Pilot Plant Manager

The Farmer’s Dog was born from a mission to change the landscape of pet health, providing dogs and their humans with honest, smart, and simple care. We’re starting by radically improving the $90 billion pet food industry, replacing bags of highly-processed pellets with a personalized subscription service that sends complete and balanced, freshly-made dog food directly to customers’ doors. Our ultimate goal is to create innovative, delightful and personalized experiences across all aspects of pet care, and we believe our direct-to-consumer business model, holistic approach to growth, and dynamic culture uniquely position us to shepherd this backwards industry into the future.
To date, The Farmer’s Dog has delivered over 1 billion meals nationwide and raised over $150M in funding to help us build a company as healthy as the dogs who are eating those meals. Join us as we continue to develop ways of bringing peace of mind to customers, health to their companions, and much-needed change to the way people feed and care for their pets.

#LongLiveDogs

We’re seeking a Pilot Plant Manager to lead the daily operations of our new pilot plant facility. This is a hands-on leadership leadership role where you’ll be responsible for managing production, equipment, maintenance, safety, and scheduling. You’ll work closely with cross-functional groups in R&D, Operations, and Quality to support product development and scale-up initiatives.

We're looking for someone who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment, has experience in food manufacturing, and is excited to roll up their sleeves as they spearhead this cutting-edge facility to accelerate TFD’s momentum and proactively find ways to create, innovate, and grow . This is a high-impact role that requires a highly motivated individual with a passion for building, growing, and of course, dogs! 

One Team: We don’t think of ourselves as “Acquisition Marketers”, “Engineers”, “Data Analysts”, or “Product Managers”. Beyond denoting skill sets and areas of expertise, we don’t think departments matter. We’d rather align ourselves to the goals we’re working to achieve and make sure we have necessary subject matter expertise to drive meaningful impact. We strive to orient ourselves around customer problems TOGETHER – getting the right people, with the right context, in the right rooms/Zooms to solve problems holistically.

We are skeptical about everything and precious about nothing:  Ideas can and should come from anywhere, and we aren’t tied to our own. We proactively source input. We talk to our customers and leads regularly and are quick to change course if we know there’s a better or more impactful way to solve problems.

We consider the customer journey in all of our decisions:  We know that no interaction exists in a silo and therefore understand how important every single one is.  We ensure our strategy sets prospective and new customers up for success and drives long-term retention.  We answer questions and address problems early and proactively.  We understand the value of different channels, initiatives, and messages and know how to articulate impact and advocate for prioritization holistically.

We Execute For Impact: We don’t subscribe to “best practices” or “industry KPIs”. We’re uninterested in how we compare to “benchmarks”; instead we orient ourselves around being the best we can possibly be. Similarly, we don’t subscribe to rigid or classical expectations of roles – i.e. acquisition is hyper-focused on improving customer retention and experience.

We Are Focused and Work Without Assumption: We are not beholden to ideas. We have goals and believe everything beyond that is a series of hypotheses to validate. To that end, we seek to work in sequence and not in parallel. We constantly ask ourselves, “what’s the most important hypothesis I should be working on right now? How do I confirm or reject that hypothesis as fast as possible?”. We rarely have timelines/deadlines and are constantly taking in new information and adjusting our priorities accordingly. We don’t expect to be perfect the first time.

• You will oversee day-to-day pilot plant operations, including production planning, execution, and documentation.
• You will own scheduling of runs, managing inventory levels, coordinating with R&D and Operations, and ensuring plant readiness.
• You will ensure all food safety, quality, and workplace safety standards are met or exceeded.
• You will develop and execute preventative maintenance plans for equipment.
• You will collaborate with Engineering, R&D, and Supply Chain departments to support trial execution and scale-up production.
• You will hire and lead a group of technicians, operators, and third-party contractors.
• You will maintain accurate production records and ensure compliance with internal SOPs and industry/regulatory standards.
• You will help build a strong culture of teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• You will contribute to commissioning, layout design, and facility optimization as plant is built out
• You will Act as a key thought partner to R&D leadership, potentially stepping into greater leadership over time.
• Onboarding for this role will include significant travel for the first 90 days with 70-80% to existing manufacturing, pilot lab, and equipment vendor facilities, then travel will drop to 10-20% ongoing. 

• You have 5+ years of experience in food manufacturing, pilot plant operations, or related field, with BS degree in engineering discipline or food science preferred.
• You can demonstrate leadership in a food production or technical operations environment.
• You have a working knowledge of food safety regulations (e.g., GMP, HACCP)
• You are familiar with small- to mid-scale food processing equipment and plant utilities.
• You are able to thrive in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment, naturally curious and proactive self-starter, constantly on the lookout for new opportunities and solutions
• You’re an owner, have excellent problem-solving skills and can prioritize tasks effectively, with a strong attention to detail
• You are detail-oriented and proactive, you thrive as a self-starter and excel in managing multiple projects simultaneously
• You're a skilled communicator and have the ability to absorb and distill complexity into simple terms to drive decision making
• Bonus: You’re experienced in pet food, thermal operations, or high-growth CPG environments.
• You love dogs!
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We are an in-office culture, made of in-office people who thrive on the collaboration and magnetism of working in a shared space. We are seeking individuals who excel in this type of environment, where being present fosters deeper connections and engagement.

Our company’s mission is rooted in deep, genuine care for dogs – and for the people who love them. As an organization we are full of individuals who are unique in many ways, but all united in a mission of providing true peace of mind to dog lovers everywhere. Fixing this industry and improving the lives of pets and their people will be a difficult, decades-long endeavor. We believe the best use of our time, energy, and resources as a collective team is to focus on this mission, and on supporting our team to do their best work and be their best selves. In support of this we’re committed to supporting a diverse workforce, and investing in internal structures, opportunities, and training that create and sustain an inclusive team. We strive to provide an experience at TFD that will be invested, meaningful and memorable as we progress on the journey to reimagine how we feed and care for our pets.

• Dog-friendly office in Greenwich Village
• Market-competitive compensation and equity packages
• Comprehensive Healthcare, Dental, and Vision
• Company supported mental health benefits
• 12 week paid parental leave
• Competitive 401k plan with company match
• Flexible PTO 
• Discounted fresh food for your pup
• Your pet interrupting video calls (and in-person meetings) is now a feature, not a bug

We commit to building a competitive compensation package and company environment for all individuals to thrive. We believe in competitive base compensation rooted in location specific market data and performance along with equity ownership in the company that allows every team member to build their personal wealth as the company grows, just as much as we believe in fostering a culture that supports our team members personally, professionally, and holistically. For this role the anticipated hiring base compensation range is $95,000 - $115,000 USD Annual and the compensation offered will include a robust market competitive package of base and equity. In addition to your base compensation offer you will also receive equity ownership in the company. More information about the value of this equity will be shared at the time of offer. This range is representative of NYC Market Data if you are applying to this role outside of the NYC area the range may change.

The Farmer's Dog, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status or any other legally protected characteristic or status. For more information, please visit Know Your Rights.

TFD complies with applicable federal, state, and local disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities.  If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [email protected].