Contract Manufacturing Lead: Growth & Ops

Simple Mills; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 105,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Annual bonus

Holistic benefits

Time to recharge

Well-being programs

Job summary

Simple Mills in Chicago, IL is seeking a Manager of Contract Manufacturing to lead the company’s contract manufacturing and repacking network across the product portfolio. You will partner with external manufacturers, co-packers, and internal teams to ensure manufacturing plans are executed, issues resolved with urgency, and continuous improvement opportunities advanced.

This hands-on, relationship‑driven role requires strong operational judgment, clear communication, and the ability to balance

Qualifications

• 4–7 years of experience in Contract Manufacturing, Manufacturing, Operations, and/or Supply Chain, preferably within a Food & Beverage CPG environment.
• Bachelor’s degree is required.
• Technical experience in Food & Bev (Engineering, R&D, etc) strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage relationships with contract manufacturers and contract packers (co-packers) as a day‑to‑day contact and ensure alignment to quality, service, cost, and performance expectations.
• Collaborate with co‑manufacturers, R&D, Quality Assurance, and Operations to resolve issues, bringing structure to problem‑solving and balancing cost, service, and risk.
• Lead weekly cross‑functional discussions with co‑manufacturers/co‑packers and Operations to drive accountability and align priorities.
• Drive supplier performance through KPI tracking and quarterly business reviews, translating trends into improvement actions.

Skills

Contract Manufacturing

Leadership

Communication

Problem-solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Food & Bev technical background

Job description

Simple Mills in Chicago, IL is seeking a Manager of Contract Manufacturing to lead the company’s contract manufacturing and repacking network across the product portfolio. You will partner with external manufacturers, co-packers, and internal teams to ensure manufacturing plans are executed, issues resolved with urgency, and continuous improvement opportunities advanced.

This hands-on, relationship‑driven role requires strong operational judgment, clear communication, and the ability to balance