Manufacturing Manager, EPIC

About us

At the forefront of farming and food, UPSIDE Foods is innovating new ways to produce real meat, without the need to breed, feed and slaughter animals. Our process begins with an animal cell, which is cultivated and harvested as meat. The founding company of the industry, UPSIDE Foods is a mission-driven organization focused on bringing to meat lovers an authentic product that is truly humane, sustainably produced, nutritious and delicious! We are now expanding our team of dedicated professionals across disciplines to make better meat for a better world.

About this job

UPSIDE has grown fast over the last two years, and the momentum continues! The Manufacturing Manager will work in our Engineering, Production, & Innovation Center (EPIC). This role is responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating the activities and resources necessary for conversion and formulation of food products in a USDA regulated workspace. This individual will create efficiencies based on manufacturing capabilities along with run strategies that result in meeting or exceeding customer requirements. They will work closely with the senior leadership team, our integrated supply chain, and other core operational departments in EPIC. The Manufacturing Manager will play a key role in our partnership with the USDA and will continually interface with their officials.

Responsibilities include… 

• Lead day to day operations of the Food R&D production space, help design and lead the production processes required to create RTE and other products made of cultured cells and tissue. 
• Partner with Supply Chain and work with ERP tools to forecast workflows so throughput requirements are met without interruption.
• Collaborate with EPIC functional departments to solve problems with a data-driven approach, and create improvements that ensure process and mechanical reliability.
• Manage processing schedules or production orders to make decisions concerning inventory requirements, staffing requirements, and work procedures while ensuring efficiency, reliability, quality, and safety.
• Operate complex machines and instruments used for the production and storage of harvested meat in a USDA-regulated facility.
• Support drafting and review of SOPs, SSOPs, and GMP programs while building a best in class culture of safety and facilitate efficiency modeling for the Food Manufacturing team.

About you…

• B.S. in food process engineering, industrial engineering/operations, biology, or other related fields.
• Demonstrated high volume production planning experience in a manufacturing environment, ideally with 5+ years’ experience.
• Experience with ERP systems; Microsoft Dynamics experience is preferred.
• Able to dissect complex manufacturing operations, and direct a team to achieve specific end results on tight schedules.
• Great organizational and project management skills, and consistently communicates to ensure reliability with a safety, efficiency, and quality mindset.
• Ability to recognize opportunities for improvement and influence others to make change.
• Must be able to work in refrigerated production spaces. Must be able to carry up to 50 pounds. Must be able to sit or stand up for long periods of time while monitoring operations and performing daily tasks. Must be able to don Personal Protective Equipment (safety glasses, gloves, hair restraints, footwear, lab coats or coveralls) on a daily basis, as well as hearing and dust protection as needed.

Who you’ll work with…

• This role will work in  our EPIC facility. 
• While we expect growth in all functions in the next 1-2 years, this role will most frequently interact with our FSQA, Purchasing/Procurement, upstream Operations, Mechanical/ Facilities, Planning, and Warehouse teams.

Key Contributions in First Year…

• Develop production plans for the different product lines to include resource planning and monitoring performance against the plan. 
• Develop and execute KPIs for manufacturing that are aligned to internal OKRs
• Make improvements to the existing operational framework to ensure safety, quality, efficiency, and reliability.
• Interface and relationship build with local USDA officials.

UPSIDE Benefits!

• Stock options for all full-time incoming team members!
• 90-100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for team members (medical [including HSA and FSA], dental, and vision)
• Pet insurance for your furry family members!
• Unlimited PTO
• DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Council and People Engagement Programs
• Company-sponsored learning & development opportunities

UPSIDE Foods is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Our company-wide mission is to create a product for everyone, so we are deeply committed to having teams and leaders that reflect this mission.