Process Engineer (Tempo)

homechef

Chicago, IL · Chicago · United States

Posted Aug 10, 2026

Other
Tempo Operations

Job description

Founded in 2013, Home Chef is the leading meal solutions company with both a retail and online presence. Available online at homechef.com and in retail at more than 2,100 Kroger grocery stores, Home Chef is committed to inspiring and enabling more people to cook simple, delicious meals, no matter how busy they are.

In 2023, Home Chef introduced a new brand, Tempo! Tempo features a rotating selection of ready-to-heat meals delivered directly to your door. These meals are better-for-you versions of familiar favorites, designed to save you time and reduce stress while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Our Tempo menu includes options that are protein-packed, fiber-rich, calorie and carb conscious, keto-friendly, and dietitian-approved.

Similar to our recipes, we recognize that variety is the spice of life, and therefore, our employees also bring their uniqueness and color to our fantastic team. We’re eager to work with humble team players and pragmatic next-level thinkers to innovate on Home Chef’s offerings.

The Home Chef Ready to Heat (RTH) Process Engineer ensures site readiness for RTH product expansions and drives continuous improvement across labor, process, and productivity within RTH operations. This role partners closely with the Tempo Operations team and cross-functional peers — both at the corporate level and at the plant level — to support the expansion of the Tempo brand and complete ad hoc assignments for the Sr. Manager of Continuous Improvement and the broader Tempo CI team as a whole.

Detailed Responsibilities

Coordination and execution of site openings and RTH product expansions, working with RTH site leadership for planning and preparedness

Aid plant and corporate teams in scoping out new initiatives to support rolling out new product lines, increasing capacity and complexity, and improving metric performance while providing plant teams with the ownership to implement those initiatives and providing appropriate support as needed.
Build and maintain roadmap for new RTH initiatives being rolled out to the site from corporate business partners
Assist plant leaders and corporate stakeholders in following a stage gate process for new product launches to ensure proper change management
Advocate for plant teams to corporate partners

Partners cross-functionally to identify and drive improvements across RTH labor, process, and people-related gaps

Aid in analyzing labor, process, and people-related data across sites to identify root causes of gaps and opportunities for improvement, partnering with the Tempo Operations team to implement solutions
Assist in tracking, analyzing, and reporting on process and OEE performance to support root cause problem-solving and drive operational improvements across sites
Identify gaps that require larger-scale solutions and project manage the initiative end-to-end in partnership with relevant teams as needed

Develop RTH network SOPs for uniformity across RTH processes

Ensure standard operating procedures exist for all critical RTH tasks and align processes across all fulfillment sites
Act as a liaison between fulfillment centers to ensure that the best of Home Chef’s knowledge/processes are communicated between facilities and work to oversee initiatives to streamline across facilities where appropriate
Using performance metrics, evaluate the success of Ready to Heat processes and develop and implement continuous improvement initiatives

This position requires at least 50% travel.

Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability needed for this role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities.

Completion of a four-year degree program in Engineering, Operations Management, Supply Chain, or a related field. 1–3 years of experience in operations or continuous improvement is strongly preferred.
Experience in food manufacturing is preferred. Strong candidates would have experience in supply chain, plant operations, or operations excellence roles
Exceptional communication with demonstrated ability to drive results, manage conflict, achieve alignment, and collaboration amongst cross functional teams and with external stakeholders
Excellent project management ability, with experience overseeing and prioritizing among multiple workstreams, and facilitating problem-solving amongst diverse stakeholders
Must be willing and able to accommodate up to 50% travel to the fulfillment centers
Strong analytical skills required, with experience using Excel to build models and demonstrate findings to partners
A growth mindset and demonstrated ownership — this role is designed to expand in scope and autonomy as the person develops in it
Ideal candidate has a strategic mindset, with the ability to see the big picture as well as diving into the weeds when necessary

More About Us

Perks and Benefits

Candidates can experience Home Chef as a customer - enter promo code PEOPLE30 for $30 off your first order!
Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance available
Paid holidays, sick time and vacation time
401k program
Flexible spending accounts for qualified medical, dependent care, parking, or transit expenses

How We Work Together

We are humble team players.
We are warm and gracious with team members and customers. We seek feedback to improve ourselves - and respectfully listen to and accept input.

We are pragmatic next-level thinkers.
We come up with novel and unique ideas. We explore new strategies to avoid being constrained by conventional thinking.

We take ownership.
We approach ambiguous problems, prepared to dive in, get curious, and learn more. We are results-driven, always challenging ourselves to exceed goals.

Be at Home at Home Chef

We all show up authentically at Home Chef. Our team includes individuals with a variety of identities, backgrounds, and perspectives. You can trust that you’ll be able to bring your whole self to an inclusive and enjoyable workplace.

We welcome people of all races, colors, religions, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disabilities, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged/sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.

Home Chef is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Home Chef will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact our People team at hr@homechef.com.

To view the California Applicant Notice click here