Early Management Startup Excellence Manager

Reporting to the Senior Director of Continuous Improvement, you will lead enterprise Early Management engineering and Continuous Improvement practices across the manufacturing network. You will standardize and deploy startup and capital project methodologies that improve equipment reliability, accelerate vertical startups, and deliver measurable cost and efficiency gains. This role focuses on designing, coaching, and sustaining engineering‑led Continuous Improvement capability to ensure consistent execution and long‑term results across sites. Location flexibility: Chicago, Illinois; Omaha, Nebraska; select field locations listed. All within reasonable proximity to a major airport. A Taste of Your Responsibilities Develop and deploy enterprise strategies for Early Management aligned with business objectives and Manufacturing Excellence goals. Lead cross‑site initiatives to improve startup outcomes, equipment reliability, and reduction of systemic losses across the manufacturing network. Build financial justifications for major projects and optimizations tied to Early Management and startup execution. Lead Continuous Improvement initiatives at key sites as part of the Focused Improvement journey. Serve as a subject matter expert, coaching plant leaders, corporate startup leaders, and engineers on Engineering Work Process, Vertical Startup, and the Method of Process and Packaging Development. Provide structured training, coaching, and mentorship to elevate site‑level capability and ensure long‑term sustainability. Influence at all organizational levels, from operators to plant managers to senior leadership, to drive enterprise‑wide adoption of Early Management practices. Lead Early Management maturity assessments and ensure consistent application of foundational methodologies across all facilities. Oversee and integrate startup workflows for capital and non‑capital projects, ensuring effective planning, resource alignment, and consistent results. Direct multi‑site initiatives to ensure scalability and enterprise‑level value creation. Leverage advanced analytics and reliability engineering tools, including Weibull analysis, statistical process control, design of experiments, overall equipment effectiveness modeling, S‑curve analysis, and intended failure testing, to drive data‑based decisions. Develop enterprise standards, playbooks, and toolkits to improve consistency and efficiency of Early Management practices. Partner with other Continuous Improvement pillars, including Planned Maintenance, Autonomous Maintenance, and Focused Improvement, to deliver integrated and sustainable results. Ingredients Required for Your Success Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or a related field. 7+ years of experience in a combination of capital project engineering, operations leadership, and Continuous Improvement with a strong background in startups and capital installations. 4+ years of leadership experience successfully leading cross‑functional or multi‑site teams. Proven strength in coaching, teaching, and influencing leaders at multiple organizational levels. Strong financial acumen with experience developing business cases and presenting to senior leadership. Deep expertise in Early Management tools and Continuous Improvement methodologies, including Lean, Six Sigma, and Unified Problem Solving. Advanced proficiency with data and analytics platforms such as Power BI, SQL, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams. Strong program and project leadership experience delivering scalable results across a manufacturing network. Willingness to travel frequently, typically up to 75 percent based on project needs. Relocation assistance is available for this role. Physical Requirements More information about essential tasks and the facility will be shared during the hiring process. This role may require you to be in our manufacturing facilities. When visiting these sites, the physical requirements below may apply: You may be required to walk around the facility, climb stairs/ladders, kneel, or perform repetitive tasks that require hand-eye coordination. You may be required to lift or carry materials that can vary in weight and size. This is a manufacturing environment with large, moving equipment. Noise levels can be high, and temperatures may vary. Compensation Pay Range:$107,000-$156,000 The annual salary listed above is the expected offering for this position. An employee’s actual annual salary will be based on but not limited to: location, relevant experience/level and skillset, while balancing internal Conagra employees’ equity. Conagra Brands will comply with applicable law regarding minimum salaries for exempt employees. Our Benefits Health: Comprehensive healthcare plans, wellness incentive program, mental wellbeing support and fitness reimbursement Wealth: Great pay, bonus incentive opportunity, matching 401(k) and stock purchase plan Growth: Career development opportunities, employee resource groups, on-demand learning and tuition reimbursement Balance: Paid-time off, parental leave, flexible work‑schedules (subject to your location and role) and volunteer opportunities Our Company At Conagra Brands, we have a rich heritage of making great food. We aspire to have the most impactful, energized and inclusive culture in food. As a member of our 18,000+ person team across 40+ locations, you are empowered to reach your potential, make an impact and own your career. We're in the business of building champions – within our people and our iconic brands like Birds Eye®, Slim Jim® and Reddi-Wip®. Our focus on innovation extends beyond making great food, it also reflects our commitment to embracing new solutions that positively impact our team, the communities we serve and the health of our planet. Foodies Welcome. Conagra Brands is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, pregnancy, leave status, disability, veteran status, genetic information and/or any other characteristic or status protected by national, federal, state or local law. Reasonable accommodation may be made upon request. #J-18808-Ljbffr Conagra Brands