Lead, R&D - E2E Complex Projects, Process (Process Engineering)

Location: Glenview, Illinois, United States; normal office environment with moderate travel to customer locations, stores, and manufacturing facilities

Base salary: $141,500–$176,900 annually, plus eligibility for a performance-based bonus.

Company

Consumer goods company with an R&D center focused on developing and manufacturing finished products.

What you will do

• Lead process initiatives across ideation, feasibility, process design, modeling, validation, pilot trials, scale-up, commercialization, and handover to manufacturing and supply chain.
• Translate consumer, product, and business requirements into manufacturing processes that meet performance, quality, cost, and timeline targets.
• Serve as the technical integrator between process design, manufacturing capability, equipment fit, line readiness, and scale-up activities.
• Coordinate pilot runs, first-time-right trials, process validation, third-party testing, sample approvals, and first commercial production runs.
• Own project plans, decision gates, budgets, resources, governance reviews, status reporting, risk escalation, and stakeholder decisions.
• Lead technical reviews, supplier and partner engagement, cost optimization, value engineering, continuous improvement, and mentoring for junior scientists and engineers.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related discipline.
• At least 11 years of progressive R&D product and process development experience in consumer goods, food and beverage, or a similar industry.
• Experience leading end-to-end product and process development programs from concept through commercialization, including scale-up and industrialization.
• Strong manufacturing process, pilot plant, process trial, process optimization, yield improvement, and continuous improvement experience.
• Ability to lead cross-functional technical teams, influence without authority, manage risks, and communicate with stakeholders.
• Proficiency with project tools such as MS Project, Smartsheet, and Excel; project management certification is preferred but not required.

Nice to have

• ERP experience, such as SAP.
• Project management certification such as PMP or PRINCE2.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time employment with healthcare, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage for employees and eligible dependents.
• Paid time off, company holidays, leave of absence programs, and flexible work arrangements.
• 401(k), life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, and disability benefits.
• Training, learning opportunities, employee assistance, wellbeing, family support, and recognition programs.
• Open-workspace office environment with moderate travel to operational and customer-related locations.