Product & Process Implementation (PPI) Manager - Wet

Mars; North Sioux City (SD); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Mars is seeking a Product & Process Implementation (PPI) Manager - Wet to deploy R&D specs for manufacturing of WET products and ensure conformance to established standards. The role leads a regional Wet PPI team, drives industrialization from pilot to production, and partners across Quality, Regulatory, Engineering, and Manufacturing to safeguard quality and safety.

The ideal candidate has engineering/food science background, leadership experience, and a track record of successful scale-up

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Food Science, or a related field.
• 2+ years in a people leadership role with technical team development.
• 2-3 years in food technology development, process/scale-up or implementation.
• Experience in a multicultural company environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a Wet PPI team with strong technical capability.
• Translate R&D strategies into regional wet industrialization priorities.
• Ensure conformance of wet product and process specs with quality standards.
• Lead regional risk assessment and data-driven decision making.
• Drive industrialization, portfolio transfers, and knowledge transfer.
• Collaborate with Quality, Regulatory, Engineering, and Manufacturing teams.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Team engagement

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s in Engineering or Food Science

Lean Six Sigma Green/Black Belt

Job description

Job Description:

The Product & Process Implementation (PPI) Manager - Wet is responsible to deploy R&D specifications needed for manufacturing of WET products on existing manufacturing standards and for new technology to achieve process specifications conformance and finished product specifications conformance.

What are we looking for?

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s or in Engineering, Food Science, or a related technical field or equivalent
• 2+ years of experience in a people leadership role, with demonstrated ability to develop and engage a technical team.
• 2-3 years relevant experiences in food technology development, process & product scale-up and/or implementation
• Working in a company with multicultural and international features

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Engineering, Food Science, or a related technical field
• Demonstrated industry experience as R&D engineer or Quality & Food Safety Engineer
• Green belt or Black belt for Lean 6-Sigma
• 5+ years relevant experiences in food technology development, process & product scale-up and/or implementation
• Proven track record of leading complex industrialization or commercialization projects from pilot to full-scale production
• Project Management experience
• Wet Petfood Manufacturing

What will be your key responsibilities?

Leads Self & Others

• Lead, develop, and engage a WET PPI team, building deep technical capability, accountability, and a strong performance culture.
• Role‑model Mars leadership behaviors, ensuring clarity of expectations, regular feedback, and growth of future leaders.
• Deliver technical training to site teams on process principles, product quality, and performance standards.

Delivers Results

• Translate R&D and Quest (our long-term innovation pipeline) strategies into clear regional Wet industrialization priorities.
• Own delivery outcomes across the manufacturing network, ensuring disciplined execution and measurable business impact.

Ensures Quality & Safety

• Own the deployment and sustained conformance of Wet product, process, and raw material specifications.
• Safeguard food safety, quality, and performance in line with Royal Canin standards and the Mars Quality principle.
• Follow and enforce pre-requisite actions for process validation as a requirement for Hand Over 0 (HO0) signature.

Decision Quality & Managing Complexity

• Lead regional industrial risk assessment and decision-making for new materials, processes, products, and technologies.
• Lead complex problem solving (troubleshooting level 2) related to raw material, product and process.
• Drive robust, data‑based decisions to enable compliant, resilient, and scalable implementations.
• Own the Hand Over 1 (HO1) signature for small/minor projects and support the Global Technology Specialist on major projects.

Leads Change & Industrialization

• Act as the regional R&D leader for Wet industrialization, driving innovation scale‑up, portfolio transfers, and critical regional initiatives.
• Implement robust processes for commissioning, capturing learnings, and establishing repeatable, best-practice ways of working.

Collaborates & Balances Stakeholders

• Build strong, trust‑based partnerships with Quality, Food Safety, Regulatory, Engineering, Manufacturing, Planning, and Commercial teams.
• Enable seamless execution through alignment, clarity of roles, and shared accountability.
• R&D representative for the Commissioning, Validation, and Start-Up (CVS) process.
• Support CVS and PPI teams with on-site protocol execution.

Thinks Long Term

• Shape the future of Wet technology by contributing expertise and key learnings to global R&D and PPI communities.
• Proactively strengthen future deployments by investing in team capability and establishing a knowledge transfer framework.

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by The Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in‑class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in‑house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

Mars does not sponsor visas for this role.