About The Role

Heads Up For Tails is building its Food Manufacturing Unit, one of the largest in the country, to US FDA and BIS specifications. We are hiring a Chief of Staff to be the founder's right hand through detailing and execution.

You will bridge design and delivery: working with MEP consultants, food technologists and machinery manufacturers so that every decision is technically sound, compliant, documented and on schedule. Once the unit is commissioned, the role broadens into a Chief of Staff position, partnering with the founder on other high-priority strategic projects across the business. This is a high-ownership role for someone who can read a P&ID; and a Gantt chart with equal ease, and who is comfortable pushing a vendor on a delivery date or a consultant on a drawing revision.

Key Responsibilities

Phase 1: Food Manufacturing Unit detailing and execution:

- Assist the founder in translating the project vision into detailed technical and operational specifications.
- Maintain the master project plan, tracking milestones, dependencies and critical path items.
- Run regular review meetings with consultants and vendors, and track action items to closure.
- Act as the single point of coordination with MEP consultants (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire, utilities), reviewing drawings, resolving clashes and tracking revisions.
- Work with food technologists to ensure process flows, hygiene zoning, throughput and food safety requirements are reflected in layouts and equipment choices.
- Ensure the design, equipment and documentation meet US FDA and BIS requirements, and keep a compliance matrix mapping each requirement to the drawing, specification or equipment that satisfies it.
- Coordinate with regulatory and quality advisors on FDA and BIS audit readiness, including facility registration,



certification and inspection documentation.
- Liaise with machine manufacturers on specifications, utility requirements, material and sanitary design standards, FAT/SAT, delivery schedules, installation and commissioning.
- Ensure interfaces between process, civil, MEP and equipment are coordinated before they become site problems.
- Review technical proposals, quotations and BOQs; support comparative evaluation and vendor negotiations.
- Flag risks, delays and cost overruns early, with proposed solutions. Conduct regular site visits to verify progress and quality against plan.

Phase 2: Strategic initiatives (post-commissioning):
- Own and drive high-priority projects as directed by the founder, from scoping through delivery.
- Conduct analysis, build business cases and structure decisions on new initiatives, expansions and operational improvements.
- Coordinate across functions and external partners to move cross-cutting initiatives forward.

Founder support (throughout)
- Prepare decision notes, dashboards and status reports for the founder.
- Manage budgets and capex tracking alongside the finance team.
- Represent the founder in technical, vendor and internal meetings where required.

Qualifications And Experience

- B.Tech/B.E. in Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, Electrical or a related engineering discipline; a degree from an IIT (or equivalent tier-1 institute) is preferred.
- 4 to 8 years of experience,



ideally combining engineering/project execution with management consulting (MBA is a plus but not required).
- Demonstrated experience on a manufacturing, food processing or industrial greenfield project.
- Working knowledge of MEP systems, plant utilities and process equipment.
- Familiarity with regulated manufacturing environments, with an understanding of how compliance requirements translate into facility design.
- Familiarity with project management tools (MS Project, Primavera or similar), AutoCAD drawing review, and advanced Excel/PowerPoint.

Skills And Attributes

- Solid analytical and structured problem-solving ability.
- Excellent written and verbal communication, able to hold their own with senior consultants, OEM engineers and leadership.
- High attention to detail, with a bias for follow-through and closing loops.
- Able to shift between deep technical detail and big-picture strategy.
- Comfortable with ambiguity and with working directly with a founder.
- Discretion and sound judgment with confidential information.
- Fluency in English and Hindi preferred.

Good To Have

- Experience in pet food, animal feed, food, beverage, dairy, FMCG or cold chain facilities.
- Exposure to US FDA requirements (such as FSMA and current good manufacturing practice) and to BIS certification processes.
- Exposure to GMP, HACCP or ISO 22000 systems.
- Experience in vendor negotiation and contract management.

What We Offer

- Direct exposure to the founder and all strategic decisions.
- Ownership of one of the largest food manufacturing units in the country, built to FDA and BIS specifications, from detailing to commissioning.
- A long-term path beyond the project into broader strategic and leadership responsibilities.

Skills: food manufacturing,manufacturing,bis,mep

📌 Chief Of Staff to the CEO | Food Manufacturing Unit (Gurugram)
🏢 Heads Up For Tails
📍 Gurugram