Electrical Engineer

Location: Lancaster, PA – Onsite, 5 Days/Week

Reports to: Maintenance & Engineering Manager

Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Overview

Trillium Foods is seeking a hands-on Electrical Engineer to support capital projects, automation, controls, and electrical systems within our food and beverage manufacturing operations.

This role will be actively involved in the design, development, installation, and improvement of electrical and automation systems supporting food processing, production, packaging, and facility operations. The Electrical Engineer will work directly with equipment and systems on the manufacturing floor, providing technical expertise from initial project concept and equipment specification through programming, installation, commissioning, startup, and ongoing optimization.

The ideal candidate will bring hands-on electrical engineering, automation, and controls experience within the food and beverage manufacturing industry, along with experience supporting capital projects from concept through commissioning and startup.

This is not a role focused solely on coordinating or delegating engineering work. We are looking for someone who enjoys being directly involved in the technical work, solving problems, developing practical solutions, and taking ownership of projects and assignments.

The Electrical Engineer will work closely with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, EHS, OEMs, contractors, and external engineering partners while maintaining direct technical involvement throughout projects.

Key Responsibilities:

Capital Projects & Project Ownership

• Take ownership of assigned capital projects supporting food processing, production, packaging, utilities, and facility operations.
• Develop project scopes, budgets, schedules, equipment specifications, technical requirements, and implementation plans.
• Provide hands-on electrical and controls engineering throughout project design, installation, commissioning, and startup.
• Evaluate new equipment and technologies and ensure electrical and controls requirements are appropriately incorporated into equipment specifications.
• Work directly with OEMs, vendors, contractors, integrators, and external engineering partners while maintaining internal ownership of technical requirements and project execution.
• Review and challenge technical recommendations, drawings, specifications, and proposed solutions to ensure they meet operational, engineering, food safety, and reliability requirements.
• Support equipment installation, testing, commissioning, validation, and production startup directly on the manufacturing floor.
• Track project costs, schedules, risks, and performance while minimizing disruption to production.
• Identify opportunities to improve safety, food quality, equipment reliability, efficiency, capacity, and overall manufacturing performance.

Automation & Controls

• Design, program, troubleshoot, modify, and optimize PLC and HMI systems supporting food and beverage manufacturing equipment and processes.
• Develop and implement automation solutions using PLCs, HMIs, SCADA systems, VFDs, industrial networks, instrumentation, and process controls.
• Support automation associated with processing, batching, mixing, filling, material handling, packaging, conveying, and other production systems.
• Troubleshoot controls and automation issues directly on production equipment and develop sustainable corrective solutions.
• Support integration between production equipment, controls, instrumentation, and related systems.
• Lead or support commissioning and startup of new and modified automated equipment.
• Develop and maintain control narratives, functional specifications, I/O documentation, electrical drawings, and other technical documentation.

Electrical Engineering

• Design, specify, troubleshoot, and support industrial electrical systems, including low- and medium-voltage distribution.
• Develop and review one-line diagrams, load calculations, panel schedules, electrical drawings, and equipment specifications.
• Support motor control centers (MCCs), switchgear, transformers, generators, backup power systems, motors, drives, and other electrical infrastructure supporting plant operations.
• Support arc flash studies, short-circuit analysis, electrical coordination studies, energy efficiency initiatives, and electrical reliability improvements.
• Ensure electrical systems and work comply with NEC, NFPA 70E, OSHA, and applicable electrical and safety requirements.

Food & Beverage Manufacturing Support

• Maintain a strong presence on the manufacturing floor and provide hands-on technical support to Operations and Maintenance.
• Troubleshoot complex electrical, automation, controls, and equipment issues affecting production.
• Partner with Operations and Maintenance on root cause analysis, corrective actions, equipment reliability, and continuous improvement.
• Develop engineering solutions that consider food safety, sanitary design, product quality, cleanability, employee safety, and production requirements.
• Support preventive and predictive maintenance initiatives for electrical and controls systems.
• Work effectively in an environment where engineering projects and troubleshooting activities must be coordinated around active production and sanitation schedules.
• Build strong working relationships across all levels of the organization and communicate technical information effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Engineering Standards, Food Safety & Compliance

• Develop, maintain, and promote standardized engineering practices, hardware, and control platforms.
• Ensure engineering designs and equipment modifications consider applicable food manufacturing, sanitation, quality, and regulatory requirements.
• Review contractor drawings and engineering packages and ensure technical documentation is accurate and maintained.
• Partner with Quality and EHS to support food safety, employee safety, and regulatory compliance.
• Participate in Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), Lockout/Tagout improvements, machine safety initiatives, and other applicable safety programs.
• Support compliance with GMPs and applicable FDA, USDA, SQF, BRC, and other food manufacturing requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• 3+ years of electrical engineering, controls, automation, or related engineering experience within a food or beverage manufacturing environment.
• Hands-on experience with electrical systems, automation, controls, and production equipment within a food or beverage manufacturing facility.
• Experience supporting capital projects from technical design and equipment specification through installation, commissioning, and startup.
• Hands-on PLC programming and troubleshooting experience.
• Experience working directly on the manufacturing floor with Operations and Maintenance to troubleshoot equipment and process issues.
• Understanding of engineering considerations related to food safety, sanitary design, GMPs, sanitation, and product quality.
• Strong understanding of industrial electrical distribution systems and automation/process controls.
• Knowledge of industrial communication networks such as Ethernet/IP, Modbus, DeviceNet, and Profinet.
• Experience with AutoCAD Electrical or similar design software.
• Working knowledge of NEC, NFPA 70E, OSHA, and electrical safety practices.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to think creatively and develop practical technical solutions.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively with plant employees, leadership, technical professionals, vendors, contractors, and external engineering partners.
• Ability to independently take ownership of assignments and projects while collaborating effectively and knowing when to seek additional expertise.
• Desire to continue developing technical knowledge and project leadership capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting food processing, batching, mixing, filling, packaging, conveying, or related processing equipment.
• Experience with sanitary processing equipment and sanitary design principles.
• Experience with Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley, Siemens, or Schneider Electric control platforms.
• Experience with Wonderware, Ignition, FactoryTalk, or similar SCADA systems.
• Knowledge of ISA standards and machine safety standards.
• Familiarity with FDA, USDA, SQF, BRC, or similar food safety and regulatory requirements.
• Experience independently leading capital or automation projects.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for a hands-on engineer who wants to be directly involved in the work. The successful candidate will be comfortable moving between the manufacturing floor and project work—troubleshooting equipment, programming and optimizing controls, developing technical specifications, working with vendors and contractors, and taking projects through installation and startup.

This individual should bring strong technical fundamentals and food and beverage manufacturing experience while also demonstrating curiosity, humility, strong communication skills, and the ability to think outside the box and develop solutions.

We are looking for someone who wants to continue learning, take increasing ownership, and grow their technical and project leadership capabilities over time.

Trillium Foods provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.