Senior Dairy R&D Pilot-Plant Leader

Daily Harvest; Twin Falls (ID); On-site; USD 121,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Disability insurance

Health Savings Account

Flexible Spending Accounts

Tuition reimbursement

401k match

Fertility assistance

Childcare assistance

Parental leave

Paid time off

Wellness resources

Job summary

Chobani seeks a Senior Manager, Technical Innovation to guide the Fresh Dairy and ESL platforms and pilot plant capabilities, aligning technical direction with commercial strategy. You will lead a cross-functional team to drive concept-to-pilot-to-commercialization programs while managing capacity, investments, and data-driven decisions.

You will design operating models, governance for data pipelines, and improvements to process estates, with a strong emphasis on food safety, quality, and lean

Qualifications

• Minimum BS in Food Science/Engineering; MS preferred.
• 10+ years in food industry; 5+ years in people management.
• Experience steering innovation platforms from concept to commercialization.
• Deep knowledge of dairy/food process unit operations (HTST, homogenization, UF, maturation, packaging).
• Experience with HACCP, GMP, allergen controls and audit readiness.
• Proven capacity, throughput modeling and data-driven staffing/capital decisions.
• Lean/Six Sigma/TPM credentials with measurable results.
• Fluent with data tools (Excel, SQL) and comfortable with automation/controls.

Responsibilities

• Set the innovation capabilities agenda for Fresh Dairy and ESL platforms from concept through pilot proof and scale-up.
• Steward pilot plant capabilities across the full process estate and decide on equipment upgrades.
• Lead the operating team including supervisors and leads for day-to-day pilot operations.
• Own capacity and staffing modeling; translate demand into FTE and capital needs.
• Model innovation output with cycle times, throughput, shelf-life, and project cost.
• Lead space upgrades and capital-improvement projects balancing layout and safety.
• Identify bottlenecks and adjust capital, scheduling, and process design accordingly.
• Set the operating model and governed data pipelines to sequence competing requests.
• Maintain governance for food safety, GMP, and regulatory compliance.
• Institutionalize Lean, Six Sigma, and TPM; target changeover and cycle times.
• Govern external labs and manage per-project spend.
• Build organizational capability through development of supervisors and senior staff.

Skills

People leadership

R&D leadership

Food processing knowledge

Operations modeling

Data-driven decisions

Project management

Education

Bachelor's in Food Science/Engineering

Master's preferred

Tools

SQL/BI dashboards

Spreadsheet modeling

PLC/SCADA knowledge

Job description

Chobani seeks a Senior Manager, Technical Innovation to guide the Fresh Dairy and ESL platforms and pilot plant capabilities, aligning technical direction with commercial strategy. You will lead a cross-functional team to drive concept-to-pilot-to-commercialization programs while managing capacity, investments, and data-driven decisions.

You will design operating models, governance for data pipelines, and improvements to process estates, with a strong emphasis on food safety, quality, and lean