Sr. Manager, Product Change Management

Sr. Manager, Product Change Management

Job Category: Regulatory Requisition Number: SRMAN001554

Posted: April 10, 2026

Full-Time

Hybrid

Michigan Kalamazoo, MI 49006, USA

Description

Job Summary: The Product Change Management Leader leads end-to-end governance, evaluation, and execution of product-related changes across Kalsec's global product portfolio and all manufacturing locations, ensuring that every modification—whether driven by innovation, supply continuity, cost optimization, or regulatory shifts—is thoroughly evaluated, assessed for global risk, and supported by clear, timely decision-making and disciplined implementation. This role blends technical expertise with strong cross-functional leadership to ensure that ingredient and product changes protect consumer and food safety, product quality, regulatory compliance, and brand trust, while delivering key business outcomes including zero disruption to product quality or compliance during ingredient transitions, high cross-functional alignment and confidence in the change management process, and improved speed-to-implementation without compromising safety, quality, or regulatory standards. Essential Job Responsibilities: Process

• Lead the global ingredient and product change management process, ensuring all changes follow established governance, risk assessment, and documentation protocols
• Ensure compliance with global food regulations, including labeling, claims, and allergen disclosure requirements
• Oversee supplier-driven ingredient changes, ensuring proper validation, testing, and communication across internal teams
• Develop and maintain change control workflows that ensure transparency, traceability, and timely decision-making
• Serve as global process owner for product and raw-material-related changes, including:
• New Product Introductions
• Product transfers between manufacturing locations in Europe, Pacific, and North America
• Raw material approvals, replacements, and alternates
• Changes to finished-good formulas, tests, and attributes of existing codes

• Develop strategies, plans, and cross-functional coordination to continuously improve Change Management processes and the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) database
• Lead improvement initiatives and report on process outcomes and performance metrics
• Align prioritization of business-critical and urgent changes to drive agility, speed-to-market, and customer responsiveness
• Evaluate technologies and system capabilities to enhance business processes and PLM functionality
• Oversee PLM software enhancements to ensure product changes are fully documented and visible across systems

• Schedule and lead Change Management meetings, including agenda preparation, material development, action tracking, and follow-up on delays
• Lead specific high-priority and high-visibility projects emerging from Change Management governance forums
• Lead cross-functional impact assessments to evaluate technical, operational, financial, regulatory, and customer-facing implications of product changes
• Manage communication and documentation for all formulation changes, including approvals, timelines, and downstream impacts
• Coordinate with Sales, Business Unit leaders, and Regulatory teams on customer notification strategies

Qualifications: Required

• Bachelor's degree with 5+ years related experience as an individual contributor and 3+ years of people/process managerial experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience in manufacturing, R&D, quality, regulatory, or supply chain roles
• Education in Food Science, Chemistry, Engineering, or a related field
• Working understanding of global food regulations
• Experience with change control processes and systems (PLM, ERP, or similar)
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence through matrixed organizations
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills with a structured approach to risk assessment and management
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to translate technical details into business impacts

Qualifications: Desired

• Advanced degree
• Strong food industry experience
• Experience working with regulatory agencies (FDA, USDA, EU, Codex, etc.)

Working Conditions:

• Up to 10% travel, including some international travel

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.