PACKAGING LEAD TECHNICIAN

Do you love snacks? Are you looking to join an ever evolving and rapidly growing team? PIM Brands might just be exactly what you’re looking for! At PIM, We Make The Brands You Love®. Our portfolio of products, from Welch’s® Fruit Snacks to Sun-Maid® Chocolate Raisins and Sour Jacks® Sour Candies are enjoyed by millions of consumers every day. When it comes to careers, we seek talented, results-oriented individuals who want to play a part in building amazing brands and products while working in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-paced office environment. At PIM, you can make an immediate and lasting contribution to help grow iconic snack and confectionery brands, no matter your area of expertise.

About the role

The Packaging Lead (PIM – Level 7) is a frontline manufacturing leader responsible for overseeing designated production and packaging areas. This position provides direct line-level leadership and operational oversight to ensure the safe, compliant, and efficient execution of all production activities while supporting business objectives related to Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Continuous Improvement. The Packaging Lead serves as the primary operational leader on the production floor, directing day-to-day activities of Packaging Operators, Manufacturing Technicians, Utility personnel, Floaters, and other production employees. The role is responsible for coordinating resources, managing workflow, driving production performance, resolving operational issues, and ensuring adherence to GMP, quality, and safety standards. As a key member of the operations team, the Packaging Lead partners closely with Production Management, Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, Warehouse, Planning, and Continuous Improvement teams to maximize equipment performance, optimize labor utilization, achieve production targets, and foster a culture of accountability and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Production Leadership and Execution
  • Provide direct line-level leadership and oversight for assigned packaging and manufacturing operations.
  • Coordinate and direct daily production activities to ensure safe and efficient execution of production schedules.
  • Monitor line performance and operational effectiveness throughout the shift.
  • Ensure labor resources are assigned appropriately to meet business needs and production requirements.
  • Adjust staffing assignments and workflows to address operational priorities and changing production demands.
  • Communicate daily production goals, expectations, and priorities to production teams.
  • Ensure production schedules are executed efficiently while meeting established safety, quality, and performance standards.
  • Drive accountability and ownership among operators and technicians.
  • Maintain awareness of production status and proactively address issues impacting operational performance.
  • Escalate significant operational concerns to supervision as necessary.
• Safety Leadership
  • Champion a culture of safety throughout assigned operations.
  • Ensure compliance with all company safety policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
  • Conduct regular safety observations and reinforce safe work behaviors.
  • Promote hazard identification, risk mitigation, and proactive safety engagement.
  • Investigate and document safety incidents, near misses, and unsafe conditions as required.
  • Ensure employees utilize required personal protective equipment (PPE).
  • Monitor compliance with machine guarding, lockout/tagout, confined space, and other safety requirements.
  • Lead safety discussions, shift huddles, and awareness activities.
  • Take immediate action to address unsafe conditions or behaviors.
  • Support development and implementation of safety improvements.
• Quality and GMP Compliance
  • Ensure all production activities comply with GMP, food safety, quality, customer, and regulatory requirements.
  • Verify adherence to standard operating procedures, work instructions, and batch record requirements.
  • Monitor production processes to ensure products meet established quality specifications.
  • Ensure operators perform required quality checks and inspections.
  • Support investigations related to deviations, non-conformances, customer complaints, and quality events.
  • Coordinate containment activities and product holds when necessary.
  • Partner with Quality teams to implement corrective and preventive actions.
  • Promote a culture of quality ownership and right-first-time manufacturing.
  • Ensure documentation is completed accurately, completely, and in a timely manner.
• Performance and Productivity Management
  • Drive achievement of production targets, throughput goals, and operational KPIs.
  • Monitor line performance, downtime, labor utilization, waste generation, and equipment efficiency.
  • Review and communicate performance metrics with production teams.
  • Coordinate resources to minimize downtime and maximize productivity.
  • Identify operational constraints and implement corrective actions.
  • Support achievement of OEE, productivity, and waste reduction objectives.
  • Monitor labor efficiency and staffing effectiveness.
  • Promote operational discipline and adherence to production standards.
