Belcan LLC
Process Engineer
Cashmere, Washington•Contract
$83 - $96 hourly
$83 - $96 hourly
About the Job
Job Level:
7 to 10 years
Working Hours:
Full time (40 hrs/wk)
Travel Requirement:
None
Shift:
First
Notes: The contractor will represent directly onsite and work independently without an onsite supervisor. Michigan engineering team and prior onsite staff will provide initial training and remote escalation support. The contractor must investigate first, escalate clearly when needed, then implement and validate company-directed fixes.
Job Description:
Role purpose: Serve as onsite process-engineering extension during startup, stabilization, and optimization of a first-of-its-kind drying and milling system that converts apple-processing byproduct into a reusable powdered ingredient.
Key responsibilities:
- Learn the system quickly and support day-to-day startup and operations.
- Troubleshoot process-flow, conveying, drying, milling, equipment, and performance issues using manuals, operating data, vendors, and company support.
- Act as the first onsite technical point of contact and represent company professionally with the customer.
- Communicate symptoms, findings, attempted fixes, and escalation needs clearly to Michigan engineering team.
- Support operator training, operational handoff, and recurring customer check-ins.
- Implement, test, and validate design modifications or process improvements developed with engineering.
- Coordinate with equipment vendors and customer maintenance/engineering personnel; document issues and resolutions.
Required qualifications:
- At least five years of relevant process engineering, operations, commissioning, or equipment/process troubleshooting experience.
- Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
- Demonstrated ability to diagnose unfamiliar production or process-equipment problems methodically before escalating.
- Ability to work independently in a customer-facing field role with remote technical support.
- Strong technical communication and ability to translate field observations into actionable engineering information.
- Ability to report onsite in Cashmere daily during startup and remain locally responsive as support tapers.
Preferred qualifications:
- Food, beverage, ingredient, agricultural byproduct, drying, milling, powder handling, or continuous-process experience.
- Automated production systems, PLC-controlled equipment, process data analysis, continuous improvement, and vendor coordination.
Software/Tools Used:
Allen-Bradley CompactLogix/PLC experience is helpful but not required; controls support is available. SolidWorks is used by company, but only model-viewing ability may be needed. Vendor manuals and operating data will be primary troubleshooting resources. Statistical-analysis, process-modeling, and Microsoft Office tools appear in the formal JD but are not confirmed project-specific requirements.
Top 3 Skills/Must haves:
- Five or more years of hands-on process/operations troubleshooting, startup, or commissioning experience, including methodical diagnosis of unfamiliar production-equipment problems.
- Ability to work autonomously onsite as company's customer-facing technical representative and communicate field findings to an offsite engineering team.
- Ability to report onsite in Cashmere throughout startup, learn a novel system quickly, and implement and validate engineering-directed fixes.
Preferred Qualifications & Skills:
Food/beverage or sanitary processing; drying, milling, powder conveying, ingredient processing, continuous-flow manufacturing, or material-balance troubleshooting; Allen-Bradley PLC/CompactLogix; automated systems; process data analysis; vendor coordination; continuous improvement; operator training and handoff.