Commercialization Project Manager - South Holland
Ed Miniat

Position Description:

Manages the end-to-end commercialization and product development process by leading project timelines, cross-functional alignment, and manufacturing readiness. Ensures that new products are developed and launched on-time, on-cost, and in compliance with quality and operational standards. Responsible for the administration, design, and selection of processes and systems to manage commercialization and the entire product lifecycle, driving continuous improvement across both commercialization and product development activities.

Primary Responsibilities:

Project & Commercialization Management

• Manages and improves both product development and commercialization processes, overseeing projects from concept through launch.
• Builds timelines, defines milestones, and manages risks for new products.
• Owns the commercialization stage of the product lifecycle, including gate requirements, stakeholder deliverables, and launch readiness.
• Facilitates cross-functional communication and alignment between R&D, Operations, QA, Scheduling, Supply Chain, and Accounting.
• Responsible for administration, design, and selection of processes and systems to manage commercialization and product lifecycle activities.
• Conducts post-launch and post-development reviews to capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvement.

Scale-Up & Trial Management

• Oversees new product test runs, plant trials, and first production runs, ensuring consistency, yield targets, and process capability.
• Monitors early-life production performance (yields, throughput, quality metrics, spec compliance) to ensure stability as products transition from new to active status.
• Ensures accurate documentation of formulas, procedures, process parameters, and equipment settings.
• Troubleshoots issues during start-ups and coordinates corrective actions with R&D, Ops, QA, and Engineering.

Process Design & Continuous Improvement

• Designs, selects, and administers processes and systems to support commercialization and product lifecycle management.
• Validates line capacity, throughput rates, and labor requirements for accurate production planning.
• Evaluates and implements new technologies, equipment, and methods to enhance manufacturability, throughput, cost, and safety.
• Recommends and drives process changes to improve scaling performance, yield consistency, and product development outcomes.

Costing & Financial Accuracy

• Reviews and approves all commercialization- and development-related costing inputs, including labor standards, yields, material specifications, and processing time assumptions.
• Collaborates with Finance to ensure costing reflects real plant performance post-launch.
• Identifies cost-reduction opportunities during scale-up and development.

Documentation and Training

• Builds and maintains standardized commercialization and product development documentation.
• Ensures all SOPs, batch sheets, formulation files, specifications, and start-up documents are complete and current.
• Develops and delivers new product training for operators, leads, and supervisors.
• Performs other functions as assigned.

Supervisory/Management Responsibilities:

None

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Engineering, Operations Management, Animal Science, or related field
• 3 - 5 years of food manufacturing experience
• Strong understanding of yields, throughput, and process capability
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Strong communication skills
• Knowledge of GMP and HACCP programs
• Spend approximately 50 -70% in the production areas, including in cold environments
• Experience leading product development and / or commercialization process

Preferred :

• PMP certification or equivalent
• Meat manufacturing experience
• Experience working in a USDA regulated facility
• Lean/Six Sigma certification
• Bilingual, English/Spanish preferred

Core Values:

• We take pride in what we do
• It's a privilege to serve each other, our customers and the community
• We embrace our legacy and build for the future
• We make decisions and commit
• We are a team that plays to win

Competencies:

• Results Orientation: The ability to focus on the desired result of one's own or one's unit's work, setting challenging goals, focusing effort on the goals, and meeting or exceeding them.
• Customer Focus: Pursuit of the highest level of customer service; anticipate the customer's future needs and trends; identify opportunities to benefit customers; strive to resolve customer concerns; and offer advice and guidance in responding to customer inquiries.
• Forward Thinking: The ability to anticipate the implications and consequences of a situation and take appropriate action to be prepared for possible contingencies.
• Action Orientation: Maintaining a sense of urgency to complete a task. Seeks information rather than waiting for it.
• Communication: The ability to give and gather information and actively manage the communication process by asking questions, conveying complex information in plain language, listening and considering others' views, state own views clearly and concisely, and address conflict in a professional and productive manner.

Benefits for this role include: Medical, vision, dental, discretionary bonus up to 12% (50% personal performance based & 50% company performance), profit sharing (which feeds retirement) at a minimum of 3% annually and 120 hours PTO in the 1st 12 months.

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