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Dawn Foods is a global leader in bakery manufacturing and ingredients distribution. As the partner of choice for inspiring bakery success, we help customers grow their business through meaningful partnerships, research-driven insights and innovations, and products and expertise they can depend on. As a family-owned company, our commitments to our people, products, customers, and corporate values, are all part of our recipe for success.

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Why work for Dawn Foods?

PEOPLE.   PRODUCTS.  CUSTOMERS

Why should you apply? We invest in you!

• Industry-leading health insurance on Day 1!
• Competitive Pay
• 401(K) + company match
• 10 Paid Company Holidays
• Paid Time Off
• Professional training
• Family-owned business over 100 years in service
• An opportunity for career advancement, working as part of an empowering workforce.

Job Purpose and Overview

The Manager Transportation Network Optimization plays a critical role in shaping and enhancing Dawn Food’s distribution strategy across North America. This position will lead the strategic design and continuous improvement of delivery routes across our food distribution network. This role is critical to enhancing route profitability, reducing transportation costs, and ensuring timely, efficient delivery of perishable goods to our customers. As a cross-functional leader this role blends strategic insight, analytical rigor, and team leadership to define and manage route planning, transportation analytics and cost modeling solutions that drive operational excellence and informed decision-making across the Distribution network. This position requires the ability to influence stakeholders across the organization to implement data-driven improvements.

This position requires deep experience in route planning, transportation analytics, and cost modeling—paired with a strong understanding of the unique challenges in food distribution, including time-sensitive delivery windows and temperature-controlled logistics.

Work Setting & Travel Requirements: This is a remote position with up to 25% travel.

What will you do as a Manager Transportation Network Optimization at Dawn Foods? 

• Lead the strategic design and continuous improvement of Dawn’s transportation network across North America, ensuring optimal route efficiency, cost effectiveness and service reliability.
• Lead the strategic optimization of delivery routes. Analyze and optimize daily, weekly, and seasonal delivery routes using advanced routing software and GIS tools; provide oversight of master route schedules ensuring alignment with business objectives and operational excellence through structured change control.
• Oversee route performance metrics (e.g., cost-per-case, miles driven, delivery time windows, fuel usage) and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Collaborate with dispatch, warehouse, commercial and transportation teams to implement route changes and ensure operational alignment.
• Develop and maintain route profitability models to support strategic decision-making. Ensure models are scalable, data-driven, and drive long-term value creation.
• Account for variables such as traffic, weather, vehicle capacity, and customer delivery constraints.
• Lead cost-reduction initiatives through route consolidation, load balancing, and driver utilization strategies.
• Provide detailed reporting and insights to leadership on route efficiency and financial impact.
• Stay current on industry trends, regulatory changes, and emerging technologies in logistics and food distribution.
• Support cross-functional projects related to network optimization and service level improvements.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and accountability within the team.
• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with key stakeholders across supply chain, finance, commercial, IT, and procurement.
• Act as a trusted advisor to functional leaders, helping them maximize the value of technology investments.
• Effectively influence across all levels of the organization without direct spending or operational ownership.
• Support change management efforts to ensure adoption and effective use of supply chain technologies by business users.
• Support with additional duties as required by the business.

What Does It Take to be a Manager Transportation Network Optimization at Dawn Foods?  

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Business Analytics, Industrial Engineering, or a related field with at least 10 years of relevant experience—including 5 years in route planning, transportation analytics, or logistics optimization—or in lieu of a degree, 14 years of progressive experience in transportation, logistics, or supply chain analytics.
• Six Sigma Greenbelt training is strongly preferred.
• Expertise in commercial truck routing using routing software (e.g. Descartes, GreenMile) and mapping tools (GeoTab, Trucker Path).
• Strong analytical skills with experience in Excel, SQL, or BI tools (e.g. Power BI, Tableau, Visio etc.).
• Understanding of DOT regulations, food safety standards, and temperature-controlled transportation.
• Proven success leading cross-functional teams with excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize complex data into actionable business insights.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority and work effectively across organizational boundaries.
• Strong understanding of supply chain processes and their intersection with technology platforms. SAP experience required.
• Experience in a distribution environment, food distribution preferred.  
• Ability to communicate and present across all levels of the Dawn organization.
• Experience leveraging technology to innovate business processes; Able to learn quickly and adopt best practices. 
• Demonstrated agility in managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Physical Demands & Work Environment 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a Team Member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Ability to work in a professional office/distribution environment and effectively work from home
• Travel required: Up to 25%.

Note: The level of physical effort may vary from site to site and in some cases be greater or lesser than documented here. 

If this sounds like the opportunity that you have been looking for, please click "Apply.” 

About Our Benefits 

Dawn is proud to employ the top talent in the baking industry, and we reward our people with comprehensive health and well-being coverage, competitive compensation packages, and award-winning benefit offerings. We also help protect your future financial health with a generous 401(k) matching program that provides additional retirement funds and many tools and resources on financial wellness. Dawn encourages professional growth through tuition assistance and educational programs, and we are always searching for ways to improve our industry-leading services and benefits. 

Compensation Range:

$105,201 - $173,590 with 15% bonus incentive.

#LI-RC1 #LI-Onsite

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An Equal Opportunity Employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/gender expression, citizenship status, military or veteran status, genetic information or any other status or condition that is protected by applicable law.

Requisition ID: 37579