Process Improvement Engineer

Process Improvement Engineer
Hellaby (Home of KP Nuts)
On-site | Monday - Friday

Join our snack-loving team
We’re looking for a Process Improvement Engineer to join us at KP Snacks. If you’re ready to bring your ideas to the table, grow your skills and be part of a team that values what makes you, you – this could be your next big move.

About the role

The Process Improvement Engineer plays a key role in optimising nut processing at KP Snacks. You will focus on improving recipes, eliminating waste, and introducing robust manufacturing processes that help us make safe, efficient, and consistent products.

Working as part of the Technical / Quality team, you will support the scaleup of new processes, improve equipment capability, resolve sources of variation, and drive continuous improvement activity across the site. This is a hands-on role that blends technical problem-solving with practical factory engagement. You will help strengthen process discipline, deepen technical understanding and support our ambition to make things better every day.

What’s in it for you?
We believe in rewarding our colleagues and helping them thrive. Here’s a flavour of what we offer:

• Annual bonus scheme, with a strong track record of overachievement

• Comprehensive healthcare support – including Medicash Health Cash Plan or Private Healthcare, Digital GP, Best Doctors second opinion service and specialist cancer care

• KP Pension Plan – contribution matching up to 7% of your salary

• 25 days holiday, plus the option to buy more

• KP4ME – our online platform for benefits, discounts, wellbeing tools and more

What will you be doing?

• Driving process optimisation
  Identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies and sources of waste through time studies, line balance assessments, process mapping and data analysis

• Supporting new product and process introduction
  Partner with R&D on factory trials, design of experiments, sampling plans, risk assessments to establish robust performance windows, and conduct thermal profiling.

• Strengthening engineering and process performance
  Improve machine setups, reduce changeovers, enhance reliability and maintain detailed process documentation, including parameters and control standards

• Leading structured technical problem-solving
  Apply tools such as 5 Whys, Fishbone, DMAIC and SPC to understand root causes and deliver sustainable corrective and preventive actions

• Championing continuous improvement
  Lead or support projects that improve yields, reduce waste, enhance stability and contribute to IWS activities including 6S, WPIs and capability studies

Who are we?
We’re KP Snacks, part of the Intersnack family. Across more than 30 countries, over 15,000 of us work together to make the snacks people love – from Hula Hoops to McCoy’s. In the UK, we’re a team of around 2,400 colleagues, based across seven sites and our Slough HQ. We’re proud of our close-knit culture, where we speak up, celebrate differences and push boundaries together.

We’re committed to inclusion
We’re building a workplace where everyone belongs. If you don’t tick every box, we’d still love to hear from you – your unique perspective could be just what we need. And if there’s anything we can do to make the process easier for you, just let us know.

We’d love to hear from you if you can bring:

• Relevant technical education
  A mechanical, electrical or chemical engineering qualification, or a degree in a related field; food science qualifications or equivalent experience are also considered

• Experience in process engineering
  Previous exposure to process development or optimisation within food manufacturing

• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills
  Confident using data and tools such as Excel to measure trends, identify root causes and present findings

• Project management capability
  Able to lead improvement projects end-to-end, with experience working in cross-functional teams

• Understanding of lean and continuous improvement methods
  Knowledge of lean tools, waste elimination and process capability; automation experience (PLCs, SCADA, HMI) is desirable

• Additional useful qualifications include HACCP, Food Safety or internal auditing certificates.

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