Manufacturing Systems IT Project Lead - Remote

Perdue Foods is part of Perdue Farms, a family-owned company heading into its second century of growth and innovation. With a goal of becoming the most trusted name in premium proteins, we create products for consumers and for retail and foodservice customers around the globe, while changing the way animals are raised for food.

Summary

We are recruiting for a  Manufacturing Systems IT Project Lead. This position is responsible for leading projects in the Manufacturing IT project portfolio and for delivering value for Manufacturing Operations function at Perdue.  The Project Lead will lead a broad spectrum of scope and technology including Inventory Management Systems, Warehouse Management Systems, Labeling Systems, HMI/SCADA systems, OT security platform, and “Industrial Internet of Things” technologies.  This is an exciting opportunity to lead high impact projects and work in multiple Operational Technologies.

This position will lead manufacturing systems projects from start to finish, which includes:

• Manages and coordinates all aspects of the project including requirements definition, vendor evaluation, process reengineering, design, development, documentation, implementation, and production support.
• Documenting project requests including benefits, costs, estimated timelines, and stakeholders.
• Managing project budgets and actuals.
• Evaluating technical solutions, composing vendor comparison matrixes and making solution recommendations.
• Learning new technologies as required.
• Working with multiple business and IT teams to compose detailed project schedules, monitor project success, track and raise risks and issues, and lead projects to success
• Develops process documentation such as functional and technical design documents, data flow diagrams, network diagrams, architecture diagrams, standard operating procedures, training documentation and other documentation as required.

The salary range for this position is $97,000 - $145,000  per year, based on experience and qualifications with annual bonus available (variable depending on performance).  

In addition to the base salary, Perdue offers a competitive benefits package, including medical/Rx, 401(k) with employer match after 1 year, critical illness, accident insurance, dental, vison, life insurance, optional group life insurance, short-term and long-term disability protection, flexible spending accounts and paid time off.  

Standard working hours are 8AM-5PM EST regardless of time zone. For travel purposes, must be located within a 3 hour commute from a small/medium/large hub airport.

Principal and Essential Duties & Responsibilities

1. Works with the business units, plants and Company functional groups to fully understand functional requirements

2. Leads cross-functional teams to develop effective, efficient solutions which meet the requirements of the business, utilizing project management skills.

3. Maximizes use of available technology and standard approaches to enhance and improve business processes.

4. Defines project resource requirements and secure resources.  Defines project timelines and use project scheduling and tracking tools.

5. Builds effective working relationships within Manufacturing Systems, other IT areas, and the business community.

6.  Demonstrates the mastery of skills necessary to support all levels of supply chain applications, control, scaling/labeling, desk top computing and network. Assists with hardware/software and application specifications and selection.

7.  Understands the hardware, software and applications from a users' standpoint to ensure effective project solutions and defect resolution.  Anticipates potential technical challenges, and able to  “quarterback” defect resolution and issue resolution across multiple technical teams as required.

8.  Supports Perdue strategy, challenges status quo, focuses on continuous improvement and support of business objectives, acts like an owner and executes with urgency

Minimum Education and Experience Required

REQUIRED: .

• BS degree or equivalent related work experience in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering or Business Management plus 5 years related work experience.
• Proven record of successful Project Management of small to medium size projects. 
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills. 
• Knowledge and experience using project management tools/practices, work process analysis, improvement processes, and systems development methodology. 
• Experience and knowledge of supply chain related technologies which may include ERP systems, MES systems, manufacturing applications, “Industrial Internet of Things” related technologies, Network Administration, Database administration, or similar.
• Process orientated: Experience with creating process maps, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and similar documents.
• Must be able to travel (currently at 10%, has potential to increase to up to 25%), including overnight, to any customer area, which could be any Company facility or to a remote site for disaster recovery or training, a training facility or conference. 
• Requires planned and on-call time for non-scheduled work hours as required by project schedules.

PREFERRED:  

• Manufacturing / Operational Technology Experience.
• Poultry operations and/or food and beverage industry experience
• Experience working for large organizations and demonstrated organizational awareness.
• Project Management Professional certification in process or completed.
• Agile certification in process or completed.
• Experience managing large, cross functional projects with multiple teams.

Experience with formal problem-solving methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma training.

Environmental Factors and Physical Requirements

1. Positions at Corporate are mostly sedentary but may require occasional moving to other offices or buildings, or support in facilities when they are deployed to a site.  Positions in plants involve moving throughout the plants, feedmills, hatcheries and other facilities as needed to deploy, monitor, and support manufacturing systems equipment.
2. May need to move light equipment or supplies from one place to another.
3. May need to access files, supplies and equipment.
4. Work activity is in an office, open-partitioned, cubicle environment.
5. When in a plant environment:
   • Exposure primarily consists of wet and moist floors which include metal and plastic grating surfaces.
   • May be exposed to temperatures of 28 degrees to 100 degrees Fahrenheit with both ambient and 100% humidity.
   • May handle product 25 degrees to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
   • May be exposed to noise ranges of 50 db to 110 db.
   • May be exposed to all chemicals found in poultry, food and processing plant.
   • Must wear and use protective and safety equipment required for the job as directed by the Company

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Perdue Farms, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.