Co-Manufacturing Program Manager

About Us:

Trilliant Food & Nutrition is a leading manufacturer of premium coffees and powdered beverages, proudly headquartered in Little Chute, Wisconsin. With a legacy rooted in quality, innovation, and service, Trilliant delivers branded and private label solutions across retail, food service, and e-commerce channels.

Horseshoe Beverage Company, based in Neenah, WI, is a leading ready-to-drink beverage manufacturer dedicated to delivering an exceptional beverage experience. By combining industry-leading talent and cutting-edge equipment, we drive innovation and consistently deliver the highest quality products to our customers-first and fast.

Our brand portfolio includes Victor Allen's, Dutch Bros beverages and Nurri, our better-for-you protein beverage line. We are passionate about beverages - and about building a team that's just as energized. We invite you to explore opportunities at Trilliant or Horseshoe, to see if your talents and career aspirations may fit with our openings.

The Co-Manufacturing Program Manager acts as the assigned Trilliant/Horseshoe program owner for a portfolio of external manufacturing partners. This is a technically-oriented individual contributor role responsible for driving disciplined program execution across the full co-manufacturing lifecycle - from strategy and technical transfer through site readiness, launch, stabilization, and long-term steady-state stewardship. The role applies structured project management practices (RAID management, gate discipline, milestone tracking, evidence-based sign-offs) to complex external manufacturing programs in a regulated CPG environment.

The Program Manager partners with Commercialization Program Managers at the demand-to-supply handoff, drives Trilliant-side program execution through the Launch and Stabilization Plan, and takes program ownership through steady-state operations under a defined governance model. The role owns each assigned program end-to-end - technical transfer, launch, ramp, stabilization, and ongoing performance - and is expected to grow the portfolio's operational maturity through continuous improvement and expansion work as programs progress through the lifecycle.

The role does not have direct reports; success depends on program discipline, technical fluency, and cross-functional influence.

• Own Trilliant-side program execution for assigned co-manufacturing partners through Technical Transfer, Site Readiness, Launch, and Stabilization phases.
• Drive the Master Lifecycle Checklist and gate discipline (Gates 3, 4,
  5) for assigned programs, ensuring evidence-based sign-offs at every gate.
• Coordinate cross-functional readiness activities across Quality, R&D, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Operations, and IT/Data - hold owners accountable to milestone commitments and evidence requirements.
• Manage the intensive monitoring window post-launch (typically 30/60/90 days), including elevated Tier 1 cadence, daily KPI reporting, daily quality release reviews, and rapid issue resolution.
• Own the Commercialization-to-Co-Manufacturing handoff gate: verify evidence package completeness, stabilization criteria attainment, and readiness for steady-state governance transition.
• Coordinate with Commercialization Program Managers for warm handoffs at Gate 4 Gate 5 and post-launch demand changes on assigned programs.

• Apply structured RAID (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies) management across assigned programs; expedite through defined governance paths with clear ownership and target dates.
• Maintain the single system of record for each assigned co-manufacturer (SharePoint site: specs, contracts, scorecards, issue log, CQV status, evidence packages).
• Use standardized templates and SOPs from the Co-Manufacturing Onboarding Playbook to ensure execution consistency across the portfolio.
• Interpret production data, yield calculations, and quality metrics to inform program decisions and partner action plans.

• Take end-to-end program ownership through steady-state operations, running weekly Tier 1 operational forums and monthly Tier 2 tactical performance reviews for assigned programs.
• Maintain the co-manufacturer scorecard, risk register, and issue log for the assigned portfolio; drive closed-loop CAPA and continuous improvement work to completion.
• Identify and drive cost, yield, service, and quality improvement initiatives within assigned programs; own initiative charters and closure to measurable outcome.
• Support additional-SKU introductions, line extensions, and network capacity expansions on assigned partners using the same program management discipline applied at initial onboarding.

• Partner with the Co-Manufacturing Supply Chain Manager on production scheduling, invoice accuracy, PO/vendor setup, and inventory…