Jobs › Conagra Brands

Plant Engineering Manager

Conagra Brands · Darien, WI · $109,000–$159,000 a year · Full time

Posted Oct 1, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you improved maintenance performance at a plant.

What they are checking: Whether they have driven measurable reliability gains, not just managed routine maintenance.

How do you make safety the first objective in engineering and maintenance work?

What they are checking: Whether safety shapes their project and maintenance decisions, not only their talking points.

How do you develop the engineers and maintenance leaders on your team?

What they are checking: Whether they build technical capability in their organization so the plant isn't dependent on them.

What would you do

A major capital project is behind schedule and over budget. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they can recover a project, communicate honestly and make tradeoffs with stakeholders.

How do you work with corporate engineering partners while keeping plant priorities first?

What they are checking: Whether they can balance network goals and local needs and use corporate resources well.

About the work

How would you build a plant technical strategy that covers engineering projects, maintenance excellence and stores?

What they are checking: Whether they can connect these areas into one plan that reduces losses rather than managing them separately.

Walk me through how you develop and execute a plant capital plan with many functions involved.

What they are checking: Whether they can balance safety, quality, sanitation and finance needs and deliver projects on budget.

What does vertical startup mean to you, and how have you run one?

What they are checking: Whether they know how to launch new equipment at full performance quickly through planning and early involvement.

How have you led an Early Management pillar team?

What they are checking: Whether they understand how designing in reliability and maintainability early saves losses later.

How do you decide whether to repair, rebuild or replace aging equipment?

What they are checking: Whether they use data on cost, risk and reliability to make sound lifecycle decisions.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Conagra Brands from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

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The full job description

As published by Conagra Brands.

Reporting to the Plant Manager, you’ll develop and implement the overall plant technical strategy with a focus on engineering projects, maintenance excellence, and stores improvement programs. You’ll lead plant‑specific engineering and maintenance strategies that support low‑loss production systems, vertical startup processes, and Early Management initiatives. You’ll provide technical solutions to production challenges, manage the plant technical organization, and partner with corporate teams to achieve performance, safety, and cost goals. A Taste of Your Responsibilities • Assist the plant in establishing safety for all team members as the plant’s first objective. • Lead the cross‑functional development and execution of the plant capital plan in partnership with Safety, Sanitation, Quality, Environmental, Operations, Maintenance, Finance, and other corporate functions. • Partner with the Platform Engineering Director to resource projects, including engineering project management, subject matter expertise, and startup management support. • Support internal systems audits and continuous improvement activities. • Support the Plant in providing direction and lead the EM Pillar Team in the development of long and short-term plans and goals for the Plant. • Support the plant with project execution and technical leadership at both plant and division levels. • Participate on and lead project teams that improve safety, quality, utilization, labor relations, sanitation, cost performance, and customer service. • Communicate and collaborate across departments to ensure plant resources are efficiently utilized to maximize true efficiency. • Manage the Utilities team and ensure functionality and compliance for plant utility systems, including, ammonia refrigeration, nitrogen, steam, natural gas, and compressed air. • Prepare and lead team meetings to support effective communication and team development. • Partner closely with Maintenance, Quality, Production, and Warehouse teams to foster a cooperative and high‑performance plant environment. • Provide work direction and coordination for mechanical and clerical activities within the maintenance organization. Ingredients Required for Your Success • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering. • Five or more years of experience in food manufacturing with increasing responsibility • Maintenance experience with plant utility systems, including, ammonia refrigeration, nitrogen, steam, natural gas, and compressed air. • Experience with Process Safety Management (PSM) • Demonstrated leadership skills with experience serving as a peer mentor and advisor to cross‑functional partners. • Experience communicating and presenting to all levels within a manufacturing plant. • Experience using computer aided design software. • Experience working with enterprise resource planning systems. • Willingness to rotate shifts and work weekends and holidays when required. #LI-PM2 #LI-MSL #LI-Onsite Compensation Pay Range:$109,000-$159,000 The annual salary listed above is the expected offering for this position. An employee’s actual annual salary will be based on but not limited to: location, relevant experience/level and skillset, while balancing internal Conagra employees’ equity. Conagra Brands will comply with applicable law regarding minimum salaries for exempt employees. Our Benefits We care about your total well-being and will support you with the following, subject to your location and role: • Health: Comprehensive healthcare plans, wellness incentive program, mental wellbeing support and fitness reimbursement • Wealth: Great pay, bonus incentive opportunity, matching 401(k) and stock purchase plan • Growth: Career development opportunities, employee resource groups, on-demand learning and tuition reimbursement • Balance: Paid-time off, parental leave, flexible work-schedules (subject to your location and role) and volunteer opportunities Our Company At Conagra Brands, we have a rich heritage of making great food. We aspire to have the most impactful, energized and inclusive culture in food. As a member of our 18,000+ person team across 40+ locations, you are empowered to reach your potential, make an impact and own your career. We're in the business of building champions – within our people and our iconic brands like Birds Eye®, Slim Jim® and Reddi-Wip®. Our focus on innovation extends beyond making great food, it also reflects our commitment to embracing new solutions that positively impact our team, the communities we serve and the health of our planet. Foodies Welcome. Conagra Brands is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, pregnancy, leave status, disability, veteran status, genetic information and/or any other characteristic or status protected by national, federal, state or local law. Reasonable accommodation may be made upon request.

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