Senior R&D Manager, Technical Innovation

Summary

Our Research and Development department is on the forefront of product development and innovation. It is easy to be dedicated when you’re a part of something much bigger than yourself. We’ve got an insatiable appetite for making a difference. The Senior Manager, Technical Innovation will steer our Fresh Dairy and ESL innovation platforms and the pilot plant capabilities that power them — setting direction for what the innovation system can make, measure, and prove; upgrading the spaces and equipment it runs on; and modeling its capacity and output so leadership can make informed decisions about demand, priorities, staffing, and capital. The pilot plant serves R&D scientists, research communities, engineering, operations, and commercial partners who compete for the same finite equipment and labor; this leader designs the operating model, investment roadmap, and analytical frameworks that absorb that complexity, working through the operating team rather than in the day-to-day. We are looking for a candidate who is equal parts innovation strategist, engineer, and systems designer to help Chobani advance its mission of making healthy and delicious foods.

Responsibilities

• Set the innovation capabilities agenda and scope for the Fresh Dairy and ESL platforms — steering the portfolio from concept through pilot proof and scale-up, and aligning technical direction with commercial priorities and category strategy.
• Steward pilot plant capabilities as a strategic asset: own the capability roadmap across the full process estate — HTST, homogenization, KDB-3, UF separation, ESL and ESL infusion, maturation, Goavec reactor, automation upgrades, vacuum cooker, batching, and filling — and decide where to add, upgrade, or retire equipment and processes.
• Lead through the operating team: direct the supervisors and leads who run day-to-day pilot operations, sample fulfillment, and laboratory testing, holding the system accountable for safe, on-time, in-specification output without owning floor-level execution.
• Own capacity and staffing modeling for the innovation system: maintain the empirically grounded model built from weekly shift-report productivity data, translate R&D and commercial sample demand into FTE requirements, equipment utilization, and constraint analysis, and present defensible staffing and capital scenarios to leadership.
• Model innovation output, not just plant activity — request-to-sample cycle times, trial throughput, shelf-life program yield, and cost per project — so leadership can see the productivity of the innovation system and where investment moves it.
• Lead space upgrades and capital-improvement projects — facility redesign, equipment relocation, and space optimization — balancing walking paths, utilities, hygienic zoning, and structural constraints, and carrying layout decisions through executive approval.
• Identify and relieve structural bottlenecks — the ESL line and cup sealer behave as serial physical constraints — distinguishing labor-elastic work from equipment-bound work and directing capital, scheduling policy, and process redesign accordingly.
• Set the operating model — intake rules, prioritization frameworks, and governed data pipelines, designed with engineering, automation, and data partners — so competing requests from R&D, commercial, and research communities are sequenced against real equipment and labor availability and a high-variability facility behaves predictably.
• Hold governance accountability for food safety, quality, GMP, and regulatory compliance and a zero-injury safety culture, ensuring standards, audit readiness, and corrective-action ownership sit clearly within the operating team.
• Institutionalize Lean, Six Sigma, and TPM as a management system: set targets for changeover time, cycle time, rework, and waste, review results, and protect the flexibility a prototyping environment requires.
• Govern external analytical laboratory and carrier relationships and their spend, with per-project attribution and service-level accountability for sample and shipment fulfillment.
• Build organizational capability: develop supervisors, leads, and senior technical staff, design the structure, cross-training, and succession behind the pilot operation, and communicate capacity, risk, and investment needs up through R&D Directors, Vice Presidents, and Executive Leadership team members.

Requirements

• Minimum Bachelors of Science or Engineering (Masters preferred) in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemical/Mechanical/Industrial Engineering, Dairy Science, or related degree, or equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
• 10+ years of food industry experience required, dairy and/or dairy alternatives preferred, including 5+ years in people management; pilot-plant, scale-up, or R&D-operations leadership strongly preferred.
• Track record steering innovation platforms or portfolios — fresh dairy, ESL/aseptic, or adjacent categories — from concept through pilot proof to commercialization.
• Deep technical command of dairy/food process unit operations — pasteurization (HTST/ESL), homogenization, separation/filtration (UF), fermentation/maturation, and aseptic or hygienic packaging — sufficient to set direction and challenge trade-offs credibly.
• Demonstrated command of food safety and quality systems (HACCP, GMP, allergen and sanitation controls) and equipment calibration/validation, exercised at a governance and audit-readiness level.
• Proven capacity, throughput, and output modeling and data-driven decision-making; fluency translating operational data into staffing and capital recommendations that hold up in executive review.
• Continuous-improvement credentials (Lean/Six Sigma/TPM) with a track record of measurable results delivered through teams.
• Working fluency with data and modeling tools (spreadsheet modeling, SQL/BI dashboards) and comfort partnering with data engineers; familiarity with automation/controls (PLC/SCADA, MES) preferred.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and energized by the process of building something from the ground up; innate curiosity for understanding complex food systems and operations.
• Champion a clean & safe manufacturing environment within all facilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to communicate with scientists, engineers, operators, data teams, and executives alike.
• Must be a self-starter able to work in a fast-paced environment and handle multiple projects/tasks at the same time.