Pilot Plant Manager, Pet R&D

• Brand:

• Post Consumer Brands

• Categories:

• Research & Development

• Locations:

• Lakeville, Minnesota

• Position Type:

• Regular Full-Time

• Remote Eligible:

• No •

Req ID:

• 30443
• Job Description
• Business Unit Overview
• Headquartered in Lakeville, Minn.

, Post Consumer Brands, a business unit of Post Holdings, Inc., is dedicated to providing people and their pets with delicious food choices for every taste and budget. The company's portfolio includes beloved brands such as Honey Bunches of Oats®, PEBBLES®, Grape-Nuts® and Malt-O-Meal® cereal, and Peter Pan® peanut butter, as well as Nutrish®, Kibbles 'n Bits® and 9Lives® dog and cat food. As a company committed to high standards of quality and to our values, we are driven by one idea: To make lives better by making delicious food accessible for all. For more information about our brands, visit www.postconsumerbrands.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook for the latest news.

• Brand
• At Post Consumer Brands, we've spent generations showing up for families, starting with breakfast, the most important meal of the day.

Our cereals have become a trusted part of daily routines, helping spark conversations, fuel busy mornings, and create everyday moments that bring families closer together, including their furry four-legged family members, who have recently become a part of our story. As families have evolved, so have we. What began at the breakfast table has expanded into snacks, peanut butter, and pet food, because caring for a family means feeding every part of it. With the addition of several iconic pet brands, we've extended our purpose: to make high-quality, accessible food for everyone under the same roof. This phase is still new, and that's what makes it exciting. As we continue to grow across grocery and pet, we're looking for people who care about good food, thoughtful work, and the kind of impact that stretches from store shelves to kitchen tables, and food bowls, across the country.

• Location Description
• Post Consumer Brands corporate headquarters in Lakeville, Minnesota, is about 20 miles south of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Lakeville has all the benefits of smaller town living with access to everything a large metropolitan area has to offer. Join more than 400 team members collaborating on the two-building campus to help put breakfast on the tables of millions of consumers in North America.
• Responsibilities
• Overview
• This role oversees daily operations of the Post Consumer Brands Pet Food Pilot plant, ensuring people safety, food safety, quality, customer service, and efficiency.

The Pilot Plant Manager is responsible for the safe, compliant, and efficient operation of the pilot plant, supporting product development, scale-up, and manufacturing readiness. The position provides leadership, development, and support to technicians by empowering decision making, fostering learning, and driving continuous improvement. As a member of the Pet R D leadership team, the role also helps shape the strategy and the technical pipeline to support business objectives.

• Responsibilities and Accountabilities
• + •Develop and lead a high performing team of technicians•by setting clear expectations and ensuring adherence to company standards for personal safety, productivity, quality, food safety, sanitation, environmental compliance, and SQF requirements.

+

• Manage, prioritize, and coordinate pilot plant activities
• to meet business needs. Plan, organize, and schedule the work of technical personnel to ensure timely completion of testing and alignment with demand. +
• Oversee pilot plant facilities, equipment, and systems
• to ensure they remain functional, sanitary, and safe while meeting all applicable regulatory and corporate requirements. +
• Conduct GMP, safety, and pre‑operational audits
• to ensure compliance and readiness of facilities and processes. + Effectively develop, scale up, and optimize and pilotplant processes, to emulate plant operations and co-man capabilities. +
• Implement new operating procedures
• and recommend or execute equipment changes as required to support process improvements and business goals. + Partner with R D to refine current processes or explore new pilot-plant scale technologies, with the responsibility for initiating and executing capital project planning. +
• Participate as a leader in Pet R D to create and execute research plans
• + Partners cross-functionally with Quality, Engineering, and Operations within project teams.

• Work Location:

  Fully onsite 5 days per week
• Qualifications
• +

Critical Leadership Expectations:

Put Safety First, Do Right, Win As One, Be Bold, Bring Joy, Act Like An + Fundamental knowledge in food science and processing technologies. + Strong collaboration skills and experience partnering internally and externally. + Ability to effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, complex ideas to various stakeholders. + Ability to thrive in a changing and fast-paced environment, managing multiple projects simultaneously. + Job location is in Lakeville MN. Up to 25% Travel may be required.

• Education
• : Bachelor's degree in engineering, manufacturing, food science or equivalent experience.
• Experience
• + Prefer a minimum of 10 years of combined related experience with a preference in food processing / packaging. + Previous supervisory experience required + Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems and processes + Strong knowledge of continuous improvement tools and techniques + Able to build relationships and inspire others
• Overview
• This role oversees daily operations of the Post Consumer Brands Pet Food Pilot plant, ensuring people safety, food safety, quality, customer service, and efficiency.

The Pilot Plant Manager is responsible for the safe, compliant, and efficient operation of the pilot plant, supporting product development, scale-up, and manufacturing readiness. The position provides leadership, development, and support to technicians by empowering decision making, fostering learning, and driving continuous improvement. As a member of the Pet R D leadership team, the role also helps shape the strategy and the technical pipeline to support business objectives.

• Responsibilities and Accountabilities
• + •Develop and lead a high performing team of technicians•by setting clear expectations and ensuring adherence to company standards for personal safety, productivity, quality, food safety, sanitation, environmental compliance, and SQF requirements.

+

• Manage, prioritize, and coordinate pilot plant activities
• to meet business needs. Plan, organize, and schedule the work of technical personnel to ensure timely completion of testing and alignment with demand. +
• Oversee pilot plant facilities, equipment, and systems
• to ensure they remain functional, sanitary, and safe while meeting all applicable regulatory and corporate requirements. +
• Conduct GMP, safety, and pre‑operational audits
• to ensure compliance and readiness of facilities and processes. + Effectively develop, scale up, and optimize and pilotplant processes, to emulate plant operations and co-man capabilities. +
• Implement new operating procedures
• and recommend or execute equipment changes as required to support process improvements and business goals. + Partner with R D to refine current processes or explore new pilot-plant scale technologies, with the responsibility for initiating and executing capital project planning. +
• Participate as a leader in Pet R D to create and execute research plans
• + Partners cross-functionally with Quality, Engineering, and Operations within project teams.

• Work Location:

  Fully onsite 5 days per week
• +

Critical Leadership Expectations:

Put Safety First, Do Right, Win As One, Be Bold, Bring Joy, Act Like An + Fundamental knowledge in food science and processing technologies. + Strong collaboration skills and experience partnering internally and externally. + Ability to effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, complex ideas to various stakeholders. + Ability to thrive in a changing and fast-paced environment, managing multiple projects simultaneously. + Job location is in Lakeville MN. Up to 25% Travel may be required.

• Education
• : Bachelor's degree in engineering, manufacturing, food science or equivalent experience.
• Experience
• + Prefer a minimum of 10 years of combined related experience with a preference in food processing / packaging.

+ Previous supervisory experience required + Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems and processes + Strong knowledge of continuous improvement tools and techniques + Able to build relationships and inspire othersPost Holdings provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, status as a covered veteran and any other category protected under applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws. Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)