Director, Maintenance and Automation
The Director of Maintenance & Automation will oversee the maintenance, utilities and inventory management functions at Chobani’s Twin Falls, ID site, which is the world’s largest yogurt manufacturing facility. The successful candidate will bring the necessary experience, personal presence, and leadership to ensure that our manufacturing capability and performance meets or exceeds our expectations. The focus will be to reduce downtime and assure peak plant efficiency. This role has a responsibility for ensuring both food safety and quality of Chobani product.
The responsibilities of this position include:
- Providing leadership for technical services organization, as well as employees in direct and indirect functions
- Directing all capital plan engineering design and project work to ensure timely completion, working with appropriate vendors
- Planning and developing cost annual and long term capital project budgets
- Supporting the plant’s key performance initiatives to ensure timely and effective and interactions with our R&D, Quality, Engineering, Procurement, and Product Supply organizations
- Ensuring efficiency in manufacturing products at the highest perceived value for our customers with respect to product quality and on-time delivery
- Creating a safe working environment and ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements
- Accelerating Lean manufacturing practices within the technical services operation
- Optimizing the organizational structure to meet objectives
- Setting and maintaining quality measures, preventive maintenance schedules and performance standards
- Overseeing employee safety, environmental compliance and product quality; meeting schedule commitments and cost objectives
- Representing Chobani and our Twin Falls facility in partnership with state and local officials as well as dairy community leaders
- Follow Chobani’s safety procedures and Good Manufacturing Practices
The requirements of this position include:
- Experience in dairy or food industry manufacturing with deep process knowledge. Experience with cultured dairy products is a plus
- 3-5 years director level experience leading the technical services organization – providing leadership in plant maintenance, automation and utilities functions
- 10-15 years’ experience in plant manufacturing and maintenance
- BS/BA in Industrial Engineering, Dairy Management, Food Science, Engineering, Logistics, Business Administration or related field
- Extensive knowledge of MRP and ERP Systems
- Working knowledge of/ experience with HACCP, food safety and related compliance regulations
- Must have complete understanding of PLC and logic controls for high speed operating equipment
- Highly effective leader who can create a shared vision, energize others, challenge the status quo and drive change
- Strong customer service mindset with the proven ability to enhance internal/external customer relationships
- Must possess the interpersonal skills needed to communicate the organization's mission and strategies as well as organizational performance expectations
- Analytical thinker with the ability to drill to root cause and arrive at rational solutions
- Applied knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma preferred. Pull systems (internal and external), Kanban, process mapping, standards work etc.
- Skills in planning, developing and maintaining manufacturing operations budgets
- Must have a proven track record of driving demonstrative, measurable positive change and meeting challenging objectives
About Us:
Since our founding 10 years ago, we’ve always been a different kind of company. After moving to New York from his native Turkey, our CEO Hamdi Ulukaya found that in America, yogurt just wasn’t as delicious or widely available as it was back home. He thought everyone deserved better options, so he set about making delicious, nutritious, natural, and accessible Greek Yogurt right here in the U.S.
Our mission since day one has been to provide better food to more people. And now as the No. 1-selling Greek Yogurt brand in America and the second largest overall yogurt manufacturer, we believe every food maker has a responsibility to provide people with better options, which is why we’re so proud of the way our food is made.
Our food philosophy of crafting quality products with simple ingredients is what makes Chobani a different kind of yogurt. Our belief that business done right has the ability to change lives and strengthen communities is what makes Chobani a different kind of company. From the way we source our ingredients to how we treat our employees, Chobani strives to make universal wellness happen sooner with everything we do. Certified as a Great Place to Work® for the last two years, our culture is built on shared passion, dedication, and a commitment to doing what is right. Together, the Chobani family has created something unlike what any company has done before. The possibilities are endless.
Chobani is an equal opportunity employer. Chobani will not discriminate against any applicant for employment on any basis including, but not limited to: race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, military and/or veteran status, marital status, predisposing genetic characteristics and genetic information, or any other classification protected by federal, state and local laws.