What are the responsibilities and job description for the Project Manager- Sauce position at MANZANA PRODUCTS CO., INC.?
Manzana Products Co. has been in business for over 100 years and is a leading producer of organic apple juice, apple sauce, and apple cider vinegar. Manzana is owned by Agrial, a prominent French co-op of 12,000 farmer members and a force in agriculture and food production.
Manzana’s mission is to create quality apple products by placing the highest value on people, suppliers, customers, and continuous improvement in manufacturing capabilities, with social and environmental responsibility at the heart of our actions.
We are in the process of relocating our manufacturing facility from Sebastopol, CA to Sunnyside, WA. While the facility is essential, we believe that building a strong, dedicated team is the key to success. At Manzana, we work each day to foster a culture focused on food safety, employee health and safety, customer service, continuous improvement, and an inclusive, respectful environment where all team members’ contributions are valued, and feedback is encouraged.
At Manzana, all employees are required to actively participate in our comprehensive Food Safety Program to ensure the consistent production of the highest quality and safest food products. This commitment is essential to maintaining our standards and protecting our customers.
Join us as we grow and make a difference together.
JOB SUMMARY
We are seeking a highly skilled Project Manager— dedicated to Sauce Process to lead the end-to-end relocation and start-up of production lines as our company transitions operations from Sebastopol, California to Sunnyside, Washington. This role is responsible for delivering a safe, compliant, and efficient start-up from planning through stable production, ensuring all scope, schedule, budget, quality, and regulatory requirements are met.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements and responsibilities listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Project Leadership & Planning
o Contribute to the project plan (Smartsheet), including timelines, milestones, critical paths, and resource planning.
o Lead and maintain a comprehensive risk management plan, ensuring timely actions.
o Ensure alignment of project objectives with broader site start-up and business.
- Coordination
- Serve as the primary point of contact for coordination of internal teams (Engineering, Operations, Quality, Maintenance, EHS, Supply Chain, and Systems) as it relates to the sauce processes.
- Coordinate all activities with external partners including contractors, OEMs, vendors, and integrators.
- Facilitate clear communication across all stakeholders before, during, and after relocation.
- Equipment and Process Readiness:
- Lead and participate in equipment Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT), Site Acceptance Tests (SAT), installation, commissioning, and validation protocols (IQ/OQ/PQ) for assigned lines.
- Ensure documentation, such as SOPs are complete and compliant with internal quality systems and regulatory standards.
- Oversee troubleshooting during initial runs and support handover to operations.
- Performance Tracking and Start up:
o Track installation progress and manage adherence to project budget.
o Monitor and support OEE ramp-up, ensuring teams reach stable production targets.
o Provide post-start-up performance reviews and lessons learned.
QUALIFICATIONS
Education/Experience:
- High school diploma or equivalent required; technical certification or associate degree preferred.
- 3 years of experience in project management within food manufacturing, CPG, or a related process industry.
- Demonstrated experience in equipment installation, commissioning and production start-up.
- Strong understanding of FAT/SAT, OEE, validation and commissioning.
- Ability to manage complex schedules and multiple stakeholders.
- Excellent communication, facilitation and problem-solving skills.
- Be able to use basic measuring tools (rulers, gauges, alignment tools).
- Knowledge of food safety standards (e.g., HACCP, GMP, SQF, FSMA).
Skills:
- Strong teamwork mindset, while maintaining ownership of individual responsibilities.
- Ability to build professional and productive relationships across internal teams and with external partners.
- Customer service mentality toward external partners, internal employees at all levels of the organization.
- Ability to reinforce disciplined documentation and record keeping.
- Strong organizational skills and a commitment to maintaining an orderly work environment.
- Fluency in the English language, written and verbal is required, Spanish language skills are a plus.
Physical Requirements
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential demands of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Must be able to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), including hair net, beard net (if applicable), hearing protection, eye protection, safety shoes, and smock.
- While performing the duties stated above, the employee is frequently required to move around the production facility. This includes navigating damp/wet floors, going up /down ladders, squatting and standing for long periods of time.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to moving mechanical parts, heavy forklift traffic. The employee will be working around heavy equipment, in conditions that may be very hot, very cold, and/or very humid. The noise level in the work environment is usually loud, i.e. moving machinery. The work environment is subject to many of the above-described conditions on a day-to-day basis. It is essential to be able to perform all job functions while in the presence of these conditions.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
The expected compensation range for this role is $82,000 - $85,000 To determine starting pay we carefully consider a variety of factors, including primary work location and an evaluation of a candidate’s skills, experience, market demands, and internal parity.
Additionally, Manzana offers a competitive benefits package that includes:
- Healthcare benefits:
o Medical, dental and vision with 100% of the monthly premiums for the Employee paid by Manzana.
o Manzana offers a generous contribution towards the monthly healthcare premiums for eligible dependents.
o Team Members are eligible to enroll the first of the month after 30 days of employment.
- Life AD&D Insurance (when enrolled in medical insurance)
- 401(k) with a company match of up to 6% of the employee’s contribution.
- Paid vacation
- Paid sick leave
- Paid holidays: 9 per year
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Salary : $82,000 - $85,000