Principal Process Technologist

About Oatside

Oatside is a fast-growing plant-based company committed to producing high-quality, delicious, and sustainable oat-based beverages. As we continue to expand our global manufacturing operations, regional footprint, and technological capabilities, we are looking for world-class technical leaders who are passionate about process engineering excellence, technological innovation, organizational capability building, food safety, and continuous operational improvement.

Role Purpose

The Principal Process Technologist is a senior technical leader and subject matter expert (SME) responsible for driving end-to-end process design execution, upstream and downstream operational synchronization, process output optimization, and technology validation across Oatside’s manufacturing facilities. Reporting to the Head of Processing / Design & Commissioning, this role serves as the lead technical reference for oat extraction, enzymatic conversion, thermal processing (UHT), fluid dynamics, CIP/flushing water optimization, and plant process integration.

In addition to technical execution, the Principal Process Technologist will manage day-to-day operations of the local technologist team and support building and scaling the Thailand Technologist Organization aligned with the functional roadmap set by the Head of Function. Operating within defined decision-making boundaries, the position bridges high-level engineered design with factory-floor operational reality, ensuring process scalability, mass balance optimization, maximum throughput, yield maximization, and business continuity while strengthening succession depth for Oatside.

Key Responsibilities

• Process Output & Yield Optimization

· Process Output Optimization & Mass Balance: Execute end-to-end process design calculations, mass and energy balance modeling, line capacity evaluations, and fluid dynamics analysis across upstream (milling, slurry, extraction, enzymatic hydrolysis) and downstream (separation, formulation, UHT, CIP/flushing, filling interface) operations to maximize plant output.

· Operational Synchronization: Drive upstream and downstream process synchronization to eliminate bottlenecks, prevent hold-up losses, ensure steady-state continuous operations, and balance line throughput across batch and continuous stages.

· Flushing & Yield Optimization: Serve as lead technical expert in flushing water dynamics, product recovery regimes, and line interface management to maximize product yield while minimizing utility consumption, water usage, and effluent generation.

· Raw Material & Process Agility: Establish process parameter windows and enzyme/milling adjustments to absorb natural variation in raw oat quality, maintaining consistent product viscosity, flavor profile, and process yields.

· Core Technology Mastery: Act as key technical SME on oat-processing technologies, liquid formulation chemistry, thermal reaction kinetics, viscosity management, and liquid beverage process interactions.

• Team Leadership & Organizational Capability Building

· Thailand Technologist Team Execution: Lead day-to-day work prioritization, technical deliverables, and capability development for the Thailand Technologist team in alignment with the overarching strategy defined by the Head of Processing / Design & Commissioning.

· People Coaching & Talent Growth: Coach, mentor, and develop technologist engineers, supporting recruitment, technical onboarding, and competency building to strengthen the local engineering pipeline.

· Knowledge Transfer & Capability: Equip plant operations and regional engineers with process knowledge, technical troubleshooting guides, mass balance tracking tools, and process control logic.

· Business Continuity & IP Protection: Safeguard Oatside’s proprietary process IP and establish institutional knowledge repositories to eliminate single points of failure across Thailand operations.

• Process Design, Commissioning & Technology Transfer

· Design Review & Technical Endorsement: Lead technical reviews, engineering evaluations, and mass/energy balance verification of Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs), Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs), and technical specifications, providing technical endorsements for final approval by the Head of Function.

· Commissioning Technical Lead: Serve as technical lead for process qualification, functional trials, and operational readiness verification during commissioning, ensuring engineered systems meet design intent and performance criteria under functional governance.

· Technology Transfer & Scaling Execution: Execute technology transfer and process scaling from R&D and pilot scale to commercial manufacturing, establishing robust operating windows and seamless technical handover to site operations.

· Commissioning Guidelines: Develop standardized commissioning execution guidelines, critical process parameter (CPP) target windows, and technical handover documentation for functional approval.

• Process Improvement & Technical Innovation

· Yield Maximization & Loss Reduction: Analyze manufacturing data to identify process variability, yield loss mechanisms, product giveaway, and raw material conversion inefficiencies across the value chain.

· Process Improvement Recommendations: Design, evaluate, and execute process improvement projects to optimize enzyme digestion kinetics, decanter/separator recovery, and line cycle times, bringing major CAPEX or structural process proposals to the Head of Function for alignment.

