VDS Consulting Group

SMART Factory Expert – Food & Beverage

West Palm Beach, FL - Contracted

SMART Factory Expert – Food & Beverage 

The role

Value Driven Solutions (VDS) is a management consulting firm dedicated to Operational Excellence for middle-market and private equity-backed manufacturers. We are looking for a SMART Factory Expert to lead smart manufacturing work for our food and beverage clients.

You will help plants get more safe, high-quality output from the lines they already run. That means Lean fundamentals first, then connected technology: line data, MES, automation and analytics, with every investment tied to measurable value such as OEE, yield, giveaway and labor productivity. You will work on the plant floor with operators and leaders, and in the boardroom with owners and private equity sponsors.

  • Title: SMART Factory Expert, Food & Beverage
  • Reports to: VDS practice leadership
  • Travel: Frequent travel to client plants

What you'll do

Assess and build the case

  • Lead smart factory and digital maturity assessments across processing, packaging and warehousing operations.
  • Baseline OEE, yield, giveaway, changeover time, sanitation downtime and labor productivity by line and value stream.
  • Build value-based roadmaps and business cases that owners and PE sponsors can fund and track.

Stabilize, then connect

  • Put Lean foundations in place first: standard work, SMED for product and allergen changeovers, autonomous maintenance and visual management.
  • Design line connectivity and data architecture from PLCs and sensors to MES, ERP and the cloud.
  • Select and implement MES, OEE monitoring, digital work instructions and electronic batch records with client IT/OT teams.

Optimize and sustain

  • Use line data to cut unplanned downtime, giveaway, scrap and rework, and to raise packaging line efficiency.
  • Deploy predictive maintenance, SPC and vision inspection where the payback is clear.
  • Strengthen food safety and quality through digital HACCP monitoring, lot traceability and audit-ready records.
  • Build tiered daily management, KPI boards and operating rhythms that make results stick.

Lead and grow the practice

  • Coach plant leaders, engineers and operators so clients own the system after we leave.
  • Present findings and results to executives, boards and private equity sponsors.
  • Shape VDS's food and beverage smart factory offerings and support business development.

What you bring

  • 10+ years in food and beverage manufacturing, with at least 5 in operations, engineering or continuous improvement leadership.
  • A record of measurable results on the plant floor, such as higher OEE, lower giveaway, shorter changeovers or reduced sanitation downtime.
  • Hands-on experience delivering smart manufacturing or Industry 4.0 projects: line connectivity, MES, OEE systems, SCADA or historians.
  • Working knowledge of food safety and quality systems: FSMA, HACCP, GMPs and GFSI schemes such as SQF or BRCGS.
  • Experience with both batch processing and high-speed packaging lines, including allergen and product changeovers.
  • Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or higher, with practical use of standard work, SMED, TPM and root cause analysis.
  • Comfort with data: building KPIs, dashboards and business cases in tools such as Excel, Power BI or Tableau.
  • Clear communication with operators, plant managers, executives and investors alike.
  • Bachelor's degree in Industrial, Chemical, Mechanical or Food Engineering, Food Science, or a related field.
  • Willingness to travel frequently to client sites.

Nice to have

  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, PCQI or HACCP certification.
  • Experience with ISA-88 batch control or ISA-95 integration, and with Rockwell or Siemens automation platforms.
  • Hands-on work with MES and analytics platforms used in food and beverage, such as AVEVA, Rockwell Plex, Siemens Opcenter, Ignition or Sight Machine.
  • Background in clean-in-place (CIP) optimization, cold chain or co-manufacturing operations.
  • Consulting or interim leadership experience with private equity-backed portfolio companies.
  • Multi-site or global operations experience, and fluency in Spanish.

What success looks like in year one

  1. First 90 days: Learn the VDS approach, lead your first food and beverage assessment, and deliver a value-based roadmap the client approves.
  2. By month 6: Have a pilot live on at least one line, such as OEE monitoring or a changeover program, with a measured baseline and early gains.
  3. By month 12: Show audited improvements in the client's core KPIs, see the operating system running without VDS day to day, and help win the next engagement.

Why VDS

  • Operators, not just advisors. You will work beside plant teams and see your changes show up in the numbers.
  • Value first. Every recommendation ties back to EBITDA, capacity, cash or enterprise value.
  • Room to build. You will help shape our food and beverage smart factory practice as it grows.

How to apply

Send your resume and a short note on a plant result you are proud of through vdsconsultinggroup.com.

Value Driven Solutions is an equal opportunity employer.

Apply: SMART Factory Expert – Food & Beverage
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