Great Lakes Cheese · 19 hours ago
Lead Cheese Technologist
Hiram, OH
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
4+ years expGreat Lakes Cheese is seeking a Lead Cheese Technologist who will be responsible for advancing cheese performance, quality, and capability across the organization. This role involves ensuring cheese products meet high standards of quality and safety, leading continuous improvement projects, and supporting various departments with technical expertise.
E-CommerceFood and BeverageManufacturing
Responsibilities
Provide troubleshooting and continuous improvement technical knowledge in all matters regarding cheese production / processing operations
Leads project activities, evaluates progress, and supports team members in the achievement of tactical projects / business objectives
Develop product and process specifications based on acceptable tolerance intervals, through process capability studies and statistical methods
Develop and implement procedures and methodology to improve efficiencies and quality
Provide support to many areas of the business including production operations, engineering, and R&D
Conducts research utilizing scientific and sound experimental methodology, while expanding and developing new technologies to deliver business results striving toward competitive, cost or technical advantage
Lead the identification and exploration of new process technologies with an eye towards industry innovation and trends
Makes presentations to sales, market, and business development personnel
Maintain close contact with developments in the field, obtaining information from a variety of published and unpublished sources
Drive best practices in cheese make, technologies and transfer knowledge into our cheese make operation plants and support external cheese supply chain initiatives
Train manufacturing teams to ensure that cheese make knowledge is established and integrated at all levels
Support the development of long-term cheese strategy and innovation roadmaps in partnership with cross-functional stakeholders
Serve as a resource for training and education
Serve as a resource for the company regulatory, technical departments, operation, and customers as relates to cheese know how, including cheese standards, analytical/nutritional expertise
Lead the development of new cheese types internally and externally with suppliers
Develop and support the engineering organization for cheese make related projects and supporting business case studies, and tracking project(s) execution
Provides technical oversight and troubleshooting support
Collaborates with Procurement on "out of spec" cheese types and determine/influence which site and line is best used
Participates in root cause investigations, corrective action planning and escalation management for cheese-related quality issues
Stay ahead of the latest cheese technologies and trends
Represents the company at industry events to oversee cheese and milk research projects
Evaluate emerging technologies and assess their potential impact on our operation processes
Make recommendations for technology adoption based on feasibility to improve quality and cost-effectiveness
Support business needs by working with cheese suppliers on process improvements, ultimately driving quality gains to meet business objectives in quality, cost, and profitability
Assure business needs are met as a technical resource for plant production, FSQA and Procurement. Collaborates with plants (Operators, Supervisors, Managers, Cheese Graders) to ensure cheese make process meets quality and performance standards
All GLC employees are expected to perform any assignment or job task according to the stated safety policies and procedures
All GLC employees are expected to produce and promote our products and services in a manner that exceeds the quality and value expectation of our customers and consumers by adhering to Good Manufacturing Practices, Policies and Procedures outlined in our Safe Quality Food Program
Other responsibilities as assigned by the manager
Up to 80% travel
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Cheese Manufacturing, Food Science, Quality and or related field
4 years of cheese manufacturing, quality management experience
In depth understanding of cheese technology and quality processes and related issues
Ability to be a tactical leader who is comfortable establishing, communicating, and “hands-on” implementing the vision and deliverables
Strong presentation, written, and verbal skills with the ability to communicate ideas and recommendations to non-engineer team members and leadership in a clear manner
Preferred
4-8 years of cheese manufacturing, quality management experience
Cheesemaker and/or Licensed Cheese Grader
Company
Great Lakes Cheese
Great Lakes Cheese is an award-winning, premier manufacturer and packager of natural and processed bulk, shredded, and sliced cheeses.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Great Lakes Cheese has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (12)
2024 (6)
2023 (11)
2022 (6)
2021 (4)
2020 (5)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Dan Zagzebski
President and CEO
Matthew Wilkinson
Vice President, Technology (CIO/CTO) & Business Development
Recent News
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
2025-12-07
2025-12-07
Company data provided by crunchbase