Job Details

**Pilot Plant Manager**

El Segundo, CA / The Planet Partnership R&D / Full-time **COMPANY DESCRIPTION**

The PLANeT Partnership, a joint venture between PepsiCo and Beyond Meat, has joined to develop, produce and market innovative snack and beverage products made from plant-basedprotein to help save the planet. We are looking for driven and entrepreneurial professionals to join the new team, supported by two major CPG brands!! The joint venture leverages Beyond Meat's leading technology in plant-based protein development and PepsiCo's world-class marketing and commercial capabilities to create and scale new snacks and beverages.

**OVERVIEW**

As an integral part of the PLANeT Partnership team in our new headquarters located in El Segundo, California, you will unlock new categories and product lines that will inspire positive choices for both people and the planet.

The Pilot Plant Manager will leverage their expertise in food and beverage scale-up, responsible for the safe and efficient design and development of new food and beverage processes at the pilot lab. The ideal candidate will be familiar with pilot or manufacturing scale food and beverage engineering systems, have a broad skill set and a hands on approach. This is an exciting opportunity to be an integral part of the commissioning of new food and beverage manufacturing equipment and bring creative engineering solutions to the brand new innovation pilot lab in the heart of the joint venture! The ideal candidate will be a problem-solver and have a keen interest in transferring bench-top processes to pilot- or production-scale processes for innovative food products that may require implementing new processes on scale. **RESPONSIBILITIES**

+ Contribute to the design, build out, commissioning, and improvement of both research and pilot level food and beverage equipment for the PLANeT Partnerships new pilot lab supporting Product Development.

+ Work with vendors and suppliers, negotiating pricing and lead times to handle all project management with equipment installation and set up.

+ Work with a team of Research Scientists and R&D Operators on the Pilot Team in research, enabling pilot-scale scale up success.

+ Work with Process Engineers and oversee and lead a new portfolio of scale-up development projects to improve quality, productivity and/or COGS of plant-based processes with a focus on, but not limited to: MicroThermic equipment installation and grinding equipment.

+ Leverage process/product CAPEX and OPEX cost modeling to guide project prioritization and scale-up recommendation

+ Manage the pilot schedule, operations, new equipment installation, maintenance and troubleshooting

+ Daily dedication to GMPs and Safety standards

**QUALIFICATIONS**

+ BS, MS, Engineering, Food or Chemical Engineering or related field with 5+ years experience

+ Experience building out a pilot facility and/or installation of brand new processing lines and working in a newly built pilot facility with experience commissioning new equipment

+ Hands-on engineering, mechatronics, sensor integration, and all aspects of building and supporting research of food and beverage manufacturing

+ Excellent knowledge of food processing equipment and scale-up

+ Knowledge of food safe production practices and regulations

+ Ability to think independently and manage multiple projects

+ Prior work with plant-based food and/or beverages is preferred