Research And Development Manager

• Jan 2021 - Present

Food Science Group Leader

• Jun 2018 - Jan 2021

Sr. Food Scientist

• May 2017 - Jun 2018

Food Scientist

• May 2016 - May 2017

Food Scientist

• May 2015 - May 2016

Responsible for new product development, commercialization, quality improvement, and cost optimization in the area of process cheese and other categories as assigned. Key accomplishments include evaluating cost reducing ingredients (cheese, WPC, cream) for confirmed savings >$1MM. Applied knowledge of liquid emulsifiers to initiate project scope as an opportunity for manufacturing cost savings totaling ~$850K. Member of the Kraft Heinz Company Talent Ambassador team. • Provide technical leadership to cross-functional process teams for developing and implementing new products, new raw material specifications, & plant trial process. • Develop and commercialize new products for emerging global markets while interfacing with internal & external manufacturers. • Launch new products, quality improvements and new technologies to exceed business goals. • Coordinate capital projects including engineering assessments, equipment design, material sourcing, supplier qualification, product development; specifically overseeing an ingredient consolidation project with evaluated cost saving potential of $300K. Show less

Quality Engineer

• Jan 2013 - May 2015

Responsible for meeting with the Business Unit Manager and Production Leads weekly to review performance against KPI’s, assess trends, and encourage improvements and team based solutions to drive change and guarantee compliance. Key accomplishment: Quality engineering lead to cross-functional team for implementation and start-up of new dairy ingredient processing, totaling $4MM annual savings. Acknowledged by the Kraft University Leadership Team (ULT) as a Kraft University 2014 Leader as Teacher. Recipient of Kraft Manager’s Award for leadership on special projects. • Provided leadership, supervision, training and technical support across manufacturing facility of 1200 employees on quality and food safety related changes and challenges. Directly coached and developed 3 employees within the quality department. • Lead the facilitation and building of Quality Improvement Plans to establish CTX’s that drive quality ownership at the line level and launched charters with R&D and corporate Quality to champion non-plant controllable losses. • Developed and implemented successful reporting and tracking tools for improvement of quality resulting in a 54% reduction in week to week holds. • Developed consumer complaint summits to share best practices between manufacturing sites that delivered a 68% reduction of no melt complaints. • Supported business unit platforms with quality related concerns. Including performing process capabilities and gap analysis to reduce product defects. • Established and improved standards for manufacturing practices and methods to produce uniform products in compliance with company specifications and government regulations. Show less

Member

• Sep 2008 - May 2013

Graduate Research Assistant

• Aug 2011 - Dec 2012

Teaching Assistant

• Aug 2011 - Dec 2012

Quality Systems Intern

• Jun 2012 - Aug 2012

Coordinated with Quality Supervisor to conduct annual ISO audits Executed critical control point validations Developed and implemented training for plant compliance and control of documents. Coordinated with Quality Supervisor to conduct annual ISO audits Executed critical control point validations Developed and implemented training for plant compliance and control of documents.

Quality Systems Intern

• May 2011 - Aug 2011

Beverage Manufacturer) Managed safety procedures and document control policies Collaborated with ISO coordinator to engineer and implement control of document training using electronic software systems Trained employees on proper document control techniques using electronic software systems Beverage Manufacturer) Managed safety procedures and document control policies Collaborated with ISO coordinator to engineer and implement control of document training using electronic software systems Trained employees on proper document control techniques using electronic software systems

Quality Systems Intern

• Jul 2010 - Oct 2010

Operated daily microbiological testing procedures Trained employees on appropriate sampling and plating techniques Collaborated with lead Microbiologist to establish methods on testing frequencies Operated daily microbiological testing procedures Trained employees on appropriate sampling and plating techniques Collaborated with lead Microbiologist to establish methods on testing frequencies