layiq

/la·yiq/adjective

worthy; deserving; fitting; suitable.

A role, opportunity, or path that merits attention, time, and pursuit.

LAYIQ - R&D Natural Cheese Manager at Land O'Lakes

Team Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness
Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of scientists, fostering a culture of curiosity, accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Serve as a technical mentor, strengthening capability in technical learning, experimental design, critical thinking, risk assessment, and data-driven decision making.
Provide clear direction, candid feedback, and development support while empowering scientists to own execution and outcomes.
Promote focus, prioritization, timely decision making, and constructive technical debate.
Natural Cheese Technical Leadership
Provide deep expertise across the complete cheesemaking lifecycle, from milk standardization and culture/enzyme systems to aging and functionality.
Deepen organizational knowledge of the chemical, physical, and microbial drivers of core products.
Guide formulation and process refinements to improve product consistency, functionality, and flavor.
Operational Partnership & Technical Enablement
Build trust-based, collaborative relationships across the manufacturing network—partnering closely with plant managers, quality, engineering, process technology, and operations teams.
Clarify ownership, accountability, and partnership models across functions.
Champion the use of manufacturing data, advanced analytics, and AI tools to accelerate root-cause analysis, drive yield and cost optimizations, and transition the team from reactive troubleshooting to proactive process control.
Support implementation of new technologies and manufacturing capabilities.
Business and Portfolio Leadership offs and actionable recommendations.
Drive effective use of resources across technical functions.
Align technical priorities with business objectives.
Translate complex dairy science and manufacturing realities into clear business trade-offs and actionable recommendations.
Drive effective use of resources across technical functions.
Required Experience & Capabilities
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science, Food Science, Chemical/Biological Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
Technical Experience: 8+ years of progressive technical experience in dairy, with an emphasis on natural cheese.
People Leadership: Minimum 3+ years of direct people management experience with a proven track record of coaching, developing talent, and building high-trust team cultures.
Plant Fluency: Extensive experience collaborating with commercial manufacturing plants, scale-up environments, and plant quality teams.
Cross-Functional Influence: Proven track record of building alignment across diverse stakeholders, navigating technical and operational trade-offs, and driving results through collaboration.

R&D Natural Cheese Manager

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