Plant Manager / Production

Safety & Regulatory Compliance

Champion and enforce all plant safety programs, including LOTO, machine guarding, PPE, ergonomics, and hazard mitigation.

Ensure full compliance with USDA/FSIS regulations, HACCP, SSOP, GMP, and other food safety requirements.

• Oversee pre-operational inspections
• CCP monitoring
• Metal detection programs
• Calibration systems
• Labeling accuracy

Maintain cold-chain integrity and sanitary conditions across all departments.

Lead audit readiness and ensure proper documentation for USDA, third-party, and customer audits.

Operations & Production Leadership

Direct all plant operations to meet or exceed production schedules, throughput targets, and customer demand.

• Monitor plant-wide KPIs including yields, labor efficiency, waste, giveaway, downtime, and first-pass quality
• Optimize staffing levels, equipment utilization, and line configurations to maximize productivity
• Manage daily production planning and communicate changes across departments
• Ensure consistent adherence to product specifications (cuts, weights, packaging, labeling)

People Leadership & Culture

Lead, develop, and coach supervisors, leads, and frontline employees across all shifts.

• Drive accountability for performance, attendance, and adherence to company policies
• Foster a culture of safety, teamwork, and continuous improvement
• Oversee employee training programs including SOPs, equipment operation, food safety, and knife safety
• Conduct regular leadership meetings, shift reviews, and communication sessions

Quality & Food Safety

Partner closely with Quality Assurance to manage product integrity, deviations, holds, and customer complaints.

• Ensure all process controls are followed and non-conformances are prevented or corrected
• Lead root-cause analysis (e.g., 5-Why) and corrective/preventive action implementation
• Drive continuous improvement in product quality and compliance metrics

Continuous Improvement & Efficiency

Identify and lead initiatives to improve yield, reduce waste, minimize downtime, and enhance throughput.

• Support Lean manufacturing, 5S, and standard work implementation across the facility
• Encourage employee engagement in improvement ideas and problem-solving efforts

Reporting & Systems Management

Oversee accurate reporting of production metrics including yields, labor usage, downtime, and inventory.

• Ensure ERP/MES systems are properly utilized with accurate data entry for production counts, scrap, and rework
• Maintain traceability and documentation required for regulatory and internal audits