Continuous Improvement Manager - Beverages

At Reily Foods Company we've got a passion for flavor and have been providing iconic foods and beverages that create meals and memories for over 120 years! Our leading products include Luzianne Iced Tea, New England Coffee, French Market Coffee, and Blue Plate Mayonnaise (to name a few) and can be found in retail locations around the country. We're a 5th generation, family company with locations in New Orleans, Knoxville, and Boston.

The Continuous Improvement Manager – Beverages will ensure sufficient technical capability exists to deliver an improved consumer experience at an optimized price, while delivering world-class quality and safety. This will involve formulation development, technology upgrades, CQV of new products and equipment, process and packing improvements, and identification and implementation of specifications and centerlines.

• Cross-functional collaboration to document what we do today and development of others on how to improve on product quality, cost, and process control. This includes creating specifications, standards, and standard operating procedures of current best practices and methodologies.
• Leads technical readiness for projects with strong influence in the commercialization process from the scoping project stage gate through execution and project closeout. Leads product release for all new products and new equipment qualifications.
• Increase overall beverage technical mastery by documenting transformations (including dependent and independent variables), resulting in increased technical capability within the plants and other functions.
• Develop predictive technical models with existing and future plant data to improve plant agility and reduce timelines from ideation through commercialization.
• Develop and document technical training material for various processing transformations to enhance and sustain current and future Reily talent and expertise.
• Interface with customers to identify their need and then create the process to deliver and exceed their expectations.
• Support new product initiatives, which includes designing, writing, communicating, executing, and summarizing plant trials ultimately providing technical recommendations on path forward.
• Monitor plant operating conditions, process parameters, and laboratory results, as required, to maintain or improve product quality, and to ensure the process is operating within the established product’s specification limits. This requires identification, documentation, and auditing of equipment & process centerlines.
• Provide process and packing troubleshooting support, make technical recommendations, and answer technical inquiries. Collaboratively identify root cause(s) of complex process failures determining operational and/or equipment problems with recommendations on cost effective solutions.
• Provide process engineering support for capital projects during all phases of execution including project scoping, alternative selection, detailed design, construction, and start-up for small and major capital projects.
• Implement cost reduction initiatives through Profit Enhancement Team (PET)

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or equivalent experience in beverage manufacturing is required.
• A minimum of 5 years of related process engineering experience.
• Strong background in Beverage operations. Expertise in coffee and tea products is highly desired.
• Experience in HACCP, OSHA and BRC safety and quality standards, TPM, PM/PdM, HPO, CQV, commercialization and technical readiness.
• Ability to understand process capabilities using CpK, standard deviation, % defect analysis, and achievable control limits to set proper specifications that meet both the customer and operator needs.
• Ability to understand process flow diagrams, P&IDs, and process narratives.
• Experience in training, facilitation, and development of others. Ability to break down complex problems so that others can understand them.
• Knowledge of processing equipment, processing methods, manufacturing philosophies and basic manufacturing standard operating procedures.
• Expertise in the validation and effectiveness of new technologies.
• Experience with start-up management concepts and equipment and product commissioning, qualification, and verification.
• Capable of understanding basic to mid-level financial reports and use that information to justify decisions and priorities.

** Travel required. Position can be at any of our plant locations or central to those locations.

Join our family culture of integrity, collaboration, and ownership working alongside senior cross-functional leaders as your continue to grow your career in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry. We offer a competitive salary, incentive program and profit sharing. Benefits include health insurance, 401k, LTD, paid vacation and holidays!