Spray Drying Process Engineer

About the role

We are seeking a Spray Drying Process Engineer for our Skelmersdale site. This newly created, hands‑on position will own the technical performance of spray drying and evaporation assets, ensuring stability, efficiency and continuous improvement in a complex food manufacturing environment.

Key responsibilities

• Take technical ownership of spray dryers, evaporators and associated powder handling systems.
• Develop and embed preventative maintenance strategies and asset‑care standards.
• Create, standardise and maintain SOPs, critical process parameters and set‑points.
• Lead dryer top‑loss reviews and drive performance improvement activities.
• Use data analysis, root‑cause analysis and process modelling to improve OEE, yield and energy use.
• Act as the escalation point for drying‑related operational issues and support investigations into quality deviations, contamination events and equipment failures.
• Maintain a full technical drawing and P&ID library for drying systems.
• Identify opportunities for automation, digitalisation and advanced process control.
• Develop critical spares strategies and support capital projects from scope definition to commissioning.
• Collaborate with OEMs, suppliers and contractors to optimise equipment performance.

Required profile

• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering or a related discipline (or equivalent experience).
• Strong experience with spray drying and evaporation processes in food, dairy or powder industries.
• Proven track record in process optimisation, performance improvement and problem‑solving.
• Familiarity with OEE metrics and continuous‑improvement tools such as DMAIC, 5 Whys, A3 and Fishbone diagrams.
• Ability to work in a fast‑paced manufacturing environment and engage effectively with Engineering, Operations and Quality teams.

Required skills

• Spray drying and evaporation process expertise
• Preventative maintenance strategy development
• Root‑cause analysis and process modelling
• OEE and continuous‑improvement methodologies (DMAIC, 5 Whys, A3, Fishbone)
• Technical drawing and P&ID management
• Automation, digitalisation and advanced process control
• Critical spares planning
• Capital project scoping and commissioning

What we offer

• Technical ownership with high visibility across the site.
• Opportunities to work on complex, high‑value spray drying assets.
• Investment in engineering capability, capital projects and automation.