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

With nearly $2B 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 Continuous Improvement Director will be responsible for leading and improving the operational plant processes, systems and routines to contribute and sustain results in Safey, Quality, Productivity and Cost in the Coopersville MI Plant; as well as the overall development, and standardization of the operations excellence systems across fairlife manufacturing plants. The CI director will influence at every level, casting a vision of best in class manufacturing systems, and the road map to achieve that vision. The CI Director will develop, build, deploy and coach on a comprehensive CI framework, ensuring there is a high level of engagement, ownership and clarity within our plants; All focused on aligning goals, developing capabilities, standardizing the way we work, and solving complex problems.

responsibilities:

  • Leads implementation and management of a Continuous-Improvement Program at Coopersville MI plant, eventually overseeing and supporting implementation at other sites
  • Leads Root Cause Analysis program, ensuring results are sustained, tracked and replicated
  • Develops a full CI playbook of standards and routines around plant operating systems. Leads deployment across sites
  • Solves technical problems by facilitating cross functional problem solving teams to acquire the relevant data, technical expertise, and resources to find innovative solutions
  • Secures employee commitment for proactive change management.
  • Establishes and improves operational routines/cadences across the plants
  • Leads the evaluation and prioritization of strategic initiatives through an established process
  • Develops an equipment ownership mindset by empowering the workforce to improve their areas, drive initiatives, and eliminate defects across the plants
  • Establishes work standards and tools such as CIL’s, Centerlines, Situational Awareness across critical work centers
  • Facilitates KPI development with established targets and owners ensuring effective communication and consistency across sites
  • Facilitate training and professional skills assessments and create a comprehensive strategy for competency development across our plant teams
  • Help lead the implementation of newly developed CI tools such as Strategic Project Reviews, 90 Day plans, and work center applications
  • Provides appropriate support and coaching to department managers in maintaining implementation of the continuous-improvement initiatives, shift handoffs, department meetings, and operational reviews.

 

skills/qualifications required:

  • Bachelor’s Degree required in engineering, or business management, or related field. Industrial engineering preferred
  • 10 years of proven project management and process improvement skills including;
    • Strong knowledge of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies, certifications a plus
    • Understanding of strategic road mapping
    • proven results in root cause analysis
    • Understanding of CI tools such as DMAIC, SMED, CIL, 5S
  • Experience in process improvement implementation in regulated industry preferred
  • Strong communication and presentation skills, both verbal and written
  • Excellent organizational, time management, and project management skills
  • Demonstrated ability to create strong working relationships and lead the work of others
  • Ability to gather, and analyze data and draw meaningful conclusions
  • Proficient in MS Office products (Project, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
  • Proficient in basic data analysis with PowerBI, Tableau, or equivalent
  • Experience training others in the use of Lean and/or Six Sigma tools, and experience with lean approaches to improvement
  • Ability to handle ambiguity and work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment

food safety requirements:

  • Notify supervision of any repairs or adjustments that are required that may affect product quality or food safety.
  • Understand, observe, and comply with the handling and usage of the color-coded container policy while in the Production Areas.
  • Perform all duties necessary to meet Company, Customer and/or Government requirements/standards as prioritized by the Company.
  • Ability to initiate action to prevent the occurrence of nonconformities relating to Food Safety and the Quality of the product, processes, quality system, or safety system.
  • Identify and record any problems relating to Food Safety and the Quality of the ingredients, processes, quality system, or safety system.
  • Control further processing or delivery of nonconforming product in terms of Food Safety and Quality issues until the deficiency or unsatisfactory condition has been corrected.
  • In the event of absence, another employee with the same skill level will assume the duties and responsibilities as required.

 

position location: Coopersville, MI

reports to: Plant Director

travel requirements: 20% (higher travel expected during future plant start ups)

exempt/nonexempt: Exempt

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.

Apply for this Job

* Required
resume chosen  
Dropbox Google Drive
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel
cover_letter chosen  
Dropbox Google Drive
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in fairlife’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

Enter the verification code sent to to confirm you are not a robot, then submit your application.

This application was flagged as potential bot traffic. To resubmit your application, turn off any VPNs, clear the browser's cache and cookies, or try another browser. If you still can't submit it, contact our support team through the help center.