Marrone Michigan Manufacturing is seeking a Plant Manager for its Fermentation Facility in Bangor. This is a full-time job at the mid-senior management level in research.
Job Description
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:
• Overall responsibility is to manage and direct Production, Maintenance and Production Administration functions of the plant.
• Manage day-to-day operations of plant as well as assist in the development of long term goals for the plant.
• Coordination of production activities including job scheduling, staffing, etc.
• Transfer processes from CMOs and Davis lab to the newly retrofitted M3 plant.
• Run the processes for existing products at the plant for the first time. Debug the processes and make operational.
• For new products, spend time in Davis lab to understand the processes of MBI’s microbial and plant extracted products, then lead the scale-up development of the manufacturing processes for the at M3.
• At M3, optimize different fermentation downstream process parameters to improve performances and yields for reduction in COGs and improvement in gross margins.
• Lead scale up of existing and new formulations at M3.
• Hire plant staffing at M3 as needed.
• Gather and assist outside engineering firm with process design parameters during construction.
• Experience in plant extract large scale blending and packaging lines.
• Frequent travel from Bangor, MI to Davis, CA. Travel to CMOs to learn the processes. Will need to spend several weeks in Davis, CA upon hiring before working at the M3 plant full time.
• Work with Supply Chain Department for purchasing, storage and inventory of raw materials and supply of final products to customers.
• Work with QC to ensure proper documentation of production and quality of end products.
• Ensure manufacturing operations comply with federal, state and local worker safety, public health and environmental requirements.
Desired Skills and Experience
QUALIFICATIONS:
Education:
• B.S., M.S. or Ph.D. degree in Microbiology, Biochemistry, (Bio)Chemical Engineering or related field with a minimum of 10+ years of relevant experience in microbial production, including process optimization and scale-up with a minimum of 3 years in manufacturing operations supervision.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Extensive experience in process development of microbial fermentation to increase biomass yield and the production of secondary metabolites in manufacturing scale.
• Extensive experience in downstream processing and formulations of microbial products at manufacturing scale.
• Experience in technical transfer of processes and formulations to manufacturing facilities.
• Thorough understanding of microbial physiology of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, filamentous bacteria, and fungi.
• Energetic and self-motivated individual able to work in a fast-paced team environment with tight schedule.
• Entrepreneurial creativity and innovation are necessary to solve unexpected problems with scale up, yield enhancement and process cost reduction of new microorganisms.
• Must have in-depth knowledge of commercial fermentation, downstream processing, and formulation.
• Must have a thorough understanding of analytics and statistics as applied to all processes.
• Must have strong written and verbal communications skills; Responsive; Able to work effectively as part of a team.
• Efficient at frequent and rapid email communication.
• Must be able to handle multiple priorities and delegate responsibilities while maintaining quality.
• Must be creative, highly organized, self-motivated, perceptive, and innovative.
• Excellent analytical, organizational and multi-tasking skills.
• Must be proficient using MS Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Project.
• Proficiency in good record keeping, writing and revising technical reports and SOPs. Excellent technical software skills, including fermentation control and data analysis.
• Perform with a significant degree of independence in conducting manufacturing.
• Work with team at Davis location to develop raw material specifications.
• Work with Process Engineering and Process Implementation team to design and implement manufacturing process from inception to completion.
• Follow cGMP practices and develop plan to train the staff for cGMP practices.
Supervisory
• The candidate should have experience at supervising and motivating more junior process staff (operators, engineers and microbiologists).
• Must have excellent team building and project management skills.
• Must have highly developed individual as well as team performance management skills.
• Management and coaching of group tailored to the specific skill sets and focus of the individuals.
• Responsible for preparing schedules for manufacturing processes and resource allocations.
• Oversight and management of training requirements.
• Technical Oversight of campaigns and projects to ensure expected performance.
• Ensure adequate process monitoring including real time review of process parameters and process data/trend analysis.
• Support of the safety program.
• Resolution of issues to ensure a safe operating environment.
• Ensure adequate resolution of operational variances, investigations, etc.
• Guide employees with knowledge and technical knowledge to lead troubleshooting activates, provide investigation support.
• Support of audits including walkthroughs, response, and driving closure of any observation.
• Provide support during audits and with audit observation closure.
• Promotion of an innovative culture.
Company Description
Headquartered in Davis, Cal. and venture capital-backed, Marrone Bio Innovations (MBI), discovers, develops, and markets effective and environmentally responsible natural products for pest management in ag and water.
M3 is seeking a person to lead the transfer and startup of the fermentation and other processes for manufacturing MBI’s plant extracted and fermented products at its newly retrofitted plant, Marrone Michigan Manufacturing (M3), in Bangor, MI, targeted to be operational in second half of 2013.
Additional Information