Director, Continuous Improvement

Who We Are

The Farmer’s Dog is the fastest growing pet health service company in the US, and was born from a mission to change the landscape of pet health, providing dogs and their humans with honest, smart, and simple care – a fresh proposition in an industry riddled with manipulative and misleading marketing. We’re starting by radically improving the $100 billion pet food market, replacing bulk bags of highly processed pellets with a personalized subscription service that sends healthy, freshly-made dog food, balanced by top veterinary nutritionists, directly to customers’ doors. Our ultimate goal is to create innovative, honest, and delightful experiences across all aspects of pet care, and we believe our direct-to-consumer business model, holistic approach to growth, and dynamic and forward-thinking culture uniquely position us to shepherd this backwards industry into the future. 

To date, The Farmer’s Dog has delivered hundreds of millions of meals nationwide and raised over $150M in funding to help us build a company as healthy as the dogs who are eating those meals. Join us as we continue to develop ways of bringing peace of mind to our customers, health to their companions, and much-needed change to the way people feed and care for their pets.

#LongLiveDogs

Where You'll Come In

The Director, Continuous Improvement will utilize data analytics, observations, and core lean methodologies to understand and determine the root cause of opportunities and create solutions for improvement that directly enhance operational performance within processing, packaging, and fulfillment centers. You'll develop and implement effective CI strategies, foster a culture of Continuous Improvement, and utilize Lean tools and first-principle thinking. This role focuses on driving operational excellence, enhancing quality, and optimizing processes to achieve strategic business goals. This role reports directly to the VP of Technical Services. 

How You'll Make An Impact

• Evaluate data to implement technical improvements in production processes, develop and implement innovative solutions; research and recommend new supply chain technology. 
• Identify gaps, invent solutions, and find wins across the most impactful aspects of our supply chain.
• Implement Lean, Six Sigma, and other methodologies to streamline operations, reduce waste and improve quality
• Influence and coach senior management and their teams on Continuous Improvement transformation, cultural change, engagement, Continuous Improvement adoption and empowerment with a passionate approach to results
• Assist in the development, leadership, and execution of the continuous improvement of long-range plans, including project selection, resource management, and technology innovation. 
• Assist in vetting and prioritizing projects, determining 3rd party partners, and soliciting innovative strategies for the company. 
• Devise project plans to manage projects from inception to control, including developing audit KPIs to ensure process improvement is stable and sustainable. 
• Drive Continuous Improvement/CI implementation to achieve cost reductions, cycle time improvements, and quality improvements through effective Continuous Improvement/CI management, benchmarking, Key Performance Indicator development, and scorecard for various functions within the organization
• Leverages change management strategies to gain acceptance and adoption of overall strategies and new initiatives.

We're Excited About You Because You

• You have +10 years of experience in high-growth organizations
• You understand the importance of leveraging and utilizing engineering principles and data analysis to reduce variation in manufacturing processes, thereby improving operating safety and efficiency in various parameters 
• You understand the crucial role of Continuous Improvement in creating a seamless supply chain and building a world-class, customer-centric organization.
• You are a big-picture thinker while simultaneously driving strategic execution
• You are enthusiastic about combining valuable data with effective coaching to help the company learn and grow.
• Are passionate about mastering and leveraging software to achieve desired business outcomes
• You will constantly question existing processes and tools to find opportunities for continuous improvement
• You are a driver of change management and will engage stakeholders at all levels to gain buy-in and support for projects
• You have a proven record of driving results through the use of common metrics and data including those with environments of ambiguity
• You lead by example and have a “no task is ever too big or too small for us to all work together and contribute