Demo

Pilot Plant Manager

Lesaffre Group
Rapids, IA Full Time
POSTED ON 2/21/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 4/21/2026

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Other duties may be assigned depending on operational needs.

 Primary Duties

  • Ensure safety and compliance: leading, deploying, and supervising the actions and communication of the Lesaffre Safety Policy
  • Effectively manage the pilot team by providing instruction, succession planning, skill development, and annual reviews.
  • Preparation, planning, execution, and reporting of pilot-scale trials for the purpose of industrialization.
  • Ensure pilot process efficiency and operational excellence by ensuring pilot processes are in line, consistent reporting, and new process implementation
  • Coordination of project with internal clients (R&D, Factories and BU)
  • Interact and create relationships with other business units by ensuring proper collaboration and smooth operation of shared services with other business units.
  • Manage the budget and ordering of supplies of consumables and raw materials.
  • Preparation of the capital expenditure needs.

  Secondary Duties

  • Other duties as assigned

Environmental, Safety, Quality, and Legal Requirements

Understand and follow all environmental, safety, quality, and legal regulations for the area in which they work.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

  • Experience with Industrial Bioprocess/Biotech
  • Experience with Fermentation
  • Previous management experience
  • Collaborative, mission-driven approach to achieving shared goals
  • Ability to communicate concisely with all levels of the organization and align on common decision-making goals
  • Ability to communicate in a multicultural environment, especially with French colleagues
  • Project & Financial Management experience

Education and/or Experience

MSc or PHD Required in Bioprocess or Biotech. Industrial experience with Biomass production required. Preferred experience working with yeast and yeast extract.

Travel Requirements

This position may travel for trainings.

Language Skills

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operation and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports, correspondence and memos. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small groups of suppliers or employees of organization. Fluent in the English language.  Fluency in French is a strong asset.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This job has direct supervisory responsibilities. Oversees and directs the operations of the Pilot Lab with 3 direct reports and a total team of 9 individuals.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs. Knowledge of statistics is an asset.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Certificates, Licenses and Registrations

Must hold a valid drivers license.

Ability to be CPR/First Aid certified required.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and use hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee frequently is required to talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Salary.com Estimation for Pilot Plant Manager in Rapids, IA
$95,546 to $129,301
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