About this role
Title: Process Engineering Manager
Department: Process Engineering
Reports To: Director of Process Engineering
Who We Are
Thistle makes it easy to eat well – without overthinking it. Thistle was founded in 2013 with a mission to help people get and stay healthy while improving the sustainability of our food system. Thistle delivers fully prepared, healthy-by-default meals, snacks, desserts, and organic cold-pressed juices. We believe the health of people starts with eating real, whole foods, in the right balance, without the friction. We’re building a future where nutritious, sustainable food is accessible, craveable, and part of everyday life.
About the Role
The Process Engineering Manager leads day-to-day process engineering and capacity planning at a single Thistle distribution center. This role translates standards used across distribution centers into site-specific work instructions, training, and continuous improvement projects. The Manager analyzes current capacity, forecasts demand, identifies potential bottlenecks, and plans for future labor, equipment, and space needs to support reliable operations and efficient resource use.
As a leader within the Supply Chain organization, this position manages and develops the site’s process engineering team. The Manager partners with site Operations Leadership, Engineering, Data Science, Procurement, Product, and Finance to improve workflows, evaluate scaling options, implement changes, and measure results. The role works closely with the Director, Process Engineering, who leads standardization across distribution centers, to ensure site practices align with broader standards and that lessons from the site inform future improvements.
How You'll Make a Difference
Site Process Engineering & Operational Excellence
- Translate standards used across distribution centers into site-specific work instructions, training materials, and production line setups.
- Evaluate production and manufacturing workflows to identify operational risks, bottlenecks, and opportunities to improve efficiency and quality.
- Lead site-level improvement projects focused on yield, labor productivity, and reducing rework and backfill.
- Partner with Production, Culinary, and Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) leaders on process changes, new product introductions, and root-cause analysis and corrective actions for nonconforming products or processes.
Capacity Planning & Performance Analytics
- Assess labor, equipment, line, and facility capacity against current production requirements and forecast demand.
- Build capacity models using historical performance, business trends, and planned product launches to identify future resource needs.
- Analyze utilization and throughput to identify constraints, evaluate options to increase capacity, and recommend cost-effective solutions.
- Track site process KPIs, including meals equivalent units (MEU) per hour, cost per MEU, and rework rate; report results and improvement plans in the weekly business review.
Process Standardization & Project Execution
- Implement process changes at the site, document results, and update work instructions and training to sustain improvements.
- Identify gaps in standards and opportunities that could benefit other distribution centers; escalate recommendations to the Senior Manager, Process Engineering.
- Coordinate with site leaders to plan and execute changes while minimizing disruption to production.
People Leadership & Collaboration
- Coach and develop the site’s process engineering team, including support for hiring, onboarding, and performance management.
- Work closely with Operations, Engineering, Data Science, Product, Procurement, and Finance to align process and capacity plans with business needs.
- Communicate technical findings and recommendations clearly to site leaders and other stakeholders.
Qualifications
What We're Looking For
- Master's or Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, or a related field.
- Experience in process engineering, capacity planning, or continuous improvement within a manufacturing, production, or distribution environment.
- Ability to analyze production data, build capacity forecasts, and translate findings into practical operating plans.
- Experience improving throughput, labor productivity, yield, quality, or cost performance.
- Experience developing work instructions, training materials, and standard operating procedures.
- Proficiency with spreadsheets and data analysis tools; ability to work with operational KPIs and communicate results to nontechnical audiences.
- Strong project management, problem-solving, and cross-functional communication skills.
Preferred Experience
- Food manufacturing or fresh food production.
- High-volume production, fulfillment, or distribution.
- New product introduction and collaboration with Culinary and FSQA teams.
- Root-cause analysis and corrective and preventive action (CAPA).
- SQL or Python for data analysis, modeling, or reporting.
- Experience applying standards across multiple sites.
Our Culture
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential values at Thistle. We know we do our best and most impactful work when we feel we are represented and belong. We're proud to actively recruit and hire talented people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We do not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”), including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, citizenship, national origin, color, hairstyles, hair texture, religion or religious creed, age, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, veteran or active military status, marital status, criminal record, genetics, retaliation, sexual harassment or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.