Quality Engineering, Food Innovation Associate Manager

Yum! Brands, Inc. is the world's largest restaurant company with more than 33,000 restaurants in over 100 countries and territories and more than 840,000 employees worldwide. Four of our restaurant brands -- KFC, Long John Silver's, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell -- are the global leaders of the chicken, quick-service seafood, pizza and Mexican-style food categories respectively. A&W Restaurants is the longest running quick-service franchise chain in America.

So come see what it's like to be with a leader in the restaurant industry. You'll find a fun and supportive culture, where our success comes from the belief that our people's capabilities are our greatest asset, and investing in you is our top priority.

The Long John Silver's Quality Engineering, Food Innovation Associate Manager will support and/or lead cross-functional teams (within LJS/A&W FI &QA) on multiple projects to develop products, tools & systems in support of LJS/A&W Core Products & Menu Layers. This position will impact the business by identifying & assisting in breaking down barriers to full integration of LJS/A&W products into MB stores (including lay-out, equipment, smallwares, and other hurdles).
The Associate Manager will also develop & manage technical aspects of all core products and processes, leading team member(s) on multiple projects; coach & support career progression within YUM.

Specifically, you'll be responsible for:

•Assist in the re-development of field-ready products, tools, and processes for LJS/A&W core with emphasis on integration into restaurants (company, franchises & MB stores); including lay-out, labor & workflow solutions, storage limitations, etc. (50%) This includes:
*Develops improvements to restaurant lay-outs to ensure optimal Ops flow, food safety & capacity requirements
*Conducts capacity analysis & recommendations for cook/hold equipment, freezer, refrigerator & dry storage
*Simulates restaurant issues in a lab environment in order to reduce or completely eliminate operational issues
*Creates functional specifications for Industrial Engineering processes & systems; utilizes EDP in line with development of all new Industrial Engineering processes & systems

•Support supplier development and improvement initiatives by assessing production capabilities, providing solutions to processing obstacles, providing DEDVIM stage gates as they relate to engineering issues, conducting supplier Quality Process Reviews, etc. (20%)

•Identifies & develops smallwares and other non-food products to support product and process improvements including developing prototypes & functional specifications (10%)

•Coaches cross-functional team members & outside sources in understanding LJS/A&W requirements, including Ops integration, MB integration & franchisee support (10%)

•Investigate and lead initiatives for cost savings by reducing energy consumption, improved labor models, improving supplier efficiency and through-put (10%)
REQUIREMENTS
EDUCATION:
BS Engineering or Food Science Discipline with emphasis on engineering (Quality or Industrial Engineering); MS/MBA a plus

EXPERIENCE (and other qualifications):
*5-10 years expected in Quality Engineering function expected
*Experience in Food related and / or Seafood related industry preferred
*Strong management skills
*Some restaurant / food service background preferred
*Able to utilize formal & informal networking to disseminate information, gain consensus or resolve issues.
*Good oral and written communication skills
*Computer skills; working knowledge of Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint)

YUM! Brands, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants for all job openings are welcome and will be considered without regard to race, gender, age, national origin, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law