Vice President Operations

Who is Nulixir?

Nulixir, a nano-biotechnology start-up, is a VC-backed business-to-business (B2B) company that develops, manufactures, and licenses intellectual property (IP) for smart nanocarriers, called nanovesicles, which optimize the performance of functional ingredients in food & beverage products. Nulixir, as the Function HouseTM, is revolutionizing the functional ingredient space by introducing a realm of functionality and shaping the future of intelligent food. This patented technology (70+ patents) has applications across multiple verticals in food and beverage (e.g., nootropics, energy stimulants, vitamins, probiotics, protein, etc.).

Founded in 2019, the company brought together a team of CPG leaders, cancer researchers, US attorneys, and nutritionists to overcome long-standing challenges in the Food and Beverage Industry. The firm’s founder has extensive experience in the development of nanocarriers for cancer therapeutics.

In the past-year, Nulixir sales have grown ~8x with strong interest from small, mid-size and many large CPG companies to partner with Nulixir and incorporate the technology in their products. Nulixir boasts an impressive board of senior executives from companies like Pepsi, Danone, McKinsey & Company, Paine Schwartz Partners, etc. The company currently has 30+ employees with a stellar executive team who come from food B2B companies such as ADM, Givaudan, Kerry, and ex-MBB consultants.

Position Overview

Nulixir is seeking an experienced and visionary Vice President of Operations to join our leadership team. As we scale up, you will play a crucial role in shaping our operational direction, driving efficiency, and ensuring the highest quality standards in our innovative food and beverage manufacturing processes. This is your opportunity to make a significant impact at a cutting-edge company revolutionizing the way we consume nutrients.

This role demands a dynamic leader with a proven track record in management consulting, food/ingredient/beverage manufacturing, and labor management. The ideal candidate will bring a unique blend of strategic thinking, operational acumen, and a passion for innovation to steer our company towards achieving operational efficiency and sustainable growth. The ideal candidate has immense intellectual curiosity, operations rigor, quality-focus mindset, metrics driven approach, and strong technical and quality control background.

This position will be based at our HQ facilities located in the Austin, TX Metropolitan Area.

In this critically important role, you will be responsible for:

A: Manage day-to-day manufacturing operations (including labor) as well as develop and execute robust plans to meet customer orders in timely and cost-efficient manner

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of Nulixir’s only in-house manufacturing located in Austin, Texas, including developing a daily production plan and ensuring daily operations goals are realized
• Manage a growing team of Technicians, Production Engineers, and Production Operators (20+ employees at the moment and increasing to 40 by YE)
• Develop plans for all aspects of production including equipment purchases, staffing needs, work schedules, and material requirements
• Design, implement, and manage production forecasting, capacity planning, and production scheduling based on prioritization of different customer orders in partnership with Commercial team and ensure orders are met in a timely fashion
• Evaluate multiple scenarios during production planning for utilization of equipment and labor and ensure the right scenario is chosen along with robust back up plans
• Ensure a healthy and safe manufacturing environment for all employees in compliance with federal and state regulations
• Collaborate with procurement and supply chain to plan raw materials inventory to ensure timely availability for production
• Develop a thorough understanding of process flow and key controls of the manufacturing processes; use this knowledge along with daily observations of all areas of the operations facility to drive continuous improvement of throughput and yield
• Design and implement new manufacturing processes and procedures to improve efficiency and reduce costs
• Establish a system to monitor all variable and fixed costs (e.g., raw material, labor, utilities, etc.) linked to manufacturing in partnership with Finance
• Design and implement SOPs providing production instruction for all formulations including make-to-stock and made-to-order runs
• Establish a metrics-driven performance management system across cost, service, safety, quality; provide weekly report on performance across established metrics
• Build a robust preventative maintenance plan for all manufacturing equipment and order new parts in timely fashion to minimize downtime driven by equipment issues
• Build the operations org capability and hire world class talent
• Develop internal talent with effective coaching, feedback, and individual development plans and ensure multiple employees are trained across manufacturing process to drive consistency in manufacturing output and minimize dependency on individuals
• Create and implement critical role succession plans
  
