Cultured Products Technical Manager

What You’ll Do

Manages the processing operations of cultured products facilities (cream cheese and/or yogurt) including separation (raw and pasteurized), formulations, blending, pasteurization, ultra‑filtration and fermentation with responsibility for efficient utilization and coordination of raw and pasteurized materials. Establish processing unit operation and formulation standards in conjunction with Product Innovation and assure standards are met. Responsible for supporting and advising coordination of daily production scheduling, provide technical expertise and training for operations;

coordinate experimentation and interface with Product Innovation for product development. Lead waste reduction and process yield optimization projects to reduce operational costs without negatively impacting quality. Coordinate process capability analyses with Process Excellence Leaders to identify and establish optimized processing parameter targets and ranges. Support and implement updates to standard work and KPI’s to sustain optimization improvements. Develop and control cultured product formulations and unit operations that will be most efficient in terms of cost and utilization;

control the cheese and ingredient usage through the blending system and monitor the on line quality of blends. Develop and implement Partner standard work and associated KPI’s to stabilize processing operational activities. Identify and implement CP’s and QP’s and associated process documentation to facilitate consistent quality and cost results. Conceptualize, develop and modify processing activities and unit operations to support new and existing product innovation.

Analyze process capability and recommend target and processing specification ranges to R&D for key processing activities and operations. Support engineering in development of new equipment specifications and sequence of operations. Manage daily and weekly processing operations and review associated KPI’s to identify and communicate outages and/or opportunities to ensure product quality and minimized losses. Supervise and train staff to assure accuracy of information in and out on the daily process accountabilities.

Assist with maintaining perishable ingredient inventories. Develop and implement processes and systems to minimize inventories. Assist with maintenance and capability reviews of critical lab instrumentation to ensure consistent quality and cost results Provide technical assistance in terms of data, training and expertise for other departments with special emphasis on SPC, TQA, HACCP, MRP, etc. Train and develop local and remote Leaders and hourly Partners on key processing unit operations including, but not limited to, centrifugal separation, ultra‑filtration, homogenization, pasteurization, fermentation, and formulations.

Training to include unit operation capability, as well as dairy chemistry and internal/external resource references. Lead development and review of the Standard Cost System associated with processing unit operations and activities. Together with the leadership team, ensures compliance with Food Safety and Food Quality Plans, in addition to customer requirements. Interprets and communicates customer requirements to plant production and/or support groups.

Establishes and audits PCPs, CCPs and Standard Operating Procedures to define and monitor processes, to ensure customer requirements are met. Reviews incidents during which the procedures are not met, and determines appropriate corrective action for partners failing to follow standard procedures.

• Bachelor degree in Food/Dairy Science, Engineering, Finance, Supply Chain or related field
• 5-7 years of Manufacturing, Research experience
• 1 - 3 Years as Formulations Team Advisor, Cultured Product Team Advisor, Research Scientist or similar external position
• Computer skills necessary to understand, train, and lead the essential functions of the Formulations position
• Basic understanding of food chemistry typically obtained through a 4 year degree within the sciences
• Ability to travel 15% (within and outside of the US)
• Advanced understanding of manufacturing processes
• Basic…