Bakery Science Leader

Your Opportunity as the Bakery Science Leader

In this role, you will be able to lead and contribute in meaningful ways at our Scottsville, KY facility. This role is responsible for providing technical leadership to enhance overall productivity, safety, and quality by quantifying, sustaining, and monitoring incoming raw ingredients and its impact to the process and equipment. The role must effectively collaborate with production teams and leadership while supporting Corporate R&D.

Location: Scottsville, KY

Report To:  Bakery Department Manager

Work Arrangements: 100% on-site  

In this role you will:    

• Be responsible for the manufacturing of consumer foods which comply with all Food Safety, Quality, and regulatory requirements. Understanding and supporting The J.M. Smucker, Scottsville Safety Program policies and performing work related activities in a safe manner. Recognizing unsafe work conditions and suggesting new safety standards as appropriate
• Develop the capability of technicians, leaders, and managers at the site to understand the baking process flow, inputs and outputs, control variables, basic baking troubleshooting, and opportunity to manage direct reports.
• Standardize bakery process knowledge into E&T at the site
• Model the Basic Beliefs and Our Commitment to Each Other
• Develop a proactiveness program to prevent process, quality, and equipment losses through trending and predictive analysis that statistically correlates the impact of incoming raw material ingredients to production processes, quality, and equipment.
• Support and provide guidance to operations/engineering organizations on improving existing operations, troubleshooting of major problems, cost-savings ideas, and evaluation of new production opportunities
• Partner with Department Manager in developing and delivering business master plan, including key technical and organizational projects.
• Drive high-performance work culture by engaging with team members on the floor and coaching to problem solve, make decisions, and become self-reliant
• Leverage High-Performance Organizational principles to develop leadership skills in individuals and the Bakery teams
• Develop an expert level understanding of the equipment, process and materials used to run a high-volume bakery; provide technical support to the bakery department both dayshift & nightshift when needed
• Drive out defects in the process and enhance overall productivity, safety, and quality by collaborating with production teams and leadership
• Develop and improve process documentation
• Manage crop year flour variations effectively
• Manage a bakery lab and the evaluation of ingredients, optimization of formulas for quality, performance, consumer-liking, and profitability
• Manage the bakery lab technicians and be able to train them on all bakery lab testing, calibration, and communication 
• Function as a technical leader within cross functional teams to deliver initiatives and departmental projects
• Identify and implement cost and process improvement projects necessary to run a stable, efficient operation; may lead multiple projects/initiatives simultaneously
• Work with R&D to create and improve formulations based on consumer and marketing feedback and/or sensory results
• Build and leverage strong internal/external network to gain insight, influence, and information regarding the bread industry
• Develop strong relationships with Corporate R&D, Other Production Sites, Marketing, Engineering, and external vendors
• Help organization stay current with applicable innovative technologies, ingredients, product trends, and competitive activities
• Assist in executing plant start up Commissioning, Qualification, and Verification (CQV) activities for plant start-up.
• Other tasks as required

The Right Role for You 

We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.  

What we are looking for:  

Minimum Requirements: 

• A bachelor’s degree in a Bread or Bakery Science degree or Engineering degree (Chemical Engineering Preferred)
• Food manufacturing or large-scale bakery experience
• Some travel will be required (i.e., benchmarking, industry shows, corporate meetings)
• Proven project management skills and technical problem-solving capability
• Ability to work and influence within a team environment
• Self-motivated, organized, and able to learn new skills/technologies quickly
• Be available for escalation calls on off-shifts & weekends and willingness to come into work as needed

Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:  

• Experience in sensory training, culinary, recipe development, and tolerance testing
• Ability to effectively engage, lead, and build capability of the production floor
• Effectively works across organization boundaries and with diverse teams
• Strong analytical troubleshooting, problem-solving, and root cause identification skills
• Decisive, proactive, and strategic in decision making
• Time management/prioritization – demonstrated ability to manage several tasks at a time through to completion and meet the needs of multiple customers
• Excellent presentation, written, and verbal communication skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Suite applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook)
• Highly motivated individual with excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Willingness to work a flexible schedule that most effectively supports the organization
• Hourly management experience
• Resonant leadership skills

Learn More About Working at Smucker    

• Our Total Rewards Benefits Program  
• Our Thriving Together Philosophy Supporting All Impacted by Our Business  
• Our Continued Progress on Inclusion, Diversity and Equity  
• Follow us on LinkedIn®  

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