Senior Technical Program Manager, Farm Asset Design

About Plenty

Plenty is on a mission to make fresh, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables more accessible to everyone.  Our cutting-edge indoor, vertical farms produce extraordinary yields using a fraction of the land and water outdoor farms need.  Nutrient-rich, mouth-watering and locally grown, our crops help people, communities and our planet to be healthier and more resilient.

The people and teams who make up Plenty are at the core of how we do this.  We are a collaborative and innovative bunch.  We are passionate about our contributions to Plenty, the communities around us and our planet, but never take ourselves too seriously.  We’re down to Earth, we grow together, and we always find a way.  Most importantly, we’re here to improve the lives of plants, people and our planet.  

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Technical Program Manager to serve as the project design lead for Plenty’s next generation of farms. In this role, you will serve as both the Project Manager and Integration Lead to help scale R&D cultivars and farm processes into a prototype farm that demonstrates output and quality viability. These new cultivars will give Plenty’s produce global reach at an accessible price, leading to increased produce consumption and raising the quality of living around the world. You will be part of a passionate and dynamic team that is developing new technology from the ground up.

What You'll Do

• Project Manage all aspects of new Farm designs from concept through first harvest
• Stay engaged throughout the entire project including construction, equipment install and commissioning through hand-off to operations
• Responsible to prioritize, define and manage scopes of work for external design firms 
• Participate in Request for Proposal (RFP) processes, including Request for Quotation (RFQ) generation, proposal review, qualifications assessment, ranking and recommendation of final selection
• Lead overall design of Farm Projects and support capital project progression through stage gate milestones by:
• Managing the relationship with external design firms, serving as the interface between Plenty technical teams and external firms; manage scope of work, timeline, and budget of design projects
• Ensuring cross functional teams within Plenty (e.g., Plant Science, Food/Worker Safety, Farm Architecture, Engineering, Deployment, and Sourcing) are executing responsibilities related to design and design review to progress the Design Program through stage gates
• Leading workshops to gather Plenty design requirements, evaluate design tradeoffs, align on design decisions, conduct risk assessments and review external design firms work products
• Coordinate and host design reviews to ensure alignment of farm designs with key stakeholders (e.g. Deployment, Operations) and SME’s (Engineering, Food/Worker Safety)
• Provide Plenty leadership with capital project report out updates on project scope, schedule, forecasted costs
• Contribute to the development of an integrated program schedule spanning campus planning, design, product management, procurement, pre-construction, construction and commissioning
• Manage decision making process for technical v. farm economic choices and communicate and document decisions
• Collaborate with Plenty Product Management to integrate subsystem requirements and make recommendations for Plenty subsystem products that meet overall farm design requirements  
• Collaborate with Crop Program Management to ensure designs meet crop requirements and design is capable of achieving yield performance achieved in research spaces
• Work effectively across stakeholders to proactively identify risks related to deployment of farms and continuously mitigate them.  

What We Are Looking For

• BS in an engineering discipline and/or similar acquired skills from experience in the engineering field
• 10+ years experience managing third party design firms in context of a large scale capital project management (individual accountability for >$50-$100M scope a plus) 
• Experience using standard project stage gate and product development processes
• Experience leading design and manufacturing validation activities (DFMEA, DV/PV testing, PPAP etc.)
• Appreciation for the art of managing evolving project requirements in a fast-paced environment
• Highly collaborative mindset and strong communication skills
  

Type of role

Full-Time

What we can offer 

• Compensation; we’ll pay you a competitive salary, give you a stake in the company via equity and contribute toward your 401K 
• Health & well-being; we’ll invest in your physical and mental well-being with comprehensive medical, dental, & vision benefits, in-office gyms, and an Employee Assistance Program to help with mental health, financial & legal matters 
• Food; in-office lunches, snacks and access to our leafy greens & new produce in development -- are you up for a side gig as a taste tester?
• Grow together; learning & development opportunities including unlimited access to our Upstart University platform, LinkedIn Learning, lunch & learns, training certifications, and more
• Equipment; we’ll provide you with the equipment you need to be successful, including $75/month toward your phone bill and $250 every 2 years to upgrade your phone
• Paid time off; we know you’ll do your best if you’re taking time to recharge, so we don’t cap the amount of days you can take off per year in addition to the paid holidays we observe
• Parental leave; 12 weeks off for all new parents - fully paid so you can focus your energy on your newest addition 

Food Safety Requirements

• Comply with all Plant, State and Federal OSHA, EPA, FDA, HACCP, and SQF regulations
• All employees must show proof of COVID vaccination before starting work, other than in limited circumstances where the law requires an exception