Pilot Plant Operations Manager - R&D

Overview

The Technology Process Center (TPC) is PepsiCo Foods Core R&D pilot plant, providing pilot-scale capabilities across multiple food platforms. As a critical link between research, development, and commercialization, TPC enables the testing, scaling, and validation of products, processes, and technologies that support PepsiCo's innovation agenda.

The TPC Pilot Plant Manager leads across all functions, including operations, maintenance, safety, food safety, quality, warehouse, and additional support teams. They are accountable for the day-to-day performance of the facility, ensuring safe operations, operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and delivery of business commitments. The role also leads the development of the site's long-term capabilities, resources, and organizational plans to support future business and R&D priorities.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the R&D Pilot Plant, ensuring the site enables PepsiCo's innovation, productivity, capability, and commercialization agenda through safe, efficient, and effective delivery of R&D test runs and programs.

• Define and execute the long-term vision, operating strategy, and capability roadmap, including resource planning, organizational capability, infrastructure readiness, and operational excellence to meet future business needs.

• Accountable for overall site performance, including safety, quality, food safety, service, talent, productivity, financial stewardship, and continuous improvement.

• Champion a world-class safety culture by providing leadership over Environmental, Health, and Safety programs, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and PepsiCo standards.

• Own the site's Food Safety and Quality Management Systems, including FSSC22000 implementation and sustainment, ensuring robust governance, regulatory compliance, audit readiness, and continuous improvement.

• Accountable for site's operating budget, including labor, maintenance, contract services, utilities, ingredients, and operating expenses, ensuring effective resource allocation, financial discipline, and delivery of business objectives.

• Lead and develop a high-performing organization by driving talent management, succession planning, leadership development, employee engagement, and organizational effectiveness across all site functions.

• Collaborate across the Global Process Centers to drive standardization, leverage best practices, optimize resources, and accelerate capability deployment.

• Build strong partnerships with internal stakeholders to ensure the delivers against current and future R&D needs

Compensation and Benefits:

The expected compensation range for this position is between $110,700 - $185,250. Location, confirmed job-related skills, experience, and education will be considered in setting actual starting salary. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range during the hiring process. Bonus based on performance and eligibility target payout is 12% of annual salary paid out annually.

Paid time off subject to eligibility, including paid parental leave, vacation, sick, and bereavement. In addition to salary, PepsiCo offers a comprehensive benefits package to support our employees and their families, subject to elections and eligibility: Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Health, and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Insurance (Accident, Group Legal, Life), Defined Contribution Retirement Plan.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree preference for engineering disciplines

• Minimum 7 years’ leadership experience in a Food/Consumer Goods manufacturing environment with demonstrated capability to lead multifunctional teams (operations, maintenance, safety, food safety) of a minimum of 20 people

• Recognized Health and Safety qualification such as IOSH / NEBOSH / OSHA, with good understanding of Health and Safety (Equipment Safety (MESS), LOTO, Process Safety, Risk Assessments)

• Food Safety, qualified to HACCP level 3 or higher, experience with either AIB, BRC, FSSC22,000

• This position is limited to persons with indefinite right to work in the United States

Leadership and Management Competencies:

• Operates with a high degree of autonomy, exercising sound judgment and making effective decisions that balance immediate operational needs with long-term business priorities.

• Inspires and aligns teams around a clear vision, building commitment, accountability, and focus on delivering results.

• Leads through influence and hands-on engagement, building trust across all levels of the organization and fostering a strong performance, safety, and people-first culture.

• Effectively navigates complexity, uncertainty, competing priorities, and organizational change while maintaining momentum and delivering business outcomes.

• Demonstrates strong leadership and interpersonal skills, effectively managing conflict, driving collaboration, and aligning diverse perspectives toward a common path forward.

• Communicates clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing, with the ability to engage front-line employees, technical teams, and senior leaders.

• Creates an inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives, promotes mutual respect, and enables individuals and teams to perform at their best.

EEO Statement

Our Company will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and all other applicable laws, including but not limited to, San Francisco Police Code Sections 4901-4919, commonly referred to as the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance; and Chapter XVII, Article 9 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, commonly referred to as the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status. PepsiCo is an Equal Opportunity Employer: /Female / Minority / Disability / Protected Veteran / Sexual Orientation / Gender Identity If you'd like more information about your EEO rights as an applicant under the law, please download the available EEO is the Law & EEO is the Law Supplement documents. View PepsiCo EEO Policy. Please view our Pay Transparency Statement