Senior Process Leader Deli

Deli Star is a next-generation food manufacturing company with a clear purpose: to nourish life through protein with integrity. We specialize in fresh, sous vide cooked proteins and patented food-safety technologies, serving some of the most trusted brands and culinary teams across the United States. Our mission is to build a world-class fresh sous vide system, working toward a future where safe, nutritious, high-quality protein is fresh and accessible to more people.

Deli Star combines the scientific rigor, quality standards, and operational discipline of food manufacturing with the energy, creativity, and entrepreneurial mindset of a growth company. With a team of 150 employees and growing, we are large enough to make a meaningful impact while remaining small enough for talented people to influence how the company evolves. Our people-first culture is grounded in three core values: Trust, Resilience, and Creativity.

About the role

The Senior Process Leader sits at the core of the Deli team, leading manufacturing and Deli operations for Deli Star. They will drive yield, uptime, throughput, and scale-up execution while ensuring plant systems, equipment, and processes are reliable, food-safe, and drive profitable growth. This role plays a critical part in advancing Deli Star’s fresh sous vide and cook-chill manufacturing platform by ensuring processes are robust, repeatable, and scalable.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the daily execution of all Deli operational and sanitation processes, ensuring efficiency, productivity, and adherence to the production schedule.
• Effectively staff against the approved labor budget and organize the team to meet production goals and customer orders.
• Ensure all line and area leaders have the resources needed to complete the daily plan.
• Troubleshoot production issues and collaborate with leaders, specialist engineering, and other departments to resolve problems quickly.
• Support process scale-up and collaborate with the commercialization and engineering teams.
• Report on key production metrics including lbs/labor hour, equipment availability, and OEE.
• Ensure all production activities comply with regulatory requirements.
• Oversee and administer employee training programs and maintain accurate training records.
• Collaborate extensively with senior leadership and the Quality Department to guarantee adherence to all established quality parameters.
• Ensure strict adherence to all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Safe Quality Food (SQF) standards, and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) procedures and regulations.
• Develop and manage a core training matrix.
• Coach and train employees.
• Promote accountability among all team members, ensuring their work aligns with Deli Star's core values.
• Lead root cause analysis for process failures, equipment issues, and quality deviations.
• Ensure CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Actions) are communicated, implemented, and effective.

Requirements

• B.S. degree in Biology, Food Science, or Engineering is preferred. A high school diploma coupled with five or more years of demonstrable professional experience may be considered as an acceptable equivalent.
• 1-3 years of progressive experience within a food manufacturing environment required.
• Supervisory experience within a food manufacturing environment preferred.
• A thorough understanding of manufacturing regulations, including HACCP, USDA, FDA, and SQF standards and methodologies is essential.
• Demonstrated proficiency in identifying and resolving problems.
• Ability to function both independently and collaboratively with various departments, subordinates, or peers.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
• Good conflict resolution and people management skills.