R&D Natural Cheese Manager

Land O'Lakes, Inc.; Arden Hills (MN); On-site; USD 124,000 - 186,000; Full time

Job summary

Land O'Lakes, Inc. seeks an R&D Natural Cheese Manager for its Arden Hills, MN corporate office. This in-office role will lead a scientists' team, drive a multi-year cheese platform vision, and align technical work with business objectives across Retail and B2B cheese platforms.

You will bridge dairy science with commercial priorities, mentor researchers, and collaborate with manufacturing, quality, and process technology to deliver stable, flavorful cheeses and innovative processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in a related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of progressive technical experience in dairy.
• 3+ years of direct people management experience.
• Experience collaborating with manufacturing plants and quality teams.
• Advanced degree preferred: Master’s or PhD.
• Experience with SPC/DOE or AI-based modeling is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of scientists with a culture of curiosity and accountability.
• Provide deep cheese-process expertise across the cheesemaking lifecycle to improve product consistency and flavor.
• Partner with plant managers, quality, engineering, and operations to enable data-driven root-cause analysis and process improvements.
• Translate technical priorities into clear business trade-offs and actionable recommendations across functions.

Skills

People Leadership

Cross-Functional Influence

Cheese Process

Data Analytics

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science, Food Science, Chemical/Biological Engineering, or a related technical discipline

Job description

R&D Natural Cheese Manager

This role is located at our Corporate Office in Arden Hills, MN and will be in-office 5 days/week (M-F). This role does not offer full remote/virtual.

Position Overview

The Natural Cheese R&D Product Development Manager serves as a technical thought leader driving business goals and R&D foundational vision across Retail and B2B natural cheese platforms. By bridging technical research with plant reality and commercial priorities, you will leverage your cheese and industry expertise to guide the team, challenge assumptions, and mentor developing scientists. In this role, you will advance a multi-year technical vision—building deep platform knowledge, advancing core and new products, and partnering cross-functionally to drive long-term stability and data-driven innovative solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness

Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of scientists, fostering a culture of curiosity, accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning. Serve as a technical mentor, strengthening capability in technical learning, experimental design, critical thinking, risk assessment, and data-driven decision making. Provide clear direction, candid feedback, and development support while empowering scientists to own execution and outcomes. Promote focus, prioritization, timely decision making, and constructive technical debate.

Natural Cheese Technical Leadership

Provide deep expertise across the complete cheesemaking lifecycle, from milk standardization and culture/enzyme systems to aging and functionality. Deepen organizational knowledge of the chemical, physical, and microbial drivers of core products. Guide formulation and process refinements to improve product consistency, functionality, and flavor.

Operational Partnership & Technical Enablement

Build trust-based, collaborative relationships across the manufacturing network—partnering closely with plant managers, quality, engineering, process technology, and operations teams. Clarify ownership, accountability, and partnership models across functions. Champion the use of manufacturing data, advanced analytics, and AI tools to accelerate root-cause analysis, drive yield and cost optimizations, and transition the team from reactive troubleshooting to proactive process control. Support implementation of new technologies and manufacturing capabilities.

Business and Portfolio Leadershipoffs and actionable recommendations

Drive effective use of resources across technical functions. Align technical priorities with business objectives. Translate complex dairy science and manufacturing realities into clear business trade-offs and actionable recommendations. Drive effective use of resources across technical functions.

Required Experience & Capabilities

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science, Food Science, Chemical/Biological Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

Technical Experience

8+ years of progressive technical experience in dairy, with an emphasis on natural cheese.

People Leadership

Minimum 3+ years of direct people management experience with a proven track record of coaching, developing talent, and building high-trust team cultures.

Plant Fluency

Extensive experience collaborating with commercial manufacturing plants, scale‑up environments, and plant quality teams.

Cross-Functional Influence

Proven track record of building alignment across diverse stakeholders, navigating technical and operational trade-offs, and driving results through collaboration.

Preferred Qualifications

Advanced Degree

Master’s or Ph.D. in Dairy Science, Food Science, or Fermentation/Bioprocess Engineering.

Specific Platform Mastery

Direct technical experience with cheddar (block & barrel), whey separation, and membrane filtration technologies.

Digital & Analytical Acumen

Experience applying statistical process control (SPC), design of experiments (DOE), advanced data analytics, or AI-assisted modeling.

Continuous Improvement

Formal training in Lean, Six Sigma, or structured Root Cause Analysis methodologies.

Salary

The salary range for this role is $123,920 - $185,880. In most cases, candidates offered employment can expect to be hired at a pay rate near the middle of our salary ranges.

About Land O'Lakes, Inc.

Join us and be part of a Fortune 250, farmer- and member-owned cooperative that is reimagining the business of food. We have been named a Top Workplace by Indeed and LinkedIn, and to the TIME 100 Most Influential Companies list. We provide a broad portfolio of benefits to keep you and your family at your best. Land O'Lakes is Where Your Future Takes Root. Land O’Lakes and our global entities support diversity in employment practices. Land O'Lakes does not use Automated Decision-Making Technology, as defined by California law, to substantially replace human decision-making or make significant decisions about applications for employment or contracting opportunities. If you need to submit a reasonable accommodation request to complete the employment application process, please call the HR Solution Center at 844-LOL-HR4U (844-565-4748) M-F 8:00am-4:30pm CT. Land O’Lakes is a Fortune 250, farmer-owned agriculture and food manufacturing cooperative. We are headquartered just outside the Twin Cities, with locations across the US and a presence in 60 countries around the world. For disability accessibility or disability accommodation help, please call our HR Solution Center at 844-565-4748, M-F 8:00am-4:30pm CT.