  

B: Scaling up of manufacturing operations to meet growing customer demand

• Devise strategy to scale up operations and implement new extraction and production lines to consistently to grow Nulixir’s manufacturing capacity supporting sales growth in a cost-efficient manner
• Maintain our partnerships with key vendors and 3rd party contacts for manufacturing related equipment and procedures
• Develop ERP systems and lead implementation to maximize return on investing in such a system
• Identify potential partners for outsourcing our manufacturing as we continue to expand
  
  

C: Establish a seamless process for scaling up production of new products from bench-top to large-scale production

• Collaborate cross-functionally to evaluate and establish accurate COGS and timelines for new product launches
• Conduct feasibility test of scaling up production for new SKUs as part of product development process in partnership with Commercialization team
• Develop robust SOPs for end-to-end manufacturing process for each new product being produced for first-time; leverage learnings from bench-top scale
  
  

D: Establish world-class quality systems and processes within manufacturing as well as ensure Nulixir is compliant to various critical regulatory frameworks

• Define quality standards (including both quality control and quality assurance) across our manufacturing (bench top to large scale) and setting up systems and processes to meet those standards
• Establish a robust metrics-driven system to measure quality of each batch and develop processes to meet defined goals for these metrics (e.g., particle size, pH, etc.)
• Develop systems and capabilities to meet required regulatory and labeling requirements for customers
• Lead processes to obtain GMP, Organic, and other relevant certifications for Nulixir’s manufacturing facility
• Maintain relevant quality and regulatory certification on an annual basis
  
  

Relevant Job Experiences, Skills, and Key requirements for this role:

• Experience: Minimum of 8+ years in manufacturing operations, with at least 3+ years in food & beverage or related industries. Proven experience in management consulting (4+ years), ideally from BCG, Bain, or McKinsey. Startup experience (3+ years) preferred.
• Operational Expertise: End-to-end management of manufacturing operations, including quality control, production, maintenance, and purchasing. Experience in establishing new manufacturing systems and facilities.
• Quality Focus: Strong background in creating and maintaining a world-class quality organization within the food and beverage industry.
• Data-Driven: Proficient in using metrics and data for performance management and decision-making across quality, safety, cost, and service.
• Collaborative Leader: Ability to work across functions, analyze data, draw actionable conclusions, and make strategic recommendations.
• Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication abilities, capable of presenting findings and supporting conclusions.
• Problem-Solver: Creative, organized, resilient, and entrepreneurial with a passion for overcoming obstacles and thriving in ambiguous environments.
  
  

Pay Range

• $140 - $180K plus bonus
• Stock Options (after initial employment period)
  
  

Why Join Nulixir?

Innovative Environment - Be part of a pioneering company at the forefront of food and beverage innovation.

Impactful Role - Play a crucial role in the company’s growth and success by supporting the CEO.

Growth Opportunities - Access to professional development and career advancement opportunities within a dynamic and growing company.

Collaborative Culture - Work with a passionate and driven team dedicated to making a difference in the industry.

Competitive Compensation - Enjoy a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.

Nulixirians’ Culture

We recruit, promote, and reward based off of our five core values:

Sleeves Up

• At Nulixir, we provide the autonomy and creativity needed to own your role, iterate where needed and drive impact on a massive scale.
  
  

100% Transparency

• Nulixir is passionate about open feedback at all levels of the company. This allows us to fail fast, create in real time and build an open company culture.
  
  

Be Defiantly Great - We are defiant, that’s in our lifeblood, we accomplish what other people think are impossible. Challenging the status quo is our lifeblood.

Unconditional Empathy

• Our customers are real people with real business needs, and we are here to listen and tackle accordingly. If we care and respect each other, there is no challenge we can’t overcome.
  
  

Be the solution, not just the critic

• take ownership and drive collaboration. We work together and we build together.