Contract Manufacturing Manager

Kinder’s has evolved from a beloved regional Butcher shop/restaurant into one of the fastest-growing flavor-forward food companies in North America. Today, we’re found in one in four U.S. households, with national distribution, breakout innovation, and passionate consumer engagement across categories.

We are not your traditional CPG company. Kinder’s is privately held, founder-led, and obsessed with building a modern brand that delivers real value to consumers and partners. We believe in the power of curiosity, authenticity, bold decision-making, and building systems that allow humans to thrive at scale.

How you'll have an impact at Kinder’s: As Co-Manufacturing Manager, you will be responsible for managing key relationships with our co-manufacturing partners to support the production of Kinder’s premium products. You’ll serve as the daily liaison between Kinder’s and our co-manufacturers, ensuring quality production, reliable supply, and strong vendor performance. Working cross-functionally with teams across Quality, R&D, Supply Planning, and Commercialization, you’ll help optimize operations, resolve supply issues, and implement process improvements that support Kinder’s rapid growth.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Manage co-manufacturing relationships to ensure daily performance on quality, supply, and cost is aligned to expectations.
• Lead regular performance reviews (monthly/quarterly) with vendors using scorecards and KPIs to drive accountability and results.
• Coordinate with internal teams (FSQA, Planning, Commercialization, and Finance) to evaluate production capabilities, identify risks, and propose adjustments for new and transitioning products.
• Support commercialization efforts by working with vendors to evaluate manufacturability of new products and propose improvements to optimize production.
• Monitor capacity constraints and production efficiency, using metrics such as OEE and throughput to support demand planning and identify overflow opportunities.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, collaborating with partners to reduce cost, improve quality, and streamline operations.
• Conduct audits and maintain quality standards to ensure co-manufacturing facilities meet Kinder’s expectations and industry best practices.

What You Bring to the Table

You are passionate about operations and collaboration. You understand the nuance of co-manufacturing partnerships and take pride in building win-win relationships that are efficient, ethical, and results-driven. You're comfortable in the middle of cross-functional decision-making and take initiative to spot and solve operational gaps.

Skills and Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in co-manufacturing, supply chain, or food manufacturing operations.
• Strong understanding of end-to-end CPG supply chain, including quality, procurement, and commercialization.
• Familiarity with manufacturing KPIs including OEE, throughput, MOQs, and production cost analysis.
• Proven ability to manage vendor relationships and resolve issues in dynamic environments.
• Ability to analyze data and use insights to drive decision-making and performance improvement.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and interpersonal skills.

Personal Characteristics:

• You’re a strong collaborator with high empathy, respect, and problem-solving agility.
• You are motivated by continuous improvement and thrive in fast-paced environments.
• You value teamwork, flexibility, and bring a solutions-oriented mindset to challenges.
• Self-starter who takes initiative and speaks their mind.
• Excited to be part of a fast-moving team with the ability to be a leader and a follower.
• Enjoy making decisions and finding ways to say ‘yes’ as often as possible to impactful and important priorities.

Things About the Way We Work

• No two days here are the same.
• We try to be good team members and good communicators, but we don’t live by hierarchy and structure – everyone is a difference maker here.
• We make a lot of decisions in the face of incomplete information – our team embraces ambiguity and tries to make good decisions fast rather than great decisions slow
• We believe our job is to take smart risk, not to eliminate risk.
• We believe in growing our skills and becoming a better company with more managerial expertise, but we are an entrepreneurial company at heart.
• We aren’t trying to be average – we want to do exceptional things and we are willing to work hard to achieve them.

Location & Travel

The position will be based out of our 40,000 sq. foot office in Walnut Creek, CA. We strongly believe in the power of culture and community and have a hybrid work structure with 4 days in the office on a weekly basis to encourage collaboration and personal connections that will allow us to better serve our customers and consumer and to have more fun. We have 1 flex day per week with employees having the opportunity to choose to be either in the office or to work from home based on what makes most sense for them.

Travel approximately 50% to co-manufacturing partners and industry conferences.