Senior Research & Development Manager leading product innovation and development at Chobani. Overseeing projects from ideation to market launch while ensuring quality and compliance standards.
About the role
- Identify and implement opportunities to improve safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance across processing plants and transfer stations.
- Apply Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and structured problem-solving methodologies to streamline processes, eliminate waste, and drive measurable cost savings.
- Conduct time studies, workflow analysis, and labor utilization reviews to identify bottlenecks, process constraints, and opportunities to rebalance work for improved throughput.
- Develop and standardize best practices that improve reliability, reduce variability, and enhance overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
- Support and lead site-level and national continuous improvement initiatives aligned with Daniels Health’s operational goals.
- Partner with regional and site leadership to identify cost-reduction opportunities in labor, materials, logistics, and maintenance.
- Drive initiatives that lower operational expenses through improved process efficiency, waste minimization, and resource optimization.
- Quantify and track the financial impact of all CI projects, providing regular reporting to leadership on savings achieved and ROI.
- Collaborate with finance and operations teams to integrate cost improvement metrics into site KPIs and performance dashboards.
- Work through regional operations leadership to prioritize and execute improvement initiatives that align with regional and national objectives.
- Influence and engage individuals at all organizational levels — from frontline team members to senior leaders — to participate in ideation, active problem-solving, prioritization, solution development, testing, and full-scale deployment.
- Serve as a trusted facilitator and coach, guiding teams through structured improvement processes and ensuring strong engagement and ownership of outcomes.
- Communicate progress, learnings, and successes across the organization to build awareness and sustain a continuous improvement mindset.
- Maintain a strong and visible presence on the plant floor, working directly with operations teams to identify and implement process improvements.
- Perform Gemba walks, time and motion studies, and process observations to validate performance data and identify opportunities to improve flow and balance workloads.
- Apply Lean tools such as 5S, Standard Work, Visual Management, and Value Stream Mapping to drive daily improvements and embed continuous improvement behaviors across all levels.
- Collaborate with local and national Maintenance and Engineering teams to improve equipment performance, reduce downtime, and enhance asset utilization.
- Support process design improvements, automation projects, and infrastructure optimization initiatives that reduce costs and increase throughput.
- Contribute to the development of preventative maintenance programs that improve reliability and operational efficiency.
- Coach and train site teams on Lean principles, structured problem-solving, and root cause analysis methodologies (e.g., PDCA, DMAIC, DFSS, 8D, 5 Whys, Fishbone).
- Promote a culture of experimentation and validation, encouraging teams to test and analyze improvement hypotheses before full-scale deployment.
- Facilitate hands-on workshops, Kaizen events, and A3 problem-solving sessions to strengthen analytical and practical skills.
- Develop internal CI champions and sustainment mechanisms to ensure long-term success of initiatives.
- Reinforce data-driven decision-making and evidence-based validation as standard practice for solution development and deployment.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in continuous improvement, process engineering, or operational excellence roles in manufacturing, logistics, or industrial environments.
- Proven experience applying structured problem-solving approaches such as PDCA, DMAIC, DFSS, or 8D within a manufacturing or distribution setting.
- Demonstrated success in implementing Lean or Six Sigma projects that delivered measurable cost savings.
- Experience conducting time studies, process analysis, and workflow optimization.
- Strong analytical, communication, and project management skills, with the ability to influence at all organizational levels.
- Proven ability to lead change across multi-site or regional operations.
- Comfortable with hands-on work in plant and transfer station environments.
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification (preferred).
- Experience in healthcare, environmental services, or other regulated industries (preferred).
- Familiarity with ERP systems and analytics tools (e.g., SAP, Power BI, Tableau) (preferred).
Benefits
- medical, dental, and vision insurance
- retirement savings plans with company match contributions
- paid vacation and sick time
- wellness resources
- life insurance
- professional development opportunities
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