Whey & Ingredient Process Optimization Lead

Valley Queen; Milbank (SD); On-site; USD 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Valley Queen in Milbank, SD seeks a Technical Services Manager for Whey and Ingredients to drive process optimization, product quality, and capital-project execution. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team, ensuring safety, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement across whey processing and ingredient production.

The role requires broad experience in dairy manufacturing, strong leadership, and a track record of improving throughput and product quality, with collaboration across

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science, Dairy Manufacturing, Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Engineering, or related field required.
• 5–10 years of relevant dairy/manufacturing/process engineering experience.
• 5+ years of leadership or project-management in a manufacturing/technical environment.

Responsibilities

• Owns day-to-day performance of the department, ensuring safety, quality, and operational standards.
• Leads and develops Supervisors and Leads to ensure strong execution and team effectiveness.
• Manages capital plans and coordinates cross-functional projects with Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Quality, and Sales.
• Analyzes operating data to identify performance trends, root causes, and corrective actions.
• Ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and drives continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Business Acumen

Communication

Problem Solving

Technical Capacity

Education

Bachelor's degree

Five to ten years experience

Master’s degree (preferred)

Job description

Valley Queen in Milbank, SD seeks a Technical Services Manager for Whey and Ingredients to drive process optimization, product quality, and capital-project execution. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team, ensuring safety, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement across whey processing and ingredient production.

The role requires broad experience in dairy manufacturing, strong leadership, and a track record of improving throughput and product quality, with collaboration across