  • Ensure timely execution of startup, shutdown, and changeover activities.
• Team Leadership and Employee Development
  • Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, and guidance to production employees.
  • Foster a positive, accountable, and high-performance work environment.
  • Assist with employee onboarding, training, and qualification activities.
  • Support employee development and skills advancement.
  • Provide ongoing feedback regarding employee performance and behaviors.
  • Reinforce company values, policies, and expectations.
  • Assist supervisors with performance management activities as needed.
  • Encourage teamwork, communication, and collaboration across shifts and departments.
  • Recognize employee achievements and contributions.
  • Serve as a role model for professionalism, safety, quality, and operational excellence.
• Equipment and Process Ownership
  • Maintain working knowledge of all equipment and manufacturing processes within assigned areas.
  • Monitor equipment performance and coordinate resources to address operational issues.
  • Support equipment troubleshooting and recovery efforts.
  • Coordinate changeovers, cleanings, and startup activities.
  • Partner with Maintenance and Engineering teams to improve equipment reliability.
  • Support preventive maintenance planning and execution activities.
  • Escalate recurring equipment concerns and reliability issues.
  • Assist in prioritizing maintenance activities based on operational needs.
  • Promote equipment ownership and operator care principles.
• Continuous Improvement
  • Drive continuous improvement efforts focused on safety, quality, productivity, reliability, and waste reduction.
  • Participate in Lean Manufacturing, TPM, 5S, and Operational Excellence initiatives.
  • Support root cause analysis and corrective action implementation.
  • Identify opportunities to improve workflows, labor utilization, line performance, and operational effectiveness.
  • Promote standardization and best practices throughout assigned operations.
  • Support implementation of process improvements and operational changes.
  • Encourage employee involvement in improvement activities.
• Cross-Functional Coordination
  • Collaborate closely with Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Warehouse, Planning, and Operations Leadership.
  • Coordinate material, staffing, equipment, and production requirements.
  • Support investigations involving quality events, downtime losses, inventory discrepancies, or safety concerns.
  • Participate in daily operations meetings and performance reviews.
  • Facilitate communication between shifts and departments.
  • Ensure smooth execution of operational priorities and business objectives.
  • Participate in facility initiatives, project teams, and improvement efforts.
• Administrative and Documentation Responsibilities
  • Complete shift reports, production updates, labor tracking, and operational documentation as required.
  • Verify production records, batch documentation, and operational logs for completeness and accuracy.
  • Assist with KPI reporting and shift performance communication.
  • Document operational issues, downtime events, corrective actions, and improvement opportunities.
  • Support audit readiness and inspection activities.
  • Maintain accurate records in accordance with company requirements.
• Leadership Expectations
  • Lead by example in safety, quality, compliance, and performance.
  • Demonstrate ownership of assigned production areas.
  • Build and maintain a culture of accountability and teamwork.
  • Develop the technical and operational capabilities of team members.
  • Drive execution of daily business objectives.
  • Make timely and effective operational decisions.
  • Promote continuous improvement and operational excellence.
  • Serve as the primary floor leader responsible for the execution of Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and People objectives.
• Performance Expectations
  • Safety performance and compliance within assigned areas.
  • Achievement of production, quality, and service targets.
  • OEE, throughput, labor efficiency, and downtime performance.
  • Employee engagement, training, and development results.
  • GMP and audit compliance.
  • Operational execution and schedule attainment.
  • Effectiveness in resolving production and personnel issues.
  • Continuous improvement participation and results.
  • Cross-functional collaboration and communication effectiveness.
  • Overall performance of the designated production area and manufacturing team.

Requirements

• Education
  • High School Diploma or GED required.
  • Associate Degree, Technical Certification, or equivalent manufacturing leadership experience preferred.
• Experience
  • Minimum 5–7 years of manufacturing or packaging operations experience.
  • Demonstrated experience operating and supporting advanced automated production equipment.
  • Previous experience as a Lead Operator, Senior Technician, Manufacturing Technician, or equivalent leadership role preferred.
  • Experience leading teams in a GMP-regulated manufacturing environment preferred.
  • Experience with Lean Manufacturing, TPM, Operational Excellence, and Continuous Improvement initiatives preferred.
• Work Environment & Physical Requirements