Pilot Plant Manager, Pet R&D
Post Holdings, Inc., Lakeville, MN, United States
Overview
Headquartered in Lakeville, Minn., Post Consumer Brands, a business unit of Post Holdings, Inc., is dedicated to providing people and their pets with delicious food choices for every taste and budget. The company’s portfolio includes brands such as Honey Bunches of Oats, PEBBLES, Grape-Nuts and Malt-O-Meal cereal, Peter Pan peanut butter, Nutrish, Kibbles ’n Bits and 9Lives dog and cat food. We are committed to high standards of quality and to our values. For more information about our brands, visit www.postconsumerbrands.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook for the latest news.
Location Description
Post Consumer Brands corporate headquarters in Lakeville, Minnesota, is about 20 miles south of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Lakeville has all the benefits of smaller town living with access to everything a large metropolitan area has to offer. Join more than 400 team members on the two-building campus to help put breakfast on the tables of millions of consumers in North America.
Responsibilities
This role oversees daily operations of the Post Consumer Brands Pet Food Pilot plant, ensuring people safety, food safety, quality, customer service, and efficiency. The Pilot Plant Manager is responsible for the safe, compliant, and efficient operation of the pilot plant, supporting product development, scale-up, and manufacturing readiness.
The position provides leadership, development, and support to technicians by empowering decision making, fostering learning, and driving continuous improvement. As a member of the Pet R&D leadership team, the role also helps shape the strategy and the technical pipeline to support business objectives.
Responsibilities and Accountabilities
Develop and lead a high performing team of technicians by setting clear expectations and ensuring adherence to company standards for personal safety, productivity, quality, food safety, sanitation, environmental compliance, and SQF requirements.
Manage, prioritize, and coordinate pilot plant activities to meet business needs. Plan, organize, and schedule the work of technical personnel to ensure timely completion of testing and alignment with demand.
Oversee pilot plant facilities, equipment, and systems to ensure they remain functional, sanitary, and safe while meeting all applicable regulatory and corporate requirements.
Conduct GMP, safety, and pre-operational audits to ensure compliance and readiness of facilities and processes.
Effectively develop, scale up, and optimize pilot plant processes to emulate plant operations and co-man capabilities.
Implement new operating procedures and recommend or execute equipment changes as required to support process improvements and business goals.
Partner with R&D to refine current processes or explore new pilot-plant scale technologies, with responsibility for initiating and executing capital project planning.
Participate as a leader in Pet R&D to create and execute research plans.
Partner cross-functionally with Quality, Engineering, and Operations within project teams.
Work Location: Fully onsite 5 days per week
Qualifications
Fundamental knowledge in food science and processing technologies.
Strong collaboration skills and experience partnering internally and externally.
Ability to effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, complex ideas to various stakeholders.
Ability to thrive in a changing and fast-paced environment, managing multiple projects simultaneously.
Job location is in Lakeville MN. Up to 25% Travel may be required.
Education
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, food science or equivalent experience.
Experience
Prefer a minimum of 10 years of combined related experience with a preference in food processing / packaging.
Previous supervisory experience required
Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems and processes
Strong knowledge of continuous improvement tools and techniques
Able to build relationships and inspire others
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Headquartered in Lakeville, Minn., Post Consumer Brands, a business unit of Post Holdings, Inc., is dedicated to providing people and their pets with delicious food choices for every taste and budget. The company’s portfolio includes brands such as Honey Bunches of Oats, PEBBLES, Grape-Nuts and Malt-O-Meal cereal, Peter Pan peanut butter, Nutrish, Kibbles ’n Bits and 9Lives dog and cat food. We are committed to high standards of quality and to our values. For more information about our brands, visit www.postconsumerbrands.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook for the latest news.
Location Description
Post Consumer Brands corporate headquarters in Lakeville, Minnesota, is about 20 miles south of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Lakeville has all the benefits of smaller town living with access to everything a large metropolitan area has to offer. Join more than 400 team members on the two-building campus to help put breakfast on the tables of millions of consumers in North America.
Responsibilities
This role oversees daily operations of the Post Consumer Brands Pet Food Pilot plant, ensuring people safety, food safety, quality, customer service, and efficiency. The Pilot Plant Manager is responsible for the safe, compliant, and efficient operation of the pilot plant, supporting product development, scale-up, and manufacturing readiness.
The position provides leadership, development, and support to technicians by empowering decision making, fostering learning, and driving continuous improvement. As a member of the Pet R&D leadership team, the role also helps shape the strategy and the technical pipeline to support business objectives.
Responsibilities and Accountabilities
Develop and lead a high performing team of technicians by setting clear expectations and ensuring adherence to company standards for personal safety, productivity, quality, food safety, sanitation, environmental compliance, and SQF requirements.
Manage, prioritize, and coordinate pilot plant activities to meet business needs. Plan, organize, and schedule the work of technical personnel to ensure timely completion of testing and alignment with demand.
Oversee pilot plant facilities, equipment, and systems to ensure they remain functional, sanitary, and safe while meeting all applicable regulatory and corporate requirements.
Conduct GMP, safety, and pre-operational audits to ensure compliance and readiness of facilities and processes.
Effectively develop, scale up, and optimize pilot plant processes to emulate plant operations and co-man capabilities.
Implement new operating procedures and recommend or execute equipment changes as required to support process improvements and business goals.
Partner with R&D to refine current processes or explore new pilot-plant scale technologies, with responsibility for initiating and executing capital project planning.
Participate as a leader in Pet R&D to create and execute research plans.
Partner cross-functionally with Quality, Engineering, and Operations within project teams.
Work Location: Fully onsite 5 days per week
Qualifications
Fundamental knowledge in food science and processing technologies.
Strong collaboration skills and experience partnering internally and externally.
Ability to effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, complex ideas to various stakeholders.
Ability to thrive in a changing and fast-paced environment, managing multiple projects simultaneously.
Job location is in Lakeville MN. Up to 25% Travel may be required.
Education
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, food science or equivalent experience.
Experience
Prefer a minimum of 10 years of combined related experience with a preference in food processing / packaging.
Previous supervisory experience required
Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems and processes
Strong knowledge of continuous improvement tools and techniques
Able to build relationships and inspire others
#J-18808-Ljbffr