Principal Program Manager, Environmental Compliance

Great Lakes Cheese; New York (NY); On-site; USD 93,800 - 143,800; Full time

Job summary

Great Lakes Cheese in New York State is seeking a Principal Program Manager, Environmental Compliance to provide enterprise-level oversight, governance, and technical direction for environmental programs across our nine-plant network.

You will lead wastewater and air emissions programs, drive key performance indicators, coordinate with EHS, plant leadership, regulators, and legal counsel, and embed compliance into daily operations through training and audits.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an environmental field required.
• 6 years of progressive environmental compliance or management experience.
• Experience leading multi-site environmental programs in manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Provide corporate-level guidance for environmental compliance, permitting, and risk management across facilities.
• Provide site leadership guidance for day-to-day environmental execution at local plants and provide governance across the network.
• Lead and oversee environmental programs including wastewater, air emissions, stormwater, spill prevention, and reporting.
• Develop and maintain standardized environmental data management and reporting framework across facilities.
• Track, analyze, and report compliance metrics and regulatory interactions.
• Support environmental stewardship and sustainability initiatives within compliance scope.
• Embed compliance into daily operations through training, auditing, and action follow-up.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Regulatory compliance

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Data analysis

Travel up to 40%

Education

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering/Science/Management or related field

Wastewater treatment certifications or CHMM/PE/REM preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office

Environmental data management systems

Data visualization tools

Job description

Founded in 1958, Great Lakes Cheese is the largest packager of natural cheese in the United States. We are proud to offer our retail, foodservice, and co-pack customers with award-winning natural and processed bulk, shredded, and sliced cheeses.

At Great Lakes Cheese, we believe in the value of values. We are true partners internally and externally, building on a foundation of respect and putting forth our best at every opportunity. This partnership approach has driven our tremendous growth and earned us awards such as the #8 Top Workplace in Northeast Ohio.

Our Employee Stock Ownership Plan makes every employee an owner. GLC Owners are problem solvers — they look for opportunities to help and take action. Our Owners are passionate about their work and eagerly advance their knowledge and capabilities. Most importantly, they act with integrity. At Great Lakes Cheese, we do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.

Join our Great Lakes Cheese family and own a piece of the action.

Job Overview

The Principal Program Manager, Environmental Compliance provides enterprise-level environmental compliance oversight, technical direction, and program governance for Great Lakes Cheese Manufacturing and Packaging facilities. This role is responsible for maintaining a consistent, risk-based environmental compliance program across the organization, and ensures that EHS, Plant and Executive leadership are informed of all environmental compliance concerns, leading indicators, potential issues, and actual compliance events.

