Senior Director, Co-Manufacturing Network Development

BUILT ON FLAVOR. FUELED BY PEOPLE.

What’s it like to work at Kinder’s? Well, there’s a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that, there’s also plenty of hard work. Because we don’t just like flavor, we’re obsessed with it.

With over 100 products sold nationwide, we’re now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and more. We’re not your typical CPG company. Privately held and founder-led, we like to think of ourselves as a pirate ship in a sea of cruise ships . Our crew is adventurous and fearless. We chart our own course and chase big ideas to make food unforgettable.

As we expand globally and approach $1 billion in revenue, we need more smart-and-scrappy, flavor-obsessed people to come aboard. If you’re looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... this is it! Every day, you’ll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives.

About The Role

Kinder’s is seeking a hands-on leader to develop the co-manufacturing partner network we will need as our brands, categories, and customer demand continue to grow. This role owns the future-state manufacturing network: where capacity should sit, which partners we bring into it, how we assess their fit , and how we secure the right commercial and capacity commitments.

The Senior Director, Co-Man Network Development will lead network strategy, partner search and diligence, partner acceptance and onboarding, long-range capacity planning, and commercial contracting. This leader will work across Operations, Planning, Product Development, Quality, Sourcing, Finance, Legal, and Commercial teams to turn growth plans and innovation pipelines into a resilient, cost-effective manufacturing network.

This role is the strategic counterpart to the VP, Co-Man Network Operations. The Senior Director will identify and establish the right partners and capacity; Network Operations will own ongoing execution, partner performance, and day-to-day issue resolution after a formal handoff. The Senior Director will collaborate with the VP on network decisions informed by operating experience and bring recommendations to the SVP, Operations.

How You'll Have An Impact at Kinder's

The right leader will help Kinder’s enter new categories, launch reliably, and protect service as we scale by securing capable partners and capacity ahead of demand. They will combine a strong external network with analytical rigor, commercial judgment, and the ability to move complex cross-functional decisions forward.

Key Responsibilities

Set the Co-Man Network Strategy

- Develop and maintain a multi-year co-manufacturing network roadmap across products, capabilities, geographies, capacity, cost, lead times, and risk.

- Translate growth plans, demand scenarios, innovation, and acquisition activity into future manufacturing needs and network options.

- Evaluate make-versus-partner choices, network concentration, redundancy, speed to market, capital requirements, and total delivered cost; present recommendations and business cases to leadership.

- Identify network gaps and develop an actionable pipeline of prospective partners and capacity solutions before constraints affect launches or service.

Lead Partner Search and Diligence

- Build the search strategy and partner pipeline for new categories, formats, technologies, and capacity requirements.

- Lead structured partner evaluations with Quality, Food Safety, Product Development, Engineering, Sourcing, Finance, and Legal, including capability, financial health, operational maturity, regulatory readiness, scalability, and business continuity.

- Coordinate site visits, trials, cost modeling, references, risk reviews, and comparative assessments; present partner recommendations for approval through the appropriate governance process.

- Maintain a clear record of selection criteria, tradeoffs, decisions, and outstanding risks.

Own Partner Acceptance and Onboarding

- Define acceptance criteria and stage gates for technical capability, product quality, food safety, commercial readiness, capacity, systems connectivity, and launch execution.

- Lead the cross-functional onboarding plan from selection through qualification, trial production, first commercial run, and stabilization.

- Confirm that responsibilities, escalation paths, data exchange, forecasts, materials, and operating expectations are documented and ready for handoff.

- Partner with Co-Man Network Operations to establish the transition point, resolve launch issues, and confirm that the partner can support routine production before transferring ongoing ownership.

Build Capacity Plans and Secure Commitments

- Develop a rolling, scenario-based view of network capacity by category, line, format, and partner, using demand, innovation, seasonality, and operational assumptions.

- Identify capacity bottlenecks, single points of failure, expansion opportunities, and timing for new partner searches, equipment investments, or reserved capacity.

- Work with Planning and partner leadership to validate available versus usable capacity, ramp schedules, changeover constraints, and contingency options.

- Turn approved capacity plans into partner commitments that support growth while managing utilization , flexibility, working capital, and cost.

Lead Partner Contracting

- Develop the commercial strategy and lead negotiations for new co-manufacturing relationships, expansions, renewals, and major scope changes, in partnership with Sourcing, Finance, and Legal.

