Senior Manufacturing Engineer
JonnyPops · Elk River, MN
- Level
- Senior
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Degree
- Preferred
- Experience asked
- 8+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- Recently
The role in 30 seconds
A senior manufacturing role at JonnyPops (industrial) in Elk River, MN. Walk our production lines and mix room to evaluate manufacturing processes and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, productivity, process capability, and cost, while managing risk.
- They ask for
- 8+ years · degree preferred
- Tools it names
- Lean, Six Sigma, Root cause, FMEA, CAPA, GD&T
- Day to day
- some off-shift / weekend coverage
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
How this role compares
Against 33 other live manufacturing postings in Minnesota.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (8+ vs 5+)
Typical $89k–$141k, from 18 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Tooling 53%
- Team leadership 44%
- ✓ Lean 44%
- ✓ Root cause 29%
- New product launch 26%
- EHS / safety 24%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for CAPA, GD&T, CATIA / NX, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Manufacturing team at JonnyPops
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- How does off-shift and weekend coverage work?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
Full description from JonnyPopsAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
The Role
We're looking for a Senior Manufacturing Engineer who lives and breathes fluid systems — mixing, blending, pasteurization, filtration, and separation — and wants to put that expertise to work where it actually happens: on the plant floor. This isn't a role you'll run from a laptop in a conference room. You'll be in the mix room and alongside our production lines every day, troubleshooting equipment, working shoulder-to-shoulder with operators and maintenance, and turning process data into real improvements. If you'd rather be walking the line than sitting through another status meeting, keep reading.
Qualifications
- ✓Bachelor's degree in Engineering; Chemical or Process Engineering preferred.
- ✓8+ years of engineering experience, with a hands-on background in fluid-related processing or equivalent.
- ✓Prior experience working in food or beverage manufacturing, so you already understand plant processes, food safety fundamentals, and how a production floor runs from day one.
- ✓Ready to spend the majority of your day on the production floor — this is not a desk job.
- ✓Proficient in CAD software (e.g., SolidWorks, Creo, CATIA).
- ✓Strong understanding of manufacturing processes such as machining, welding, forming, and assembly.
- ✓Experience with GD&T, FMEA, and tolerance stack-up analysis.
- ✓Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
Preferred Qualifications
- ✓Master's degree (a plus, not required).
- ✓Professional Engineer (PE) license (a plus, not required).
- ✓Technical knowledge of aseptic processing & heat treatment, filtration & separation, and blending.
- ✓Familiarity with lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and other process improvement methodologies.
Food Safety
Responsibilities
- ◆Consider sanitary design, based on industry standards, e.g. 3A
- ◆Participate in RCA / CAPA investigations as needed, in the event of food safety and/or
quality issues
- ◆Follow systemwide GMPs as required of all JP personnel
- ◆Consider potential failure modes and define mitigations (FMEA)
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Who We Are
At JonnyPops, our team is empowered to make an impact at work every day — from producing high-quality, innovative frozen novelties to spreading kindness one pop at a time. We look for bright and ambitious individuals who seek out challenges, thrive in fast-paced and high-growth environments, align with our core values, and get fulfillment from seeing their work transform the world around them.
Based in Elk River, MN, JonnyPops develops, manufactures, distributes, and markets frozen novelties. Retailers from coast to coast — including Target, Costco, Publix, Kroger, and Cub, along with thousands of regional and local grocers — make JonnyPops part of their assortment.
Growing from a dorm-room start-up in 2012, JonnyPops’ mission is to make “A Better Pop for a Better World!” JonnyPops leads the frozen novelties space in innovation and uses simple ingredients with no artificial dyes. Every pop stick includes a kind deed, spreading kindness every day.
Process Engineering & Floor Support
- •Serve as JonnyPops' subject matter expert for fluid processing — mixing, blending, pasteurization/HTST, filtration, and separation — providing hands-on, day-to-day process engineering support directly on the floor.
- •Walk our production lines and mix room to evaluate manufacturing processes and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, productivity, process capability, and cost, while managing risk.
Process Improvement & Optimization
- •Play an active role in developing and driving engineering strategy around processing line capability, capacity, and optimization that supports where JonnyPops is headed.
- •Design and implement improvements that boost yield, reduce waste, increase throughput, tighten cycle times, and remove bottlenecks — all while holding the line on food safety.
- •Perform process capability studies to get ahead of manufacturing trends, meet customer specifications, and keep day-to-day operations steady.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- •Partner closely with plant leadership, Operations, and fellow engineers to align process improvements with what the business needs most.
- •Work cross-functionally with R&D, Quality Assurance, and Production to carry new products and process changes smoothly from concept to the plant floor.
Equipment & Capital Projects
- •Lead or support new equipment installations and modifications from concept through commissioning, focused on maximizing output, minimizing downtime, and reducing operational risk.
- •Collaborate with Project Engineers on capital project development — scoping, budget estimates, schedule development, construction plans, downtime planning/risk mitigation, and confirming equipment qualification criteria are met.
Documentation & Standards
- •Maintain accurate documentation — process manuals, plant P&IDs, CCP definitions, SOPs, and equipment specifications — standardizing our processes and sharing best practices across the plant.