Director of Manufacturing
Director of Manufacturing & Commercialization Location: Remote, with regular travel to production facilities About Freestyle Snacks At Freestyle Snacks, we're building the future of savory snacking. We take bold, flavorful olives and pickles from the best growing regions in the world and reinvent them in convenient, mess-free packaging that fits seamlessly into modern life, creating an entirely new way to snack on foods people already know and love. Since launching in 2022, Freestyle has expanded to more than 7,000 retail locations nationwide, including Whole Foods, Target, Walmart, Costco, and Delta Air Lines. We're growing quickly and looking for ambitious, curious people who are energized by hard problems, happy getting their hands dirty, and hungry for real ownership.
About the Role
Freestyle Snacks is seeking a Director of Manufacturing & Commercialization to own how we make our products and how new ones get to market. This is not a compliance or paperwork role. We produce through partner facilities in the U.S. and abroad, and our biggest constraints are capacity, cost of goods, consistency, and speed to market on new items. This role owns all four. The day-to-day is managing our co-manufacturers, quality, and food safety. The longer-term work is commercialization: you’ll make the team’s new product ideas come to life by challenging co-manufacturer recommendations, exploring alternatives, and landing on the best, most cost-effective solution. You'll have project management support on launches, so your focus is on execution. You should be comfortable walking a plant floor, reading a costing model, and pushing back on a supplier in the same week. A background in food science or R&D is a plus. You will work directly with the Founder & CEO and partner closely with operations, finance, sales, and marketing.
What You'll Do
Own and Scale the Manufacturing Network Own the co-manufacturing network as primary point of contact, from day-to-day communication through weekly calls, QBRs, and on-site production oversight. Build the capacity plan for our growth, and source and qualify new partners so no single facility is a point of failure. Run partner scorecards on RFT, OTIF, cost per pound, yield, and complaint rate, and hold facilities to agreed standards and corrective action timelines. Build relationships strong enough that partners flag problems early and prioritize us when capacity is tight, and represent their capabilities and constraints inside Freestyle. Partner with operations on production planning, lead times, MOQs, and inventory strategy. Communicate early and honestly when an issue will affect supply, cost, or a customer commitment. Evaluate equipment, automation, and capital investment opportunities to improve manufacturing capacity, efficiency, and cost. Lead Commercialization Execute the commercialization of new products, line extensions, and formats, from concept through trials, scale-up, and first commercial run. Translate concepts into specs and feasibility assessments with our manufacturing partners. Challenge co-manufacturer recommendations and explore alternative processes, formats, packaging, ingredients, and partners to find the best, most cost-effective path. Own benchtop work, plant trials, costing, packaging development, and shelf-life and food safety validation for new items, and make the go/no-go call on technical readiness. Work alongside the project lead on each launch, providing technical input on timelines, flagging risks early, and delivering your workstreams on schedule. Negotiate Cost Savings Negotiate co-manufacturing rates, tolling agreements, and contract terms, plus ingredient and packaging supply through competitive bids where it makes sense. Find savings through run size, formulation, packaging design, case pack, and freight. Lead SKU rationalization based on complexity, margin, and velocity. Deliver measurable, year-over-year margin improvement without compromising quality. Drive Performance and Quality Own specs and finished goods standards for every SKU, and lead projects that improve throughput and quality while reducing cost. Lead root cause analysis and corrective action for service and quality failures, and catch risks before they reach a customer. Track consumer complaint trends by lot, facility, and production date and close the loop on root cause. Ensure partners maintain the food safety programs, certifications, and documentation our customers require, including during retailer onboarding. Who You Are 5+ years in food manufacturing, R&D, commercialization, or operations, ideally in CPG. Hands-on experience managing co-manufacturers (not just internal plants), including sourcing partners, structuring agreements, and negotiating real, quantified cost savings. Direct experience commercializing food products with co-manufacturers from concept through first production run, with the technical depth to challenge their recommendations and propose credible alternatives. Fluent in COGS, unit economics, and metrics like OTIF, yield, and cost per pound, and you use them to run relationships, not just report them. Enough food safety and quality knowledge to write a spec, read an audit, and hold a plant accountable. No QA certification required. Calm under pressure and rigorous about root cause. You follow through until the fix holds. Thrives in a startup: comfortable building the system while operating it, moving with urgency, and making sound decisions with imperfect information. Clear communicator who can turn technical and cost issues into recommendations for a non-technical team. Willing to be on the plant floor and travel ~30–40%, including internationally. Why Join Freestyle? Join one of the fastest growing brands in the category and make an outsized impact on its trajectory. Healthcare benefits, 401(k), flexible PTO, and professional development opportunities. Unlimited olives and pickles. If you would like to be considered for this role please send your resume to [email protected]