Calculate and design production processes by selecting appropriate machinery and equipment. The role also includes designing safety systems and waste-disposal measures, as well as supervising and controlling food production and packaging lines.

Employment Opportunities / Market Demand / Market Trends

The food industry continues to require food engineering professionals because food manufacturers need to develop machinery, production processes, and quality-control systems that are suitable for their operating environment, costs, and production scale, from community-based enterprises to industrial factories.

Food engineers play an important role in designing and developing food-production machinery to reduce reliance on high-cost imported equipment, such as solar food dryers, beverage-production equipment, and various types of food-processing machinery.

Professionals in this field can work in canned food factories, frozen food factories, meat-product factories, fruit and vegetable processing plants, bakeries, snack-food factories, and other specialized food industries.

Qualifications for the Profession

• A bachelor's degree to a master's degree in food engineering or a related field.
• Creativity in designing or developing machinery that meets the needs of food scientists and entrepreneurs through the selection of appropriate technologies.
• Knowledge of materials used in machinery manufacturing and sources for procuring those materials.
• Knowledge of budgeting and cost control.
• A high level of responsibility.
• Resourcefulness, leadership skills, and the ability to work effectively with others.
• Professional ethics.
• Knowledge of standards related to the food industry, such as ISO 9001, GMP, and HACCP.