Biochemical Plant Operations Manager

Bluestem Biosciences; South Sioux City (NE); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Bluestem Biosciences is seeking a Plant Manager to lead our biochemical production facility from commissioning to full commercial operation in Nebraska. You will build and mentor the operations team, establish a high-performance culture, and partner with executive leadership.

In this role you will oversee day-to-day site execution, drive continuous improvements, manage scheduling across commercial production and R&D, and ensure safety, compliance, and scalable tech transfer.

Qualifications

• BS or higher in Chemical/Biochemical Engineering.
• 7+ years in biochemical or specialty chemical operations.
• Experience leading brownfield or greenfield startups.
• Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams.
• Strong capabilities in fermentation, aseptic processing, and downstream purification.
• Excellent communication to executives; cross-functional collaboration.
• Willingness to be on-site during commissioning and initial production.

Responsibilities

• Build and mentor plant operations, engineering, and technician teams.
• Synthesize site performance data for executive briefings.
• Identify bottlenecks and drive lean improvements.
• Establish tech transfer protocols with R&D and process development.
• Lead pilot campaigns and manage risks.
• Balance production throughput with R&D scale-up in scheduling.
• Manage site master scheduling and inventory.
• Direct commissioning, CQV activities.
• Provide oversight for complex biochemical systems and RCA.
• Develop and enforce SOPs and safety protocols.
• Manage MOC for recipe/organism changes.
• Oversee QC operations supporting critical fermentation metrics.

Skills

Team Leadership

Strategic Reporting

Lean Improvement

Tech Transfer

Pilot Campaigns

Scheduling

Supply Chain

CQV

Root Cause Analysis

Safety Compliance

Change Management

Process Engineering

Education

B.S. or advanced degree in Chemical/Biochemical Engineering

Job description

Bluestem Biosciences is seeking a Plant Manager to lead our biochemical production facility from commissioning to full commercial operation in Nebraska. You will build and mentor the operations team, establish a high-performance culture, and partner with executive leadership.

In this role you will oversee day-to-day site execution, drive continuous improvements, manage scheduling across commercial production and R&D, and ensure safety, compliance, and scalable tech transfer.