Commercialization Project Manager - South Holland

MINIAT HOLDINGS LLC • South Holland, IL

2d

About The Position

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.

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

Nice To Haves

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

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Benefits

• 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager