Engineering Project Manager – Food Manufacturing

Location: Chaska, MN (Onsite)

Compensation: $108,000–$145,000 Base + 15% Annual Bonus

Travel: Approximately 25–50%

About the Opportunity

We are partnering with a well-established, national food manufacturing company seeking an Engineering Project Manager to lead capital improvement projects across its manufacturing operations.

This is a newly created position driven by growth and increased capital investment. The company is looking for a hands-on, self-motivated engineering professional who can take ownership of projects, identify opportunities for improvement, and work closely with plant leadership to drive results.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead capital engineering projects from initial planning and budgeting through installation, commissioning, and startup.
• Manage project scope, timelines, budgets, contractors, and vendor relationships.
• Identify opportunities to improve equipment reliability, production efficiency, and overall plant performance.
• Develop capital expenditure proposals and provide project updates to leadership.
• Partner with Operations, Maintenance, and Engineering teams to execute projects with minimal disruption to production.
• Ensure projects meet safety, quality, regulatory, and operational standards.
• Support engineering initiatives across multiple manufacturing locations.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of engineering or capital project management experience within food manufacturing.
• Experience managing capital projects of $250K+ in multi-line manufacturing environments.
• Proven ability to independently manage projects from concept through commissioning.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing equipment, production processes, and plant operations.
• Collaborative, solutions-oriented approach with strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% and provide occasional off-shift or weekend support during project execution.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Experience with SAP and AutoCAD.
• Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables and lookups.
• Experience supporting equipment upgrades, process improvements, and production expansion projects.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

• Newly created role: Opportunity to make an immediate impact and take ownership of meaningful capital projects.
• High visibility: Work directly with plant leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Project variety: Exposure to multiple facilities and a range of engineering initiatives.
• Career development: Join an established organization with continued investment in its manufacturing operations.
• Competitive compensation: Base salary of $108K–$145K, plus a 15% annual bonus opportunity.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) with company match, paid time off, paid holidays, and additional employee benefits.

Schedule: Primarily Monday–Friday, onsite, with flexibility required during installations, shutdowns, and other critical project milestones.

Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco/Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to the individual’s skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, office location and other geographic considerations, as well as other business and organizational needs. With that said, as required by local law in geographies that require salary range disclosure, Vaco/Highspring notes the salary range for the role is noted in this job posting. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses, and can participate in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company’s 401(k) retirement plan.

Additional disclaimer:

Unless otherwise noted in the job description, the position Vaco/Highspring is filing for is occupied. Please note, however, that Vaco/Highspring is regularly asked to provide talent to other organizations. By submitting to this position, you are agreeing to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions. Submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase within Vaco/Highspring will be otherwise assessed by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco/Highspring does not have knowledge of the tools used by its clients in making final hiring decisions and cannot opine on their use of AI products.