- Define business requirements for pricing, volume and capacity commitments, capital investment, service expectations, change control, intellectual property, exit terms, and continuity provisions.

- Ensure agreements reflect approved economics, operational responsibilities, quality requirements, and a workable path for growth or transition.

- Maintain visibility into contract milestones, renewal decisions, capacity reservations, and commercial risks; transition executed terms to the teams accountable for ongoing management.

Build the Capability and Lead Across Kinder's

- Create practical decision tools, partner scorecards, diligence standards, and approval processes that make network development repeatable as Kinder’s grows.

- Lead a lean network development team as the function grows and coordinate cross-functional project teams to move partner decisions and launches forward.

- Bring clear, fact-based recommendations to the SVP, Operations and other senior leaders and communicate tradeoffs early when service, cost, speed, and risk compete.

Skills and Experience

- Significant progressive experience in food or beverage manufacturing, co-manufacturing, supply chain strategy, strategic sourcing, or a related field, with direct responsibility for partner selection and network expansion.

- Demonstrated experience finding, qualifying, onboarding, and negotiating with contract manufacturing partners across multiple products or production technologies.

- Strong command of manufacturing capacity, production economics, commercialization, food safety and quality requirements, and operational risk.

- Ability to build credible business cases and evaluate total cost, capital needs, capacity commitments, service, and resilience.

- Experience leading complex negotiations and cross-functional decisions involving Operations, Quality, Product Development, Planning, Finance, Sourcing, and Legal.

- Comfort building processes and teams in a fast-growing environment where requirements and priorities evolve.

- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience; advanced degree welcome but not required .

Leadership Attributes & Competencies

- Strategic builder: Connects business growth and product plans to a practical partner and capacity roadmap.

- Commercially and analytically strong: Uses sound economics, clear assumptions, and thoughtful negotiation to make durable decisions.

- Collaborative leader: Earns trust across teams and with external partners while maintaining clear accountability.

- Decisive and adaptable: Moves work forward with incomplete information, surfaces risks early, and adjusts when conditions change.

- Humble and curious: Seeks expertise from others, challenges assumptions respectfully, and builds capability in the team.

Location and Travel:

The position will be based onsite in Walnut Creek, CA. We strongly believe in the power of culture and community and have a hybrid work structure with 4 days in the office on a weekly basis to encourage collaboration and personal connections that will allow us to better serve our customers and consumer and to have more fun. Fridays are flex days with employees having the opportunity to choose to be either in the office or to work from home based on what makes most sense for them. Additionally, it will involve up to 50% travel; predominantly in the U.S.

Pay Transparency

The expected starting salary range for this role is $235-000 - $255,000 per year. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range based on the location of the role. The amount a particular employee will earn within the salary range will be based on factors such as relevant education, qualifications, performance and business needs.

SEASONED FOR SUCCESS:

- No two days here are the same.

- We try to be good team members and good communicators, but we don’t live by hierarchy and structure – everyone is a difference maker here.

- We make a lot of decisions in the face of incomplete information – our team embraces ambiguity and tries to make good decisions fast rather than great decisions slow.

- We believe our job is to take smart risk, not to eliminate risk.

- We believe in growing our skills and becoming a better company with more managerial expertise, but we are an entrepreneurial company at heart.

- We aren’t trying to be average – we want to do exceptional things, and we are willing to work hard to achieve them.

BENEFITS THAT BRING MORE TO THE TABLE:

We offer a range of total rewards that may include paid time off, 401k, bonus / incentive eligibility, equity grants, competitive health benefits, and other family-friendly benefits, including parental leave. Kinder’s benefits vary based on eligibility and can be reviewed in more detail during the interview process.

OUR RECIPE FOR BALANCE:

We believe great culture starts with people. We’re a people-first company built on connection, collaboration, and balance. Most of our work happens in the office to spark creativity and community, but we also offer flexibility so team members have the autonomy to work outside the office when needed to support their work-life balance and personal commitments.

WHERE EVERY INGREDIENT MATTERS:

Kinder's is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, citizenship, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, veteran status, as well as any other legally-protected characteristic. If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law, and you need any accommodation during the application process or to perform these job requirements, please reach out to us at [email protected]