Production Engineer

Our client is a VC-backed nano-biotechnology start-up revolutionizing the functional ingredient space in food and beverage. As the Function House™, they develop, manufacture, and license patented smart nanocarriers (nanovesicles) that optimize the performance of functional ingredients across multiple verticals including nootropics, energy stimulants, vitamins, probiotics, and protein. Founded in 2019 with 70+ patents, they've experienced 8x sales growth in the past year and partner with small, mid-size, and large CPG companies.

What YOU get to DO in this role:

• Co-lead day-to-day production operations, developing daily production plans and ensuring operational goals are achieved in partnership with Product Development, Sales, and Procurement functions.
• Manage and develop a growing team of Production Operators and Technicians to deliver premium quality products to B2B customers in a timely and cost-efficient manner.
• Develop comprehensive plans for all aspects of production including equipment purchases, staffing needs, work schedules, and material requirements.
• Manage an annual capital spend of ~$2M+ and annual operating budget of ~$1.5M+.
• Design, implement, and manage production forecasting, capacity planning, and production scheduling based on customer order prioritization in partnership with the Commercial team.
• Collaborate with procurement and supply chain to plan raw materials inventory and ensure timely availability for production.
• Ensure a healthy and safe manufacturing environment for all employees in compliance with federal and state regulations.
• Develop thorough understanding of process flow and key controls of manufacturing processes; drive continuous improvement of throughput and yield through daily observations and analysis.
• Design and implement SOPs providing production instruction for all formulations including make-to-stock and made-to-order runs.
• Build a robust preventative maintenance plan for all manufacturing equipment and order new parts in timely fashion to minimize downtime.
• Devise strategy to scale up operations and implement new extraction and production lines to consistently grow manufacturing capacity supporting sales growth in a cost-efficient manner.
• Conduct feasibility tests of scaling up production for new SKUs as part of product development process in partnership with Commercialization team.
• Develop robust SOPs for end-to-end manufacturing process for each new product; leverage learnings from bench-top scale to large-scale production.
• Define quality standards (including both quality control and quality assurance) across manufacturing operations and set up systems and processes to meet those standards.
• Establish a robust metrics-driven system to measure quality of each batch and develop processes to meet defined goals for key metrics (e.g., particle size, pH, etc.).
• Lead processes to obtain GMP, Organic, and other relevant certifications for the manufacturing facility and maintain them annually.

What you NEED to SUCCEED in this role:

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering.
• 3+ years of experience in manufacturing operations; experience in food & beverage, food B2B, or other industries with adjacent manufacturing processes preferred.
• Worked in a variety of manufacturing roles, including quality control, production, maintenance, purchasing, inventory management, and logistics.
• Experience establishing new manufacturing systems, processes, and operations (e.g., setting up new facilities).
• Strong experience in establishing and maintaining a world-class quality organization within food and beverage.
• Experience with rapidly growing, fast-paced businesses and/or start-up experience with understanding of start-up culture and mentality.
• Ability to find creative solutions to complex problems in ambiguous environments with limited datapoints.
• Any relevant certifications related to manufacturing operations and/or quality control preferred but not required.

What's in it for YOU?

• Competitive salary aligned with experience and industry standards.
• Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance.
• Annual Performance Bonus to reward your contributions and impact.
• Stock options providing ownership stake in a high-growth start-up.
• Excellent start-up work environment with flat hierarchy and short decision paths.
• Opportunity to work at the cutting edge of nano-biotechnology and functional food innovation.
• IN-PERSON role at company headquarters in the Austin, TX Metropolitan Area.