MANUFACTURING INNOVATION MANAGER

McCormick & Company, Incorporated; Maryland; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k

Health insurance

Paid time off

Career growth

Flexibility for life stages

Job summary

McCormick & Company, Incorporated in Hunt Valley, MD, seeks a Manufacturing Innovation Manager to lead capability assessments and drive growth and supply chain resilience. You will guide a team, partner with engineering, operations, and commercial partners to enable agile, data-driven decisions and accelerate speed to market for new products, blends, and packaging.

The role focuses on data readiness, early management, and capital project startup, with opportunities for leadership development and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Packaging, Operations, or related field.
• 7+ years in manufacturing with 5+ years in engineering, commercialization, product/process development, or project management.
• Experience managing stakeholder expectations with senior stakeholders.
• Proven track record leading cross-functional manufacturing projects.
• SAP experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and business acumen.
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills.
• Experience with lean manufacturing principles & TPM.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate manufacturing capability and product inflow assessments, including Make vs. Buy evaluations, by connecting business opportunities with HVP capabilities, constraints, risks, operational impacts, and potential investment needs.
• Lead manufacturing commercialization processes, including Manufacturing Analysis and Costing (MAC) trials and First Time Order (FTO) runs, supporting the successful introduction of new products, blends, packaging, materials, and suppliers.
• Build data-driven, closed-loop processes that connect product, packaging, laboratory, historical test, and manufacturing performance data to improve future assessments and understand impacts to safety, quality, yield, throughput, reliability, waste, and cost.
• Lead and continuously improve the Data Validation process, ensuring product, material, packaging, and manufacturing data is accurate, manufacturing-ready, and effectively integrated across plant processes and systems.
• Supports the TPM - Early Management (EM) pillar. Supporting early management processes for new product innovations at the site and own capital project Start-Up Management, including IQ/OQ/PQ, to enable manufacturing readiness and Vertical Start-Ups.
• Lead and develop direct reports and their project portfolios while influencing broader manufacturing direction. Build strong relationships and communicate effectively from the manufacturing floor with frontline teams through executive-level presentations.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

SAP

Job description

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You may know McCormick as a leader in herbs, spices, seasonings, and condiments – and we’re only getting started. At McCormick, we’re always looking for new people to bring their unique flavor to our team.

McCormick employees – all 14,000 of us across the world – are what makes this company a great place to work.

We are looking to hire anManufacuturing Innovation Manager for our Hunt Valley Plant.

What We Bring To The Table:

The best people deserve the best rewards. In addition to the benefits you’d expect from a global leader (401k, health insurance, paid time off, etc.) we also offer:

• Career growth opportunities
• Flexibility and Support for Diverse Life Stages and Choices

POSITION OVERVIEW:

Under the direction of the Engineering Manager, the Manufacturing Innovation Manager plays a pivotal role in enabling business growth & supply chain resiliency strategies through the manufacturing capabilities of the Hunt Valley Plant (HVP). This hands-on leader serves as a conduit between the plant and cross-functional business partners, galvanizing teams to assess manufacturing capability, enable agile and data-driven decisions, and accelerate speed to market through internal manufacturing.

The role leads a team of direct reports and key processes supporting commercialization, manufacturing innovation, data readiness, Early Management, and capital project startup. A key focus is establishing closed-loop processes that connect testing, implementation, and actual manufacturing performance to strengthen future decisions and continuously improve HVP's manufacturing capabilities.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Facilitate manufacturing capability and product inflow assessments, including Make vs. Buy evaluations, by connecting business opportunities with HVP capabilities, constraints, risks, operational impacts, and potential investment needs.
• Lead manufacturing commercialization processes, including Manufacturing Analysis and Costing (MAC) trials and First Time Order (FTO) runs, supporting the successful introduction of new products, blends, packaging, materials, and suppliers.
• Build data-driven, closed-loop processes that connect product, packaging, laboratory, historical test, and manufacturing performance data to improve future assessments and understand impacts to safety, quality, yield, throughput, reliability, waste, and cost.
• Lead and continuously improve the Data Validation process, ensuring product, material, packaging, and manufacturing data is accurate, manufacturing-ready, and effectively integrated across plant processes and systems.
• Supports the TPM - Early Management (EM) pillar. Supporting early management processes for new product innovations at the site and own capital project Start-Up Management, including IQ/OQ/PQ, to enable manufacturing readiness and Vertical Start-Ups.
• Lead and develop direct reports and their project portfolios while influencing broader manufacturing direction. Build strong relationships and communicate effectively from the manufacturing floor with frontline teams through executive-level presentations.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Packaging, Operations, Supply Chain, or related technical discipline.
• 7+ years’ experience in manufacturing, with 5+ years’ experience in engineering, commercialization, product/process development, or project management.
• Experience in managing stakeholder expectations, including key senior business stakeholders, and maximizing stakeholder adoption.
• Demonstrated success leading complex cross-functional projects, processes, and teams within manufacturing.
• Demonstrated SAP experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, process-development, and business acumen.
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills with demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity, challenge the status quo, and drive accountability.
• Experience with lean manufacturing principles & TPM

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Process and/or Packaging Engineering experience, preferably within food, beverage, CPG, pharmaceutical, chemical, or similar manufacturing.
• Experience with commercialization, manufacturing trials (verification & validation), capability assessment, Early Management, IQ/OQ/PQ, and capital project startup.
• Understanding of product, packaging, equipment, and process interactions and their impact on manufacturing performance.
• Experience with master data, material/packaging specifications, BOMs, manufacturing standards, and data governance.
• Experience with Agile, Lean, and/or iterative project management; PMP, PMI-ACP, Lean Six Sigma, Agile, or similar certification preferred.
• Project Management Professional (PMP)

As a general policy, McCormick does not offer employment visa sponsorships upon hire or in the future.

McCormick & Company is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, experience for this role, and/or internal equity of our current employees as part of any final offer. This position is also eligible to participate in McCormick’s Incentive Bonus (MIB) Plan. In addition to a competitive compensation package, permanent employees of McCormick are eligible for our extensive Total Rewards programs that include:

• Comprehensive health plans covering medical, vision, dental, life and disability benefits
• Family-friendly benefits such as paid parental leave, fertility benefits, Employee Assistance Program, and caregiver support
• Retirement and investment programs including 401(k) and profit-sharing plans

WHY WORK AT MCCORMICK?

As a McCormick employee you’ll be empowered to focus on more than your individual responsibilities. You’ll have the opportunity to be part of something bigger than yourself—to have a say in where the company is going and how it’s growing.

Between our passion for flavor, our 130-year history of leadership and integrity, the competitive and comprehensive benefits we offer, and our culture, which is built on respect and opportunities for growth, there are many reasons to join us at McCormick.