Who are we?
Lyka is an Australian founded pet wellness company that’s shaking up an outdated industry and paving the way for happier, healthier pets. Despite medical advancements, animal lifespans are on the decline. Today, the average pet only reaches 37% of their full potential lifespan and statistics have shown us that many suffer from dental disease, cancer, and obesity. Simply put, the status quo is not enough.
As humans, we’ve experienced firsthand the positive impact fresh wholefoods can have on our health and wellbeing, and we believe our furry friends deserve the same. We're on a mission to do just that, starting with nutritionally balanced, wholefood meals delivered direct to doors around Australia. As the world’s most sustainable pet wellness company, we’re putting pets and our planet first — one bowl at a time.
Today, we are proud to share we’ve served almost 30 million meals to puppers and their parents across Australia, and this is just the beginning. Our vision is to create multiple nutritional products, adding disease prevention meals and supplements, and expand into new markets.
Currently, we have a team of 200+ pet-obsessed and we're continuing to grow (yes, looking at you!). These carefully selected people are dedicated to building the next generation of technology and products to help empower pet parents to take control over their pet’s wellbeing.
To date, we have raised over $60M in funding from venture capital investors and pet industry insiders, who believe in our mission and ability to drive change in a stagnant industry, providing nutrition that nourishes puppers from the inside out.
Are you ready to shake things up and give pets the life they deserve? Come join our pack!
Who you are?
This role will be responsible for leading the deployment of Lyka’s Lean Manufacturing Methodology (Lean the Pack) across all manufacturing sites in Lyka, with a large focus on Operational Excellence, LEAN Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement. You will have the opportunity to work across our entire operations in NSW and VIC, which includes three manufacturing facilities.
Our Mission
The time we share with our pets is being cut short. Despite medical advancements, they’re getting sicker earlier. They’re dying prematurely. The industry has it backwards — prioritising treating symptoms instead of addressing the root cause. That’s where we come in.
At Lyka, we take a preventative, holistic and personalised approach to pet care. We look at the full picture, factoring in the diet, lifestyle and environment of each individual animal.
We don’t stop at symptoms, instead we dig for the root cause. We create nutrition plans unique to each pet, because it’s not just about living longer, but living well too.
Our mission is to double the average lifespan of dogs and cats by 2050.
What you will do?
- Take ownership and lead the deployment of Lyka’s "Lean the Pack" methodology across all sites. This includes, but is not limited to, driving Operational Excellence practices, problem-solving, and CAPA of day-to-day issues that impact safety, quality, and performance. Conduct daily Gemba walks to ensure that standards are being followed and provide continuous coaching and mentoring to the shop floor team to foster a growth mindset for continuous improvement.
- Develop, launch, train and continuously update relevant standards, including Autonomous Maintenance, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), centerlining, and others included in Lyka’s "Lean the Pack" methodology.
- Provide day-to-day and strategic support to the Manufacturing team to achieve key performance indicators (KPIs), including safety, quality, and efficiency.
- Lead production trials aiming to improve the different elements of the Gross Margin, giving support to other Stream Drivers.
- Participate in new CAPEX projects and New Product Development (NPD), supporting Engineering and R&D, ensuring that relevant standards are updated, and transitions are smooth and effective (Business as Usual).
- Degree in an Engineering discipline (preferably Industrial).
- Demonstrated experience in a fast-paced FMCG environment and Lean Manufacturing deployment is required, along with implementing Continuous Improvement initiatives.
- Certifications in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other relevant Operational Excellence certifications are often a plus.
- The ability to engage others and demonstrate a hands-on approach is a must, engaging shop floor teams in embedding the new initiatives in their BAU activities.
- Experience in Training & facilitation (learn, do, teach) of Lean Manufacturing Fundamentals and Operational Excellence principles.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Work in a fast-growing start-up, experiencing what goes behind the scenes to sustain hyper-growth for a start-up with a physical product!
- Growth and Development – Lyka is growing extremely quickly, which means you will have the opportunity to experience different challenges every day and progressively acquire more responsibilities as our facility and team expands. We provide an annual L&D budget for you to continue your personal development.
- Work for a sustainability focused company – we care about the health of our dogs and our planet. We’re proud to be Australia’s only carbon-negative and plastic-negative pet wellness company and we’re always looking at ways for us improve sustainability practices.
- Be part of a diverse top talent team, coming from widely different backgrounds and geographies.
- 12 weeks of paid parental leave for primary carers and 6 weeks for secondary carers, alongside 2 weeks of miscarriage leave in the first twenty weeks. We also offer 18 paid weeks to both primary and secondary carers if you have been at Lyka for over two years.
- Wellbeing assistance & tools to take care of your mental and physical wellbeing so you can do your best work.
- Pupper parent support to care for your furry friends – flexible arrangements for new pets, pet-friendly offices, discounts, and financial allowance for dog training & care to help them live their best life!
This role will be covering operations across the network (NSW and VIC); however, you will be primarily based in our Dandenong South site (Melbourne), therefore you will need to be based in VIC to apply for this role.
We are committed to building inclusive and diverse teams.
Lyka is an equal opportunity employer devoted to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion. We celebrate diversity, are devoted to creating an inclusive environment for all staff and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application.
