Process Engineer I

Process Engineer I

At The Hershey Company, our culture is rooted in purpose and inspired by Milton Hershey's enduring vision that business should create opportunity for others. Through our commitment to corporate philanthropy, we create positive impact by supporting communities, helping children thrive, and operating as a business for good. This includes our deep and long standing partnership with Milton Hershey School, where we invest in education, workforce readiness, and hands on engagement to help students succeed beyond the classroom.

Reporting to the Manager, Process Technology Development R&D, the Research Engineer supports innovation and process technology projects by contributing to complex initiatives, leading workstreams, and managing low-complexity projects with guidance. This role applies technical and scientific expertise to develop, validate, and scale new manufacturing processes while collaborating across R&D and business functions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the development and validation of new process technologies to meet R&D and business objectives.
• Design and execute experiments; analyze data and provide technical recommendations.
• Operate laboratory and pilot plant equipment for prototyping, process development, and scale-up activities.
• Troubleshoot technical challenges using structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Develop and maintain process specifications to ensure product quality and successful commercialization.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to advance products from bench-scale through commercial production.
• Lead plant trials, sample production runs, and new product start-ups.
• Communicate project results through presentations, reports, and stakeholder updates.
• Apply project management and scientific principles to advance research initiatives.
• Support knowledge transfer to Product Development, Commercialization, Operations, and Supply Chain teams to drive quality and continuous improvement.

Accountabilities:

• Strong technical knowledge with the ability to apply scientific principles to research and product development projects.
• Experience operating pilot plant and/or laboratory equipment.
• Understanding of food chemistry and ingredient functionality.
• Strong written, verbal, mathematical, and analytical skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Willingness to travel as business needs require. Travel is project-based and may occur in concentrated periods (e.g., several consecutive weeks) followed by extended periods with little to no travel. Up to 30% on average, but can reach 50%.

Minimum Education & Requirements:

• B S in Chemical Engineering, Food Engineering, Biological Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering field with 0-2 years of related experience.
• Technical/professional certification(s) preferred.
• Experience working in or around food processing, snacks and/or confectionery products is preferred, but not required.

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The policy of The Hershey Company is to extend opportunities to qualified applicants and employees on an equal basis regardless of an individual's race, color, gender, age, national origin, religion, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other categories protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.