Manager, Sanitation

Danone•Dallas, TX

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Corporate Sanitation Manager will lead the company’s sanitation strategy across all facilities, ensuring the highest standards of hygienic design, extended shelf-life processing, fresh dairy processing, frozen processing, and regulatory compliance. This role is responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring sanitation programs that safeguard product integrity, protect consumer health, and maintain operational excellence in food manufacturing. This position operates under a hybrid work model, requiring onsite presence at one of our internal manufacturing sites while not traveling. Travel is 50-70%. While this schedule is typical, team or business needs may require additional onsite days. We are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented professional to join our team. This role contributes to the success of the organization by supporting key functions, driving operational excellence, and collaborating across departments to achieve strategic goals. The ideal candidate will bring strong communication skills, a proactive mindset, and the ability to adapt to a dynamic environment. This position offers opportunities for growth, innovation, and meaningful impact within the company.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in food science, Dairy Science, Microbiology, Engineering, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
5+ years of experience in sanitation leadership roles within food manufacturing, with multi-site responsibility preferred.
Strong knowledge of dairy processing, CIP systems, MSS management, phage monitoring, environmental testing, and dairy industry standards.
Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence at all organizational levels, and drive cultural change.
Knowledge of food industry regulations, safety standards, and quality control processes.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to train, mentor, and engage diverse teams.
Strong financial acumen, with the ability to develop and manage budgets.
The ideal candidate for this role excels in a hands-on support environment.
Strategic vision, leadership
Desire to always find the best solution with resilience and prudence using IWS troubleshooting tools
Ability to take decisions, taking risks into account
Constant search for new solutions and technologies (external networking)
Interaction/communication with other departments
Optimism, creativity, and drive action
Accuracy and discipline
Critical thinking: Ability to express complex issues in a simple and easy way

Nice To Haves

advanced degree preferred
multi-site responsibility preferred

Responsibilities

Acts as an expert in cleaning parameters and related quality & food safety risks for manufacturing teams.
Work with our internal plants on Validation Cleaning Protocols and CIP United Program Implementation
Optimize CIP cycles to reduce water, energy, and chemical usage while maintaining sanitary integrity and meeting Regulatory Compliance (including PMO).
Drive continuous improvement in MSS effectiveness, frequency, and resource allocation.
Understand our Hygienic Zoning policies and procedures with ability to facilitate and research mitigation technology to support the manufacturing sites
Analyze environmental data to identify risk patterns and drive proactive interventions. Ability to assist our plants in execution of program and support when issues arise
Partner with plant leadership to ensure consistent execution of sanitation programs, including extended shelf-life processing and hygienic design standards.