· Operational Standards: Develop and standardize operational process guidelines, one-point technical lessons, and SOPs for critical process steps, CIP sequences, and flushing protocols.

· Advanced Process Control & Digitalization: Partner with Automation and IT teams to evaluate inline process instrumentation and real-time process monitoring (e.g., inline Brix/viscosity control) to improve process stability.

Safety, Food Safety, Quality & Governance

· Hygienic Design & Compliance: Ensure all process designs and modifications strictly comply with international hygienic design standards (EHEDG, 3-A), food safety regulations, HACCP, GMP, and Oatside internal engineering standards.

· Process Safety & Risk Assessment: Lead technical evaluations in Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP), process safety reviews, and risk assessments for new and modified process systems.

· Quality & Thermal Validation: Ensure processing parameters consistently deliver required microbiological lethality, organoleptic quality, shelf-life stability, and nutritional integrity.

· Management of Change (MOC) & Governance: Follow strict Management of Change (MOC) protocols and governance thresholds, ensuring all technical alterations receive required functional alignment and formal sign-off.

Qualifications and Experience

· Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Food Engineering, Bio-process Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.

· Experience Level: Minimum 12 to 15+ years of progressive process engineering, process design, or technical operations experience in food, beverage, dairy, liquid processing, or plant-based manufacturing industries.

· Technical Team Leadership: Proven experience leading, coaching, and developing technical process engineers, with the ability to manage day-to-day team performance and build capability.

· Subject Matter Expertise: Deep technical expertise in liquid beverage processing, grain slurry handling, enzymatic hydrolysis, liquid-solid separation (decanters, centrifuges), thermal processing (UHT, pasteurization), formulation, and CIP systems.

· Process Output & Optimization: Proven track record in process design calculations, output optimization, fluid mechanics, heat transfer modeling, mass/energy balances, PFD/P&ID technical reviews, and operational line synchronization.

· Commissioning Technical Execution: Extensive experience leading technical process commissioning, qualification, and technology transfer trials for capital engineering projects in FMCG/F&B.

· Languages: Fluent in English and Thai with strong written, verbal, and technical communication skills.

Technical Competencies

· Oat & Beverage Process Technology: Expert knowledge of oat slurry preparation, enzymatic conversion kinetics, viscosity control, separation technology, UHT thermal processing, and aseptic processing.

· Process Output & Fluid Dynamics: Advanced mastery of output optimization, mass balance calculations, fluid flow dynamics, hydraulic balancing, flushing water regime design, and upstream/downstream synchronization.

· Engineering Review & Endorsement: Mastery in evaluating and modeling PFDs, P&IDs, mass/energy balance sheets, equipment technical specifications, and process control philosophy.

· CIP & Hygienic Engineering: In-depth expertise in Cleaning-In-Place (CIP) sequence design, chemical concentration management, sanitary piping, and EHEDG / 3-A hygienic design standards.

· Process Safety & Validation: Proficiency in HAZOP analysis, thermal lethality validation (Fo/Po values), management of change (MOC), and food safety risk management (HACCP).

· Structured Problem Solving: Strong capability in root-cause analysis methodologies (RCA, 5-Why, Fishbone, Six Sigma/DMAIC) and statistical process control.

Behavioral Competencies

· Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Effective technical leader with strong coaching, team development, and collaborative problem-solving capabilities.

· Deep Technical Mastery: Passionate about operational technical details, process output optimization, and continuous learning with a hands-on technical orientation.

· Strategic & Analytical Thinking: Structured, analytical thinker able to evaluate complex engineering challenges and propose robust technical solutions.

· Accountability within Governance: High ownership, detail orientation, and ability to execute independently while maintaining clear alignment with functional leadership on decision boundaries.

· Cross-Functional Collaboration: Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills to align cross-functional teams, plant operations, equipment OEMs, and regional stakeholders.

· Agility & Growth Mindset: Thrives in a fast-growing, expanding manufacturing environment and excels at building technical capability for succession depth.

Why Join Oatside

· Be part of a fast-growing, innovative plant-based brand with rapid international expansion.

· Lead technical process execution and help build the Thailand Technologist team to strengthen regional processing capability.

· Work in a modern, state-of-the-art food manufacturing environment with cutting-edge technology.

· Operate as a key senior technical SME with broad scope, high technical influence, and succession growth potential.

· Join a vibrant, collaborative culture that highly values ownership, continuous improvement, engineering mastery, and leadership development.