Process Engineer & Manager - Dairy

Umami Bioworks is building AI models for India's dairy sector. We are seeking a Project Manager to be embedded with our customer dairy operations, bridging the gap between Umami's bioprocess AI capabilities and on-the-ground dairy manufacturing realities. This is a hands-on, technically grounded role for a food or dairy science professional ready to grow into a cross-functional project leader and bring AI and ML solutions to the dairy sector

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Coordinate platform deployment projects at Indian dairy clients from onboarding through optimization milestones
• Act as the primary liaison between NOKA's data science team and plant-level dairy technologists
• Collect, validate, and structure plant-floor fermentation data (starter culture performance, CIP records, yield metrics) for model ingestion in partnership with customers
• Track project timelines, deliverables, and KPIs across multiple dairy client accounts in India
• Support go-to-market activities including outreach, pitch/presentation, site visits, client demos, pilot design
• Prepare progress reports, technical summaries, and client-facing documentation in English
• Identify process improvement opportunities in fermentation, cheese yield, or probiotic viability with guidance from our senior scientists

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's or master's degree in food science, Dairy Science, Dairy Technology, or Biotechnology / Process Engineering
• 2–4 years of industry experience in a dairy plant, food manufacturing facility, or food science R&D
• Hands-on exposure to dairy unit operations: pasteurization, fermentation, starter culture management, CIP/SIP, or cheese/paneer production
• Familiarity with project coordination tools and documentation; PMP certification is a plus but not required
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English; Hindi or regional language fluency
• Interest in bioprocess data, fermentation analytics, or AI-driven manufacturing optimization is highly desirable