Pilot Plant Manager

Chobani • Roosevelt Park, MI

1d • $95,000 - $150,700

About The Position

The Pilot Plant Manager leads the operation, safety, capability development, and continuous improvement of the pilot plant facility to enable efficient product development, process scale-up, and commercialization. This role bridges R&D, Operations, Quality, and Engineering to ensure that bench formulations translate effectively to scalable, manufacturable products.This leader ensures the pilot plant operates as a high-performing, technically sound, and strategically aligned capability that supports innovation, renovation, and commercialization priorities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
• 7–10+ years in food/beverage manufacturing or pilot plant operations.
• 3–5+ years of people leadership preferred.
• Experience supporting commercialization and plant trials.
• Strong knowledge of food safety standards and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily pilot plant operations, scheduling, and resource allocation.
• Ensure safe, compliant operation of all processing equipment (HTST, homogenizer, separators, retort, etc.).
• Manage batch execution for product development, scale-up trials, and validation runs.
• Optimize throughput while maintaining flexibility for innovation work.
• Establish and manage hold-time standards, CIP protocols, and sanitation procedures.
• Work with R&D to translate bench formulas into scalable pilot processes.
• Partner with R&D scientists to identify processing risks early (emulsification, stability, shear sensitivity, thermal impact).
• Support plant trials and technical transfer documentation.
• Lead process validation and parameter optimization (time/temp, shear, homogenization pressure, etc.).
• Work with TPA/QA on Pilot Retort Recipes
• Document learnings to build institutional knowledge.
• Work with Commercial team to make and send sales samples
• Lead commissioning and qualification of new equipment in the pilot.
• Develop equipment SOPs and training materials.
• Identify capability gaps aligned with 2–3 year innovation roadmap.
• Support capital planning and ROI justification for new technologies.
• Maintain relationships with equipment vendors and service providers.
• Own pilot plant safety culture and compliance standards.
• Ensure GMP compliance and food safety standards.
• Lead risk assessments and mitigation plans.
• Partner with QA to align pilot and manufacturing expectations.
• Maintain calibration, preventive maintenance, and documentation systems.
• Manage pilot plant technologists
• Develop cross-training programs to increase operational flexibility.
• Create structured onboarding and technical skill development pathways.
• Foster a proactive, solutions-oriented culture.
• Act as a visible leader who reinforces accountability and collaboration.
• Align pilot plant capabilities with R&D and business strategy.
• Provide input into innovation feasibility, timelines, and risk assessments.
• Track KPIs (trial success rate, throughput, cycle time, equipment uptime, safety metrics).
• Build a continuous improvement roadmap for the facility.

Benefits

• Chobani provides a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision coverage, disability insurance, health savings account, flexible spending accounts, and tuition reimbursement.
• To help save for the future, all employees are eligible for a 401k match of 100% on up to 5% of eligible pay.
• To support growing families, we provide fertility and childcare assistance, and 12 weeks of parental leave at full pay after six months of continuous employment.
• In addition, we provide wellness resources which include an employee assistance program, fitness discounts, a wellness reimbursement, on-site gym access (certain locations) and a monthly wellness newsletter to connect you with resources and timely information.
• We offer various types of paid time of including: 120 hours of paid time off, 11 holidays, and paid volunteer time off.

What This Job Offers

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