Sr. Project Manager, Innovation

Mezzetta; Larkspur (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Mezzetta is seeking a Senior Project Manager, Innovation to act as the operational backbone of its pre-launch portfolio. The role brings structure, clarity, and disciplined decision-making to a fast-paced, cross-functional environment within the innovation pipeline and stage gate process.

Reporting to the VP of Strategy & Execution, you will standardize project management practices, partner with functional leaders, and drive alignment, ensuring teams understand status, risks, and tradeoffs to

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree. MBA Preferred.
• PMP Certified Preferred.
• 10+ years of project management experience, with significant experience in CPG or food manufacturing preferred.
• Demonstrated success leading innovation pipelines and stage gate processes.
• Experience operating in ambiguous, fast changing environments with shifting priorities.
• Proven ability to drive cross-functional alignment and decision-making without direct authority.
• Strong ability to translate complexity into clear, actionable insights for leadership.
• Expertise in project management tools (Smartsheet preferred).
• Lean / Continuous Improvement experience (preferred).

Responsibilities

• Own and continuously improve Mezzetta’s innovation stage gate process.
• Ensure clear entry/exit criteria, decision frameworks, and accountability at each gate.
• Drive decision clarity and durability—minimizing rework and scope churn.
• Partner with Innovation, Marketing, R&D, and Operations to ensure feasibility, alignment, and execution readiness.
• Surface tradeoffs (cost, timing, complexity) to enable strong decision-making.
• Provide a clear, consolidated view of innovation project portfolio health.
• Translate complex project data into clear executive-level insights.
• Identify risks, dependencies, and capacity constraints early.
• Enable leadership to make informed decisions.
• Establish and enforce best practices, tools, and methodologies.
• Drive consistency in project scoping, planning, and execution.
• Train cross-functional teams on effective project management and stage gate discipline.
• Improve predictability, speed, and quality of project delivery.
• Drive accountability across teams for timelines, deliverables, and outcomes.
• Lead retrospectives and continuous improvement efforts.
• Optimize tools (e.g., Smartsheet) to support scalable execution, prioritization and resource decisions.

Skills

PMP Certified

Lean/CI

Cross-functional alignment

Decision making

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

MBA Preferred

Tools

Smartsheet

Job description

About Us:

Since 1935, we’ve been on a mission to bring a little extra happiness to everyday life and inspire connections over food. We select the finest ingredients the world has to offer, craft premium products made with love, and never settle for shortcuts. We believe that when we share our food, we share a part of ourselves —and that’s the only way we’d put our name on it.

Today, our small family company has grown into a national leader in specialty olives, peppers, and sauces under the leadership of CEO Jeff Mezzetta, and our commitment to quality has never wavered. With an80-year legacy behind us and a bright future ahead, we’re seeking passionate, driven candidates to help us bring our cherished family traditions to a new generation.

The ideal candidate will have an immediate connection to our Core Ingredients:

• Crunchy Crunchy: We are hungry for excellence.
• Own It: We think and act as an owner – with appetite, initiative, and responsibility.
• Connection: We build authentic relationships that foster trust and open communications.
• Vibrance: We come to work eager and passionate about fulfilling our vision.When we share our work, we share a part of who we are.

Mezzetta is seeking a Senior Project Manager, Innovation to serve as the operational backbone of our pre-launch innovation project portfolio. This role will bring structure, clarity, and decision discipline to a fast-paced, cross-functional environment—particularly within our innovation pipeline and stage gate process.

Reporting to the VP of Strategy & Execution, this leader will standardize and elevate project management practices while also acting as a critical thought partner to functional leaders—ensuring teams understand status, risks, tradeoffs, and implications of key decisions.

This role is not just about tracking projects—it is about driving alignment, enabling better decisions, and improving the success rate of innovation at Mezzetta.

Responsibilities

Innovation & Stage Gate Leadership

• Own and continuously improve Mezzetta’s innovation stage gate process
• Ensure clear entry/exit criteria, decision frameworks, and accountability at each gate
• Drive decision clarity and durability—minimizing rework and scope churn
• Partner with Innovation, Marketing, R&D, and Operations to ensure feasibility, alignment, and execution readiness
• Surface tradeoffs (cost, timing, complexity) to enable strong decision-making

Portfolio Visibility & Decision Support

• Provide a clear, consolidated view of innovation project portfolio health
• Translate complex project data into clear executive-level insights
• Identify risks, dependencies, and capacity constraints early
• Enable leadership to make inform

Innovation Project Management Capability Building

• Establish and enforce best practices, tools, and methodologies
• Drive consistency in project scoping, planning, and execution
• Train cross-functional teams on effective project management and stage gate discipline
• Improve predictability, speed, and quality of project delivery
• Drive accountability across teams for timelines, deliverables, and outcomes
• Lead retrospectives and continuous improvement efforts
• Optimize tools (e.g., Smartsheet) to support scalable executioned prioritization and resource decisions

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree. MBA Preferred
• PMP Certified Preferred
• 10+ years of project management experience, with significant experience in CPG or food manufacturing preferred
• Demonstrated success leading innovation pipelines and stage gate processes
• Experience operating in ambiguous, fast-changing environments with shifting priorities
• Proven ability to drive cross-functional alignment and decision-making without direct authority
• Strong ability to translate complexity into clear, actionable insights for leadership
• Expertise in project management tools (Smartsheet preferred)
• Lean / Continuous Improvement experience (preferred)

Pay Range

$170,000 - $180,000 USD

Our Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace:

At Mezzetta, we embrace diversity and strive to create an inclusive environment where you know you belong. Part of that commitment includes a zero-tolerance policy and being an Equal Opportunity Employer that prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. All employment decisions at Mezzetta are solely based on merit, qualifications, abilities and business needs, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, national origin, disability,military or veteran status, family or parental status, pregnancy, or any other status protected by law. All of us share in the responsibility of fulfilling this commitment and creating a culture where our team can thrive.