Thistle · 11 hours ago
Director, Process Engineering
Vacaville, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$160K/yr - $185K/yrThistle is a food-tech startup focused on promoting health and sustainability through plant-forward meals. The Director of Process Engineering will be responsible for optimizing and scaling the company's operating systems, improving processes, and leading initiatives that enhance throughput and quality in manufacturing and logistics operations.
Delivery ServiceFood and BeverageHealth CareOrganic FoodWellness
Responsibilities
Build and own the Operations Excellence roadmap for Manufacturing + Logistics, translating company growth plans into a sequenced portfolio of programs that increase capacity, reduce cost, and improve customer experience
Define OKRs and success metrics for process, quality, and throughput initiatives (e.g., labor efficiency, waste, yield, concessions/credits, OTIF, uptime), and create simple, disciplined operating cadences to review performance and unblock execution
Establish a scalable 'Thistle Standard Work' system: SOP authoring standards, version control, and auditability across culinary, production, plating, packing, and logistics in partnership with our Program Management team
Partner with R&D and Product to create launch playbooks for new SKUs, menu expansion, and personalization, ensuring operational readiness across procurement, prep, cook, plate/pack, labeling, cold chain, and delivery
Drive out variation in culinary and production processes by mapping value streams, defining critical-to-quality inputs/outputs, and implementing controls that improve consistency across shifts, sites, and seasons
Build granular process capability measurement for key steps (portioning accuracy, plating takt adherence, pack accuracy, seal integrity, label accuracy, scan compliance)
Lead root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA) for equipment and robotics breakdowns; establish durable countermeasures through standard work, training, visual management, and tooling improvements
Implement and scale Lean fundamentals: 5S, line balancing, standardized work, visual management, and daily management routines, so performance is repeatable, and we drive out process variation
Reduce ingredient and packaging waste through systematic review of plate/pack line configurations, industrial kitchen design, material flows, and ergonomics; land benchmark practices that maximize yield and minimize rework and scrap
Partner closely with Food Safety / FSQA to ensure process changes are compliant with GMPs, SSOPs, HACCP, and audit requirements
Own robust capacity modeling for manufacturing and logistics: end-to-end throughput by constraint, labor and equipment capacity, utilization, and sensitivity to menu mix and volume growth
Conduct bottleneck analysis and drive capacity unlock initiatives (e.g., changeover reduction, queue elimination, staging redesign, pack-out flow improvements)
Evaluate equipment and automation opportunities, portioning tools, packaging equipment, conveyance, scan/print/apply systems, cold-chain monitoring, building clear ROI cases (cost, quality, safety, throughput, labor), and implementation plans
Lead evaluation and implementation of advanced robotics and automation to improve portion accuracy and throughput; ensure pilots have measurable hypotheses, and clean success metrics
Partner with Operations leaders to land new equipment into daily work successfully: standard work, maintenance/PM requirements, training, adoption metrics, and entitlement tracking
Build disciplined program management practices in partnership with our Director, Program Management, to ensure relevant projects and initiatives have clear charters, resourcing, timelines, risk management, stakeholder alignment, and weekly execution cadence
Steward software and systems improvements in operational tools (manufacturing execution, inventory, labeling, route/delivery tools, dashboards): define requirements with Ops, partner with Engineering/Data, drive rollout/change management, and verify adoption with measurable leading indicators
Create robust 'input metrics' and leading indicators that predict outcomes (quality, throughput), drive compliance, and improve performance with data that reveals the highest-return opportunities at the site and shift level. This shifts the organization from reactive firefighting to proactive control
Build the operational readiness model for menu personalization and expansion, ensuring configuration complexity is absorbed through systems, line design, and standard work (not informal institutional knowledge)
Partner with Logistics to streamline 'perfect delivery' execution: pick accuracy, scan compliance, cold-chain integrity, route readiness, exception reduction, and on-time-in-full (OTIF) performance
Lead through influence across manufacturing and logistics leadership teams; align on standards, hold the bar, and support teams in execution with practical tools and on-the-floor partnership
Develop the capabilities of supervisors, leads, and managers through training, coaching, and repeatable improvement routines (daily huddles, tiered escalation, standard work audits)
Qualification
Required
Experience in process engineering within a manufacturing or logistics environment
Strong program management skills with a proven track record of leading cross-functional initiatives
Ability to define and measure OKRs and success metrics for process, quality, and throughput initiatives
Experience with Lean fundamentals and continuous improvement methodologies
Strong analytical skills for capacity modeling and bottleneck analysis
Experience in root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA)
Knowledge of food safety standards including GMPs, SSOPs, and HACCP
Ability to partner effectively with R&D and Product teams for operational readiness
Strong leadership and influence skills to drive change across teams
Experience in training and developing team members in operational excellence
Preferred
Experience in food-tech or related industries
Familiarity with robotics and automation in manufacturing processes
Experience with software and systems improvements in operational tools
Knowledge of inventory management and delivery systems
Experience in developing training programs for operational excellence
Company
Thistle
Thistle is a food and juice company that delivers fully-prepared, plant-forward meals to the doorsteps of its customers.
Founded in 2013
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Thistle 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 (1)
2023 (1)
2022 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$16.95MKey Investors
GroundForce Capital
2021-01-06Series B· $10.3M
2020-01-28Series A· $5.65M
2017-01-23Series Unknown
Leadership Team
Ashwin Cheriyan
CEO
Shiri Avnery
COO
Recent News
2025-04-13
2023-10-14
Company data provided by crunchbase