Job Responsibilities

• Provide corporate-level technical guidance and expertise for environmental compliance, permitting, environmental engineering controls, and environmental risk management across all cheese manufacturing and cheese packaging facilities.
• Provide multi-site environmental compliance oversight for all cheese manufacturing and cheese packaging facilities in the network.
• Provide site leadership guidance for the day-to-day environmental execution responsibility of local plants, including providing corporate governance, technical support, escalation, and assurance.
• Lead and maintain oversight of environmental compliance programs across the organization, including wastewater, air emissions, stormwater, spill prevention, waste management, chemical reporting, permitting, recordkeeping, and regulatory submissions.
• Maintain and guide the corporate environmental compliance governance model, ensuring clarity of roles and responsibilities across EHS, plant leadership, engineering, maintenance, operations, and external consultants.
• Lead and support the development of corporate responses, technical guidance, implementation plans, and standardized interpretations to drive consistent action by plants.
• Review and provide direction on environmental aspects of facility design, process changes, capital projects, equipment upgrades, wastewater treatment systems, air emission controls, utilities, refrigeration-related programs, and other operational changes to support compliance by design.
• Develop and maintain a standardized environmental data management framework for permits, sampling results, inspections, waste profiles, emissions calculations, compliance calendars, corrective actions, and key performance metrics across facilities.
• Strategically develop and implement corporate environmental policies, procedures, standards, playbooks, and best practices aligned with regulatory requirements, corporate risk tolerance, operational needs, and customer expectations.
• Develop, implement, and audit environmental compliance programs required by local, state, and federal regulations, including programs related to the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, RCRA, EPCRA/SARA, SPCC, stormwater, wastewater pretreatment, and other applicable requirements.
• Support environmental permitting, regulatory inspections, agency reporting, and agency follow-up, ensuring communications are coordinated with plant leadership, Corporate EHS leadership, and legal counsel as appropriate.
• Track, analyze, and report environmental compliance metrics, leading indicators, permit status, agency interactions, corrective action performance, and environmental risk trends to Corporate EHS and plant leadership.
• Support environmental stewardship and sustainability initiatives where they intersect with compliance, resource efficiency, waste reduction, water use, wastewater performance, emissions, customer expectations, and operational risk reduction.
• Partner with plant leadership and resources to embed environmental compliance into daily operations through training, auditing, compliance calendars, standard work, permit‑condition ownership, and corrective/preventive action follow-up.
• All GLC employees are expected to produce products in a manner that exceeds the quality and value expectations of customers and consumers by adhering to Good Manufacturing Practices and the policies and procedures outlined in the Safe Quality Food Program.
• Other responsibilities as assigned by the Senior Manager, Corporate Environmental Health and Safety.
• The pay for this position is $93,800 - 143,800 per year. All offers will be based on a candidate’s skills, prior relevant experience, applicable degrees and certifications, and internal equity. This range is specific to New York and may not be applicable to other locations.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Environmental Management, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, or a related field.
• 6 years of progressive environmental compliance or environmental management experience in manufacturing.
• Demonstrated success leading environmental compliance programs in a manufacturing environment, with strong preference for wastewater treatment, dairy, cheese, food manufacturing, or other high-strength wastewater operations.
• Ability to develop, interpret, and lead performance against environmental key performance indicators, leading indicators, and corrective action metrics.
• Strong leadership, organization, project management, prioritization, and influencing skills in a matrixed, multi-site environment.
• Ability to communicate effectively with plant personnel, operators, maintenance, engineering, site leadership, corporate leaders, regulators, consultants, and legal counsel.
• Demonstrated understanding of environmental permitting, reporting, recordkeeping, compliance calendars, agency submissions, environmental metrics, and audit/corrective action processes.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and environmental data management or compliance tracking systems; ability to use data visualization and reporting tools preferred.
• Ability to travel up to 40% to support plant visits, audits, agency inspections, project reviews, and compliance assurance across the nine-plant network.
• Must be legally authorized to work for a company in the U.S. without sponsorship.
• Working knowledge of federal environmental regulations and the ability to interpret state and local requirements applicable to manufacturing facilities.
• Experience building practical compliance systems that can be executed consistently by plant teams.
• Ability to balance compliance assurance, operational practicality, risk escalation, and continuous improvement across multiple facilities.

Preferred Education and Experience

• Wastewater treatment certifications or operator licensure; professional certification such as CHMM, REM, PE, or equivalent credential preferred.
• 8-12 years of progressive environmental compliance or environmental management experience in manufacturing.
• Experience supporting multiple facilities.
• Experience with EPA RMP, OSHA PSM interface, ammonia refrigeration environmental considerations, SPCC, stormwater, air permitting, EPCRA/Tier II/Form R, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, and wastewater pretreatment requirements.

Working Conditions

• Occasional exposure to industrial operations including: temperature extremes from approximately 35ºF to 100ºF; noise levels in excess of 85 dB; moisture and moving machinery.
• Must be able to evaluate conditions and behaviors by periodically walking through the plant. Must be able to climb stairs, ladders, and work at heights.

EEOC & Disclaimer

Great Lakes Cheese is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities.

Great Lakes Cheese is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.