Director of Manufacturing
DESCRIPTION
The Farmer’s Dog is the leading tech-enabled pet health brand on a mission to disrupt the $90b global pet food industry. The company is VC backed by the early investors of Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club, Sweetgreen, and Glossier.
In an industry with little regulation, constant recalls, and rampant misleading advertising, The Farmer’s Dog brings a fresh perspective that all dog lovers have been waiting for. Utilizing its proprietary technology, The Farmer’s Dog’s first service reimagines pet food by making healthy, fresh food incredibly easy to feed. Vet-developed subscriptions are personalized to each customer, while fresh, human-grade food is pre-portioned for each dog and home-delivered within days of cooking. The service has delivered millions of meals and is quickly revolutionizing the broken pet food industry.
The company was launched after Brett’s battle to cure his dog’s stomach issues illustrated how processed and un-healthy even “organic” and “natural” pet food truly was. After testing every pet food on the market without success, Brett resorted to a fresh, home-cooked diet at his vet’s recommendation. The results were staggering — Jada was cured. Once he realized how powerful and healthy fresh food can be, he teamed up with Jonathan to develop a fresh alternative to pet food and created the product they wished existed for their own dogs (and dogs everywhere).
Join The Farmer’s Dog team on its mission to bring peace of mind to customers, health to their companions, and fundamentally change the way people think about caring for their pets.
Only “dream job” applicants, please. #mustlovedogs
THE ROLE
The Director of Manufacturing will devise and execute a strategy to sustain our rapid growth and support our expansion into additional product offerings. You will work closely with our leadership team to manage all aspects of manufacturing, including selecting partners, sourcing, product formulation, packaging solutions and more. In addition, you will ensure we hold our products to the highest food safety and quality standards.
As a high-growth company, we are looking for someone who not only has experience working at a large fresh/frozen food manufacturer, but also has overseen manufacturing efforts within a nimble, fast-growing startup. Ideal candidates will come with world-class domain expertise and have experience scaling businesses in efficient, responsible manners.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Build out a world-class manufacturing strategy that accommodates our current growth and prepares us for long-term success
- Balance current operations with new product launches
- Own the timelines and capacity requirements to successfully hit forecast goals and provide a terrific customer experience
- Support rapid growth through identification and implementation of strategic, agile partnerships with preferred suppliers
- Establish and manage RFP process for suppliers
- Analyze RFP proposals and present recommendations to key internal stakeholders
- Negotiate terms and conditions with suppliers to ensure seamless communication
- Manage contract activities with supplier and legal teams
- Work cross-functionally with Finance and Growth functions to assist in forecasting for inventory management, expansion, marketing spend, margin analyses, and high level ROI decisions
REQUIREMENTS
- 8+ years managing manufacturing at a high-growth consumer goods company
- Experience managing the following functions and capabilities: launching new manufacturing, establishing timelines and capabilities for new product offerings, and partnering cross-functionally to ensure production allows for forecasted demand
- A passion for goal-setting and understanding the importance of manufacturing for the future and overall health of the company
- Ability to recruit and build a team of high-impact employees who are passionate about enabling the growth of the company through sustainable decisions
- Excellent communication skills and an ability to liaise with all aspects of the business
- Passion for disrupting a broken industry and creating a trustworthy brand for pets across the world
BENEFITS
Health, dental, avocado toast, puppies.