Production Loss Engineering Manager

fairlife, LLC is a Chicago-based nutrition company that creates great-tasting, nutrition-rich and dairy products to nourish consumers.

With over $3B in annual retail sales, fairlife’s portfolio of delicious, lactose-free, real dairy products includes: fairlife® ultra-filtered milk; Core Power® High Protein Shakes, a sports nutrition drink to support post-workout recovery; fairlife® nutrition plan™, a nutrition shake to support the journey to better health.

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola company, fairlife, LLC has been recognized by both Fast Company and Nielsen for its industry leading innovation.

To learn more about fairlife and its complete line of products, please visit fairlife.com.

Job Purpose:

The Production Loss Engineering Manager is a strategic leader responsible for driving the reduction of dairy losses across the entire production process, with a focus on operational excellence, cost savings, and sustainability for all fairlife production facilities. This role oversees the development and execution of site-wide loss prevention strategies, leveraging advanced data analytics, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous improvement methodologies. The Manager will lead a team of engineers across each facility, influence senior stakeholders, and ensure alignment with financial and operational goals. 

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and own the site-wide dairy loss reduction strategy for each of the fairlife production facilities.  Ensure buy-in and alignment across departments to support initiatives. 
• Lead and mentor a team of engineers focused on loss tracking, root cause analysis, and process optimization. 
• Serve as the primary liaison between Operations, Finance, Quality, and Engineering to ensure cohesive execution of loss reduction initiatives. 

Data-Driven Decision Making

• Oversee the development of advanced data models and dashboards to monitor and predict product loss trends in collaboration with Operations Data Systems team and the Corporate Decision Intelligence teams. 
• Ensure robust mass balance analysis across all production lines, identifying systemic inefficiencies and high-impact opportunities. 
• Translate complex data into actionable insights for senior leadership, including financial impact assessments and ROI projections. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Finance to validate loss accounting and ensure accurate reporting. 
• Collaborate with Continuous Improvement teams to embed loss reduction into broader operational improvement programs. 
• Collaborate with Engineering to prioritize and drive implementation of key process and capital improvement projects in support of loss mitigation and reduction. 

Required Skills & Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline. 
• 7+ years of experience in food manufacturing or chemical processing, with at least 2 years in a leadership role. 
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and delivering measurable cost savings. 
• Expertise in fluid mass balance, process flow analysis, and continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma). 
• Strong financial acumen with the ability to translate technical losses into business impact. 
• Advanced proficiency in data analytics tools (e.g., Power BI, SQL, Python) and ERP systems. 
• Exceptional communication, stakeholder management, and project leadership skills. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep understanding of aseptic/dairy systems including UHTs, homogenizers, separators, and filtration plants. 

Working Conditions

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-demand production environment. 
• Occasional lifting up to 50 lbs; frequent walking and standing across production areas. 
• Flexibility to support off-shift troubleshooting and project implementation as needed. 

position locations: Can be based at any of the primary manufacturing facilities:  Goodyear, AZ; Coopersville, MI; Webster, NY 

• reports to: Sr. Director of Operational Excellence 

schedule:  OnSite

• travel requirements: up to 25% travel  

exempt/nonexempt: Exempt

*Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.

Base pay range:$120,000—$140,000 USD

fairlife, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. All qualified applicants and employees will be given equal opportunity. Selection decisions are based on job-related factors.

In addition to its nondiscrimination commitment, the Company will also provide reasonable accommodation of qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the Company. If you have a disability and would like to request accommodation in order to apply for a position with us, please email careers@fairlife.com.

For Recruitment Agencies

At fairlife, we manage the majority of our hiring internally through our dedicated Talent Acquisition team, which is actively engaged in direct candidate sourcing. Most of our roles are filled through applications submitted via our careers site or through direct outreach by our team.

As our recruitment is primarily handled in-house, we work only occasionally with external agencies, and only those on our existing, pre-approved vendor list. At this time, we are not reviewing or expanding that list.

Unsolicited resumes or submissions from external agencies not authorized by our Talent Acquisition team will be considered direct candidate applications. As such, fairlife will not assume responsibility for any placement fees associated with these submissions.