Operational Automation & Data Technician

Taylor Fresh Foods, Inc. is dedicated to being North America's favorite maker of salads and healthy fresh foods. Our "Taylor Family" includes nearly 12,000 team members who are passionate about making high quality, great tasting products for North America. As we continue to rapidly grow, we have a career opportunity available for a talented and motivated individual to join our Taylor Farms New Jersey team as an Operational Automation & Data Technician.

SUMMARY:

The Operational Automation & Data Technician will perform the administration, configuration, design, programming, and qualification of various systems, while troubleshooting any issues that might occur. 80% of this role acts as the first line of engineering support. Investigate and resolve issues with process, equipment, and integration. This role will work closely with the operational team and maintenance teams to act as a bridge between the teams to ensure automation equipment and processes are designed and executed in a sustainable manner. This role will also provide training on equipment processes and continually monitor for compliance and/or improvement. 20% of their time would be spent time cleaning and analyzing, data, while assisting in maintaining current system health by validating integrity of data capturing hardware and processes. This position will report to the CI Operational Excellence Engineer.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Perform equipment set-up and maintain equipment for automation manufacturing.
• Develop work instructions for key pieces of operational equipment to leverage standardization across lines and shifts.
• Install, maintain, and replace automation systems at key points in the production process.
• Troubleshoot non-functioning components of the automation systems.
• Work with maintenance team to identify equipment usage, parts replacement, and scheduled maintenance to ensure maximum functionality.
• Responsible for following established GMP work instructions and procedures.
• Partners and work closely with operations, maintenance, onsite IT and leadership team.
• Other duties assigned as necessary by IT systems administrator and/or leadership team.
• Auditing data collection tools and processes to ensure data integrity.
• Supporting plant operation management, employees, and teams in improving operational excellence through hands-on, on-the-floor process improvement efforts, as needed.
• Supporting current operations daily/weekly data reporting through data capturing and cleaning.
• Constantly be on the lookout for ways to improve processes, maximize performance, and reduce costs.

REQUIREMENTS/SKILLS/ABILITIES:

• Two-year associate degree in industrial, electrical, automation or similar degree is required.
• 1.5+ years of relevant experience with sensors, checkweighers, labelers and vision systems., GMP manufacturing environment preferred.
• Experience leading or working with a team integrating production system and machinery.
• Ability to communicate verbally and in writing with all team members.
• Experience auditing systems, diagnosing, and resolving first line issues and coordinating with Maintenance teams on root cause analysis.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to function effectively in a GMP-compliant team environment and interact productively with all levels of management and operations personnel.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to read electrical and mechanical schematics.
• Familiarity with Windows and MS Office - Good Excel skills required, including but not limited to VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) programming, and other Excel features for handling complex tasks (VLOOKUP, Macros etc.).
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety procedures, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedural/equipment manuals.
• Experience with automated filling, packaging, and palletizing systems is a plus.
• Must be a self-starter with the ability to work as part of a team in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision.
• Ability to troubleshoot, identify, diagnose, and resolve issues on various pieces of hardware and/or software platforms.
• Experience with Digital Production Systems (Redzone), labelling system (Video Jet) and Checkweighers (LOMA/Fortress). Training experience in either systems will be a plus.
• Work environment includes plant, warehouse, production and non-production areas and plant grounds.
• This position may require work coverage beyond the normal hours, shift, and on weekends/holidays.
• Ability to tolerate low temperatures, loud noises typical of a manufacturing plant.