Sr. Process Project Manager

Description

Ready for more than just a job? Build a career with purpose. At Lactalis in the USA, we're committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our people to learn, grow, and thrive—whether you're just starting your journey with us or looking to take the next step in your career. From day one, we offer the tools and support to help you succeed.

As the world leader in dairy, Lactalis is a family-owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Each day, we're proud to produce award-winning dairy products that bring people together.

In the US, we proudly offer an unrivaled house of beloved brands, including Galbani Italian cheeses and ricotta, President specialty cheeses and butters, Kraft natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone's cottage cheese, Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond cheddar, and Parmalat milk. Our yogurt portfolio includes siggi's, Stonyfield Organic, Brown Cow, Oui, Yoplait, Go-Gurt, :ratio, Green Mountain Creamery, and Mountain High, along with a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun, Gopi, and Arz.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values—Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We foster a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone's unique background and ideas are valued.

Even if you don't meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We want to hear about your PASSION, your STORY, and how your EXPERTISE can help us shape the future of dairy.

Lactalis USA, part of the Lactalis family of companies, is currently hiring a Sr. Process Project Manager based in Casa Grande, Arizona. As a Senior Yogurt Process Project Manager, the role will carry out responsibilities such as but not limited to leading and executing strategic capital investment and process improvement projects that enhance the design, performance, and reliability of our yogurt manufacturing operations.

The role includes overseeing projects from concept through full implementation, ensuring alignment with corporate standards, plant operational needs, and product quality expectations. Responsibilities include driving process design, managing cross-functional project teams, supporting production and quality operations, and ensuring successful commissioning of new or upgraded yogurt processing systems. Additionally, the Senior Yogurt Process Project Manager will collaborate with other Lactalis USA Corporate team members, the Lactalis Group Corporate Engineering & Equipment Department, R&D, Quality, Finance, and Plant Engineering and Operations teams to align duties with the company's goals and values.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Define project objectives, deliverables, and performance criteria to support strategic business goals within yogurt manufacturing and processing.
• Conduct site assessments and feasibility studies to evaluate technical constraints, operational impacts, and cost-benefit considerations.
• Partner with Key Stakeholders at Corporate and Plant level - including Production, Quality, Planning, R&D, Finance, Safety, Maintenance, and Engineering - to obtain buy-ins and to ensure that project designs meet business, operational, and regulatory expectations.
• Develop complete project packages including process flow diagrams, P&IDs, equipment layouts, scopes of work, cost estimates, timelines, ROI, and risk assessments required for capital project justification and submittal.
• Identify, evaluate, and prequalify suppliers, engineering firms, and equipment vendors aligned with corporate standards and yogurt processing technology requirements.
• Lead vendor negotiations to secure competitive quotations for capital assets, installation services, and engineering support.
• Prepare comparative analyses and recommendations for purchasing decisions and capital investment approvals.
• Lead end-to-end project management for yogurt process initiatives, from conceptual design through commissioning, ramp up, project closure, and handover.
• Maintain and distribute comprehensive Project Schedules, identify critical paths, implement mitigation initiatives, and propose acceleration…