

Scope of Services

External Engineering Firm Sourcing & Evaluation

  • Identify, evaluate, and recommend qualified external engineering firms capable of supporting capital expenditure and manufacturing infrastructure projects.
  • Solicit proposals from selected firms for defined engineering scopes.
  • Provide comparative analysis of proposals, including technical approach, assumptions, cost structure, and schedule.

Technical Oversight & Value Engineering

  • Serve as the primary technical liaison between the company and selected external engineering firms.
  • Review and challenge engineering assumptions, cost estimates, and technical approaches to ensure designs represent cost-effective and value-engineered solutions.
  • Provide technical input on engineering feasibility, equipment integration, and manufacturing requirements.

Project Management & Coordination

  • Track engineering deliverables against agreed scope, milestones, and schedule.
  • Maintain organized documentation of engineering plans, deliverables, and technical decisions.
  • Coordinate cross-functional technical reviews and ensure incorporation of stakeholder feedback.
  • Identify risks, constraints, and potential delays early, and escalate appropriately with recommended mitigation strategies.

Facility Integration & Contractor Coordination

  • Coordinate with general contractors, Facilities Manager, and internal teams to support pilot plant facility integration, including ventilation connections, air handling systems, water supply, and drainage connections.
  • Ensure engineering plans align with facility capabilities and construction timelines.

Site Evaluation & Engineering Support

  • Travel to manufacturing or partner facilities as needed to evaluate sites, support engineering reviews, coordinate with site engineering teams, and assess feasibility of proposed engineering solutions.

Deliverables

  • Evaluation and recommendation of external engineering firms for project scopes.
  • Comparative proposal analysis and engineering vendor selection recommendations.
  • Project tracking documentation outlining engineering scope, milestones, risks, and status updates.
  • Technical review feedback and value-engineering recommendations for proposed designs.
  • Coordination of engineering reviews and documentation of key technical decisions.

 

Preferred Candidate Profile

  • 10+ years of engineering experience supporting industrial manufacturing, process manufacturing, or food production environments.
  • Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related engineering discipline strongly preferred.
  • Significant experience supporting CapEx, facility expansion, utilities, infrastructure, and manufacturing process projects within food manufacturing or similarly regulated process industries.
  • Deep familiarity with food processing systems, sanitary process design, CIP/COP systems, piping, utilities, production line integration, and food-grade manufacturing environments.
  • Experience working within active manufacturing facilities where uptime, operational continuity, food safety, and production constraints must be carefully managed.
  • Proven ability to oversee and critically evaluate external engineering firms, contractors, equipment vendors, and technical proposals.
  • Strong understanding of value engineering, constructability, process flow optimization, equipment integration, and manufacturing feasibility.
  • Experience coordinating cross-functional stakeholders including operations, maintenance, quality, food safety, R&D, and external contractors.
  • Comfortable operating in lean, fast-paced environments with evolving priorities, ambiguity, and high ownership expectations.

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