Senior Product Excellence Manager

Our Research and Development department is on the forefront of product development and innovation. It is easy to be dedicated when you're a part of something much bigger than yourself. We've got an insatiable appetite for making a difference. The Senior Product Excellence Manager will have an integral role in leading the dairy and/or dairy alternative development of our next wave of product innovations, while also lending technical support to our growing base business. We are looking for a candidate with a strong food engineering foundation, and a demonstrated expertise in product commercialization, to help Chobani advance its' mission of making healthy and delicious foods.

• Execute research and development plans and strategies for production development in support of company objectives.
• Daily specification compliance reporting, management, and active monitoring of product performance in partnership with Process Engineering, Quality Assurance, and production team members.
• Collaborate with Product Development, Process Engineering, Quality Assurance, and Operations to ensure product formulations, processes, and specifications are fully validated for production.
• Lead the implementation of capability mapping programs, product and process improvement plans and define the Key Performance Indicators for success as defined by the Product Excellence Team.
• Develop the team of Product Excellence Managers to implement a robust monitoring and control program over multiple manufacturing sites and the entire scope of Chobani product applications.
• Lead technical discussions and improvement projects cross-functionally as well as manage the communications up through R&D Directors, Vice Presidents, and Executive Leadership team members proficiently.
• Drive root-cause analysis and corrective actions for technical issues arising during commercialization, resource allocation, and continuous production steady state performance.
• Communicate project requirements and recommendations as well as status to internal customers and external stakeholders.
• Partner directly with plant processing and operations to lead trial runs and ensure smooth start-up execution.

• Minimum Bachelors of Science or Engineering (Masters preferred) in Food Science, Food Engineering, or Chemical Engineering or related degree, or equivalent combination of education, training and experience
• 12+ years of food industry experience required, dairy and/or dairy alternatives is preferred. Including 6+ years in people management.
• People management experience in technical function would be preferred.
• Extensive ingredient (stabilizers and fortification), flavor development and product stability knowledge.
• Background in process and product development and commercialization of food processes is required.
• Proven track record of leading product development projects including timeline development / management, testing / trials, operational launches and scale.
• Familiarity with basic research tools and statistical analysis.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and are energized by the process of building something from the ground up Innate curiosity for understanding complex food systems from a physical and chemical perspective.
• Maintain clean & safe manufacturing environment within all facilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Must be a self-starter able to work in a fast-paced environment and handle multiple projects/tasks at the same time.