Job Overview
Employment Type
Full-time
Compensation
Salary
Range $119,634.00 - $136,383.00
Work Schedule
Flexible
Weekend Shifts
Night Shifts
Benefits
competitive pay
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Paid Time Off
Retirement Plan
Travel reimbursement
Employee Discounts
Job Description
Panera Bread is a renowned bakery-cafe chain that has earned a reputation for quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction in the food industry. As a company dedicated to crafting wholesome, freshly baked products, Panera Bread blends culinary expertise with a customer-centric approach to offer an exceptional bakery experience. The company operates a vast network of cafes and continuously drives innovation in bakery product development through strong collaborations with culinary teams, quality assurance, and manufacturing partners. Located at the Newton Support Center in Newton, MA, Panera Bread is focused on maintaining standards of excellence in both product quality and operational efficiency across its business segments.
The position of Senior Manager, Bakery Commercialization is central to Panera Bread's commitment to delivering outstanding bakery products while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. Reporting to the Director of Bakery Commercialization, the Senior Manager takes a highly hands-on approach in managing bakery product development projects that span from formula scale-up through to the manufacturing support stages. This role requires a blend of deep bakery manufacturing expertise and strong cross-functional collaboration skills. The individual will work closely with Panera's bakery and culinary teams, quality assurance, supply chain, and sector growth groups, as well as external manufacturing partners to ensure that bakery product innovations meet high standards for taste, quality, and consistency.
The scope of responsibility includes supporting all facets of bakery product development including ideation, plant trial execution, ingredient specification validation, formula documentation, processing equipment validation, and ensuring compliance with QA standards. Serving as the voice of the customer, the Senior Manager collaborates extensively with manufacturers to oversee product quality, optimize manufacturing processes, validate secondary suppliers, and manage shelf-life testing protocols for both baked and frozen products. This role demands a mindset focused on curiosity, innovation, and practical execution, with an emphasis on challenging existing processes where appropriate and driving continuous improvement.
Further, the Senior Manager is responsible for maintaining detailed bakery manufacturing specifications, performing audits to ensure quality and operational effectiveness, and communicating project progress clearly to executive and cross-functional teams. Leadership and communication are pivotal, with a strong emphasis on fostering open dialogue, collaboration, and engagement within multifunctional project teams. This role requires the ability to lead change, influence stakeholders at various levels, and create an environment where team members feel valued and motivated.
The position offers competitive pay, ranging from $119,634 to $136,383 annually, subject to factors like experience and geographical location. It requires flexible working hours, including potential nights, weekends, and overnight travel up to 50% by plane or car. Physical requirements encompass long periods of walking and standing during manufacturing plant and test cafe visits, lifting of heavy items, and administrative office tasks.
Joining Panera Bread as the Senior Manager, Bakery Commercialization means becoming part of a dynamic team that values quality, integrity, and innovation in baking. This opportunity allows professionals to leverage their bakery manufacturing expertise to influence and improve Panera's beloved bakery offerings, working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment that supports career growth and excellence in product commercialization.
The position of Senior Manager, Bakery Commercialization is central to Panera Bread's commitment to delivering outstanding bakery products while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. Reporting to the Director of Bakery Commercialization, the Senior Manager takes a highly hands-on approach in managing bakery product development projects that span from formula scale-up through to the manufacturing support stages. This role requires a blend of deep bakery manufacturing expertise and strong cross-functional collaboration skills. The individual will work closely with Panera's bakery and culinary teams, quality assurance, supply chain, and sector growth groups, as well as external manufacturing partners to ensure that bakery product innovations meet high standards for taste, quality, and consistency.
The scope of responsibility includes supporting all facets of bakery product development including ideation, plant trial execution, ingredient specification validation, formula documentation, processing equipment validation, and ensuring compliance with QA standards. Serving as the voice of the customer, the Senior Manager collaborates extensively with manufacturers to oversee product quality, optimize manufacturing processes, validate secondary suppliers, and manage shelf-life testing protocols for both baked and frozen products. This role demands a mindset focused on curiosity, innovation, and practical execution, with an emphasis on challenging existing processes where appropriate and driving continuous improvement.
Further, the Senior Manager is responsible for maintaining detailed bakery manufacturing specifications, performing audits to ensure quality and operational effectiveness, and communicating project progress clearly to executive and cross-functional teams. Leadership and communication are pivotal, with a strong emphasis on fostering open dialogue, collaboration, and engagement within multifunctional project teams. This role requires the ability to lead change, influence stakeholders at various levels, and create an environment where team members feel valued and motivated.
The position offers competitive pay, ranging from $119,634 to $136,383 annually, subject to factors like experience and geographical location. It requires flexible working hours, including potential nights, weekends, and overnight travel up to 50% by plane or car. Physical requirements encompass long periods of walking and standing during manufacturing plant and test cafe visits, lifting of heavy items, and administrative office tasks.
Joining Panera Bread as the Senior Manager, Bakery Commercialization means becoming part of a dynamic team that values quality, integrity, and innovation in baking. This opportunity allows professionals to leverage their bakery manufacturing expertise to influence and improve Panera's beloved bakery offerings, working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment that supports career growth and excellence in product commercialization.
Job Requirements
- Four-year college education preferred
- Minimum of five years of bakery manufacturing experience
- Strong baking skills including formulation, fermentation, processing, and quality testing
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Self-motivated and highly organized
- Ability to build relationships and lead through influence
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally
- Proficient with Microsoft Office and internet-based tools
- Must have valid passport and driver’s license
- Willingness to work flexible hours including nights, weekends, and overnight
- Ability to travel up to 50% by plane or car
- Physical ability to handle walking, standing for long periods, lifting heavy items, and administrative office work
Job Qualifications
- Four-year college education preferred
- Strong baking skills including understanding of formulation, fermentation, processing, and quality testing
- Minimum of five years of bakery manufacturing experience
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Self-motivated with strong organizational, time management, prioritization, and planning skills
- Ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively
- Demonstrated organizational agility and cross-functional collaboration skills
- Ability to understand and articulate end-to-end impacts of new process improvements
- Proficient with Microsoft Office and internet-based tools such as Workday and Sharepoint
Job Duties
- Support bakery and culinary product development efforts including ideation, plant scale up, post trial evaluations, and product quality optimizations
- Support bakery and culinary commercialization through active leadership at manufacturer plant trials including ingredient spec validation, formula documentation, processing equipment documentation, and quality assurance testing
- Act as the voice of the customer with manufacturing partners
- Support bakery and culinary commercialization by setting up and validating secondary suppliers
- Coordinate ongoing product shelf life testing and validation including analytical and organoleptic tests for baked and frozen shelf life
- Maintain bakery manufacturing specifications such as formulas, material processing specs, ingredient specs, packaging, QA specs, and cafe handling procedures
- Routinely audit product quality and manufacturing effectiveness of bakery manufacturing partners
- Create clear executive summaries of commercialization activities for culinary and cross-functional teams
- Foster open dialogue, drive engagement within project teams, and create collaborative environments that encourage passion and free-thinking contributions
Job Criteria
Experience
Expert Level (7+ years)
Job Location
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