Job Details

Location: Michigan with up to 25% travel
Reports To: Director, Operations
Department: Operations

JOB SUMMARY

The primary purpose of this role is to partner strategically with our Contract Manufacturer (Co-Man) to ensure excellence in safety, quality, and operational performance. This position serves as the key liaison between the Contract Manufacturer and our internal Operations and Supply Chain teams, driving alignment and effective collaboration across all manufacturing activities.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Be the primary liaison between Good Culture and our Contract Manufacturer with a focus on ensuring a high level of safety, quality, and operational excellence
• Review production forecasts and align with Co-man production planning to ensure proper inventory amounts of all materials
• Ensure specification compliance through quality and productivity improvement meetings, scorecards, trackers, and Key Performance Indicators (KPI's)
• Develop metrics and maintain a Co-Man "scorecard" to provide visibility on performance to the Co-Man and to internal stakeholders
• Focus on manufacturing performance that constantly strives to eliminate waste, reduce COGS and to improve efficiency, preferably using continuous improvement (CI) methodologies and tools to accomplish these objectives
• Work closely with the Commercialization team to ensure the seamless integration of approved projects
• Work closely with the QA team on quality deviations and work quickly and decisively to resolve these deviations
• Contribute to our mission and ensure your work has a positive impact on our environmental and social responsibilities:
• Use B Corp guidelines to select partners and collaborators who are environmentally and socially responsible.
• Be a brand visionary and expert, create and implement mission and values-first communication framework across everything we do.
• Use environmental and social impact as a critical lens for decision-making.
• Lead activities/initiatives for B Corp, Path to Pasture, or other partnerships to maximize impact and achieve annual giveback/result KPI's.
• Leverage opportunities to highlight Good Culture's mission and impact to inspire others to join us in doing good.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS

• BS degree in Supply Chain/Dairy Science/Food Science/Engineering or equivalent
• Minimum seven (7) years of food manufacturing experience required, preferably in dairy manufacturing/supply chain. Cottage cheese manufacturing a plus
• Understanding of dairy manufacturing / processing equipment and technology (pasteurization, separation, homogenization, blending, fillers, CIP, sanitation, etc.)
• Manufacturing Leadership experience in positions of increasing responsibility demonstrating excellence in results delivery
• Experience with manufacturing in an FDA environment; Preferred food and / or liquid processing manufacturing; high speed dairy and aseptic processing a plus
• Experience working in corporate and plant level Continuous Improvement (CI) organization preferred
• Experience in the dairy (or food) industry with deep process knowledge in quality and manufacturing
• Data driven approach to delivering innovative continuous improvement (CI) solutions to improve product quality, reduce manufacturing costs, produce product more efficiently, and improve relationships with our Co-Mans.
• Advanced troubleshooting skills in a dairy manufacturing environment
• Intermediate level in Excel and data analysis
• Ability to build positive relationships with Co-Man leadership teams and Good Culture leadership teams

About Good Culture:

We believe that if you eat good things, and surround yourself with good, you'll feel good. Simple as that. That's why we decided to create a food company that offers real organic ingredients from trusted sources, promotes good health and tastes great. Our mission is to reinvent the food system, from the (actual) ground up. We are a cultured dairy company that currently makes pasture-raised cottage cheese, probiotic rich sour cream, cream cheese and probiotic milk. We're on the look for some cultured healers!

Good Culture is an equal opportunity employer. At Good Culture we also believe a great culture fosters and values a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce. We seek individuals of all backgrounds and experiences to apply for this position. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Good Culture is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.