
Sr Project Engineering Manager
Kerry
Beloit, WI
Business Management / Project / Planning, Information Technology
Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.
About The Role
As a Senior Project Engineer Manager, you’ll own high-impact capital projects from idea to start-up ($50K–$15M) across Kerry’s Taste manufacturing network in North America. This is a hands-on, high-visibility role where you’ll modernize process manufacturing systems —spanning sanitary processing, aseptic systems, automation, bulk packing, facilities, utilities, and safety improvements—and help turn great concepts into reliable, day-one performance. If you’re energized by building what’s next and seeing your work come to life on the plant floor, you’ll thrive here.
This role can be remotely located with the following restrictions located in the eastern or central time zones, within a short commute to a major airport, travel ranging from 30-80% depending on project stage.
Key responsibilities
- Own capital projects end-to-end—from concept and scope through design, installation, commissioning, and seamless handoff to Operations.
- Collaborate with up to 5 manufacturing plants across North America (4 in the eastern time zone and 1 in the pacific time zone) to deliver projects to address the critical priorities of the manufacturing network.
- Bring people together across Manufacturing, R&D, Finance, HSE, Quality, and Maintenance to define the need, align on priorities, and turn it into an executable plan.
- Build and drive scope, budget, and schedule—balancing speed, cost, and quality while clearing roadblocks and accelerating decisions.
- Create crisp engineering and capital-approval deliverables (charters, estimates, justifications, specifications) that set projects up for success.
- Lead vendors, contractors, and internal experts—coordinating procurement, construction, and installation to deliver right-first-time execution. Collaborate with partner engineering firms to develop and deliver project scope.
- Spot risk early and manage it proactively—ensuring safe execution and compliance with Kerry standards, OSHA/HSE requirements, and GMPs.
- Keep stakeholders aligned with clear updates, smart escalation, and change management that protects schedule, cost, and outcomes.
- Lead start-up and early equipment management to deliver stable, repeatable performance—and a confident ramp-up for the manufacturing teams.
Qualifications and skills
- B.S. in Engineering (Chemical or Mechanical) from an ABET-accredited university.
- 4+ years leading capital projects ($100K+) in a manufacturing environment—project engineering and/or project management.
- Project management training or certification (e.g., PMP) is a plus.
- Clear, confident communicator with strong technical writing and stakeholder management skills.
- Experience as a process engineer or plant engineer based at a manufacturing site.
- Manufacturing experience in food, beverages, consumer goods, chemical, or pharmaceutical environments preferred.
- Exposure to aseptic bulk packing equipment preferred.
- Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Project; familiarity with AI tools (Copilot, ChatGPT, or similar) is a plus.
- Familiarity with CAD software preferred.
- Technologies in use at these sites include spray drying, powder blending, liquids mixing, coffee roasting, distillation, reverse osmosis, clean-in-place systems, sanitary piping, valve clusters and more.
Kerry is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. Kerry will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a background investigation and drug screen. Additional information can be found at Know Your Rights Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (dol.gov).
We may use artificial intelligence tools to support the review and assessment of applications and assist with scheduling interviews. We do not use AI to make decisions during the interview process. All candidate assessments and hiring decisions are made by our recruitment and leadership teams
Beware of scams online or from individuals claiming to represent us. A Kerry employee will not solicit candidates through a non-Kerry email address or phone number. In addition, Kerry does not currently utilise video chat rooms (e.g., Google Hangouts) to conduct interviews. Refuse any request that asks you to provide payment to participate in the hiring process (e.g., purchasing a “starter kit,” investing in training, or something similar). Kerry will not ask you to pay any money at any point in the hiring process with the exception of reimbursable travel expenses. In addition, any payments made by Kerry will be from official firm accounts bearing the Kerry name.
About the company
Company website•Food and Beverage Services, Food and Beverage Manufacturing, Manufacturing
Every day, millions of people across the world consume foods and beverages containing our taste and nutrition solutions. Our portfolio spans food, beverage, biotechnology, pharma, and proactive health.
We are committed to making the world of food and beverage better for everyone, and dedicated to our Purpose, Inspiring Food, Nourishing Life.
We are a company rich in heritage and resources. Over the past five decades, our focus on changing lifestyles, the globalisation of food tastes and ever-evolving consumer needs has brought us to a market-leading global position.
Today, we are firmly established as a world leader in the food, beverage and pharma industries, with 19,000+ staff, 119 manufacturing facilities, and 60+ technology and innovation centres globally.
We are proud to provide our customers – some of the world’s best-known food, beverage and pharma brands – with the expertise, insights and know-how they need to deliver products that people enjoy and feel better about consuming.
Learn more about us on www.kerry.com