Operations Development & Scale-up Manager

Operations Development & Scale-up Manager

Location: Karjalohja, Finland (Includes regular work at other operational sites)

Working model: Hybrid; ideally 3-4 days/week on-site at the beginning of employment

Reports to: COO

Type: Full-time, permanent

Start date: As soon as possible

Languages: Fluent English required; Finnish verbal and written communication skills are a plus

About KÄÄPÄ Biotech

KÄÄPÄ Biotech is Europe’s leading and largest functional mushroom provider. We offer our customers high-quality ingredients, full transparency throughout the entire value chain, and products that work — supported by peer-reviewed clinical studies.We are a fast-growing scale-up operating at the intersection of biotechnology, functional ingredients, health, wellness, and sustainability. Our culture is driven by innovation, collaboration, integrity, and a strong focus on delivering value to our customers.As a growing company, we are constantly evolving. Not all processes, structures, and systems are fully built yet — and that is part of the opportunity. We are looking for people who are comfortable working in a dynamic environment, can create clarity where it does not yet exist, and are motivated by building scalable ways of working as the company grows.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced Operations Development & Scale-up Manager to lead the next stage of development of KÄÄPÄ Biotech's production capability.

Your mission is to take our processes from today's operating model towards reliable, efficient and industrially scalable production.

This is a senior technical and operational development role combining process development, industrialisation, capacity expansion, technology transfer and investment projects.

You will create the technical roadmap for operational scale-up and lead major development initiatives from concept through implementation and operational handover.

What you will do

• Create and maintain the operational scale-up roadmap across mushroom cultivation and downstream processing
• Translate growth targets into technical capacity requirements
• Analyse bottlenecks, capacity, yield, efficiency and process reliability
• Develop alternative capacity solutions, including process changes, equipment, facilities, outsourcing and new production sites
• Lead scale-up, equipment and production-development projects from concept to operational handover
• Prepare business cases, project budgets, investment proposals and risk assessments
• Lead industrialisation and technology transfer from R&D and pilot scale into commercial production
• Define equipment and technical requirements and evaluate alternative technologies
• Coordinate suppliers, engineering partners, installation, commissioning and ramp-up
• Improve production flow, yield, productivity and reliability
• Prepare recommendations and decision material for the COO and leadership team
• Track whether projects deliver the expected operational and financial benefits

What we are looking for

• Relevant technical degree in engineering, biotechnology, food technology, chemical engineering or similar
• Strong experience in industrial production, process development or manufacturing scale-up
• Demonstrated experience taking processes from pilot or small scale into stable industrial production
• Experience leading equipment, process-development or capacity-expansion projects
• Strong understanding of production processes, equipment, material flows and capacity
• Experience preparing technical requirements, budgets and investment proposals
• Strong project-management and stakeholder-management skills
• Ability to combine technical depth with practical commercial judgement
• Fluent English
• Experience in food, biotechnology, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical or process manufacturing, hygienic production, commissioning, Lean or automation is particularly valuable

Why join KÄÄPÄ?

You will have a central role in determining how KÄÄPÄ's production scales — which processes need to change, where new capacity is required, which technologies and investments make sense, and how new solutions are successfully industrialised.

How to apply

To apply please submit your CV and short cover letter through our recruitment page at: https://kaapabiotech.careers.haileyhr.app/

Kindly explain in your cover letter:

• Why you are applying
• Why you believe you are a good match for this specific position
• Whether you can work approximately 3-4 days a week at the company HQ in Karjalohja

Applications should be submitted by 13th September, 2026, and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

We look forward to hearing from you!