Agropur Cooperative

Staff Engineer - SME Dryers

Agropur Cooperative$124K — $155K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering (ChE preferred)
  • 10+ years experience in membrane system process engineering and/or capital project development/execution
  • Experience developing technical standards and specifications
  • Demonstrated expertise in membrane system design, operation, troubleshooting and optimization
  • Strong understanding of dairy processing
  • Strong organizational and communication skills
  • Experience facilitating technical reviews and driving follow-up actions
  • Experience with whey processing, protein concentration, and dairy ingredient manufacturing

Responsibilities

  • Serve as the enterprise subject matter expert for drying systems, focusing on spray drying
  • Provide technical leadership for various drying systems including spray dryers and fluid bed dryers
  • Lead technical reviews of major capital projects involving drying technologies
  • Support strategic decisions regarding drying system design and optimization
  • Mitigate complex performance challenges and identify optimization opportunities
  • Establish and promote best practices for food safety and hygienic design
  • Monitor and evaluate emerging drying technologies for potential cost and quality improvements

Benefits

  • Remote work opportunity (Monday - Friday)
  • 50% travel requirement
  • Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Short and Long-term Disability Insurance
  • 401(k) with 7% company contributions
  • 3 weeks Paid Time Off and paid holidays
  • Paid parental leave
  • Opportunities for advancement
Full Job Description

Job Type:
Regular

Job Description

Salary range 007: $124,200 - $155,300(Salary will be determined based on skills, education, training & experience related to the position.)

  • Monday - Friday - Remote

  • Travel Requirement: 50%

  • Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Short and Long-term Disability Insurance

  • 401(k) with 7% company contributions

  • 3 weeks Paid Time Off

  • Paid holidays and 2 floating holidays

  • Paid parental leave

  • Advancement Opportunities


  • How you will contribute to collective success:

    We are looking for a Staff Engineer - SME Dryers to join Agropur.

    Drying Systems serves as the enterprise technical authority for industrial drying technologies across the manufacturing network, with primary expertise in spray drying and supporting knowledge in other drying methods (e.g., fluid bed, drum, belt, and freeze drying). This role provides deep subject matter expertise in the design, operation, optimization, troubleshooting, and strategic application of drying systems supporting food and dairy processing operations.

    • Serve as the enterprise subject matter expert for drying systems, with primary focus on spray drying

    • Provide technical leadership for spray dryers, fluid bed dryers/coolers, and associated powder handling and air handling systems

    • Lead technical reviews of major capital projects involving drying technologies

    • Serve as the final technical authority for drying-related engineering decisions

    • Support strategic decisions regarding drying system design, technology selection, product capability, and system optimization

    • Make high-quality technical decisions in ambiguous or high-risk situations (e.g., fouling, powder quality variation, thermal degradation, capacity limitations)

    • Participate in concept development, feasibility studies, and engineering design reviews; review process designs and vendor proposals for drying systems

    • Support Operational Excellence initiatives by addressing complex performance, product quality, reliability, and capacity challenges; identify optimization opportunities (e.g., yield improvement, energy efficiency, uptime, product consistency)

    • Build and maintain enterprise drying system design and operating standards; ensure compliance in partnership with Engineering Governance and drive adoption across the network

    • Establish and promote best practices for food safety and hygienic design, including prevention of contamination, cleanability (CIP), allergen control, and compliance with regulatory and internal quality standards

    • Establish and maintain best practices related to powder hazards and risk mitigation, including dust explosion prevention, zoning/ATEX considerations, ignition source control, and safe powder handling systems

    • Provide technical guidance on thermal efficiency, energy consumption, and sustainability considerations, including heat recovery, air system optimization, and evaluation of emerging low-energy drying technologies

    • Establish best practices for powder quality control, including particle size distribution, bulk density, moisture, solubility, and thermal stability

    • Monitor and evaluate emerging drying technologies and assess their potential to unlock new product platforms or improve cost, quality, safety, and sustainability performance

    The type of team player who fits in:

    • Bachelor27s or Master27s degree in Engineering (ChE preferred)

    • 10+ years experience in membrane system process engineering and/or capital project development/execution

    • Experience developing technical standards and specifications

    • Demonstrated expertise in membrane system design, operation, troubleshooting and optimization

    • Strong understanding of dairy processing

    • Strong organizational and communication skills; ability to influence technical decisions across multiple facilities and stakeholder groups

    • Experience facilitating technical reviews and driving follow-up actions

    • Experience supporting capital projects

    • Experience implementing standards and effective change management to ensure adoption

    • Experience with whey processing, protein concentration, and dairy ingredient manufacturing

    • Experience working with leading membrane system suppliers and OEMs.

    A role for those who know that the best results are built through teamwork.

    About Agropur Cooperative

    Agropur Cooperative is a Canadian dairy cooperative headquartered in Longueuil, Quebec. Founded in 1938, it is the largest dairy cooperative in Canada and one of the 20 largest dairy producers in the world. The cooperative has more than 3,000 members and operates 39 plants across North America. Agropur produces a wide range of dairy products, including milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, and ice cream. The cooperative also produces and distributes ingredients and functional solutions for the food industry.
    Learn more about Agropur Cooperative
    Size
    19,800 employees
    Industry
    Founded
    1938

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