Position Summary
The Plant Manager is responsible for the safe, compliant, and cost-effective production of seasonings, rubs, and sauces. This role translates the Director of Operations' priorities into daily execution across blending, liquid and sauce processing, packaging, sanitation, quality, warehousing, and shipping and receiving. With Quality reporting through Operations, the Plant Manager is accountable for both production results and product quality. Working through supervisors and team leads, the Plant Manager builds reliable operating systems and develops a strong leadership bench to sustain consistent performance without constant direct involvement. The ideal candidate brings a strong background in food manufacturing, plant leadership, food safety, quality, and continuous improvement.
Primary Responsibilities
Safety
- Lead a safety-first culture across all shifts and areas of the plant.
- Own incident prevention, investigation, and corrective action, and ensure OSHA compliance.
- Ensure required PPE, safeguards, lockout/tagout, and safety training are in place and followed.
Food Safety & Quality
- Work with the Quality team, including QA and QC, to ensure product quality from incoming materials through finished goods.
- Align with QA on quality checks, testing, specifications, and release; hold, investigate, and disposition nonconforming product before it reaches a customer.
- Track quality measures such as complaints, holds, rework, and first-pass quality, and drive root-cause corrective action.
- Monitor supplier and ingredient performance and partner with Purchasing to resolve quality issues.
- Partner with Regulatory & Compliance to uphold GMPs, food-safety plans, allergen control, sanitation, and SQF requirements, and maintain audit and inspection readiness.
Production & Delivery
- Deliver the production schedule while protecting on-time shipments and customer service.
- Work with Planning, Purchasing, and the warehouse so materials, labor, and equipment are ready before each run.
- Lead daily and weekly production meetings; track output, downtime, yield, and schedule attainment, and close gaps quickly.
Cost & Business Results
- Own plant labor, overtime, material yield, waste, and spending against budget.
- Build the annual plant budget and capital requests with the Director of Operations.
- Deliver measurable commitments and corrective action when results fall short.
Inventory & Systems Accuracy
- Ensure accurate production and inventory reporting, including job completion and pallet records.
- Maintain proper management and closure of production.
- Partner with inventory team ensuring inventory accuracy.
Continuous Improvement & Equipment
- Lead continuous improvement in changeovers, throughput, yield, and use structured problem-solving.
- Partner with Maintenance on preventive maintenance and equipment reliability for seasoning and sauce lines.
- Evaluate and recommend equipment and process improvements that support growth.
Leadership & Team Development
- Hire, develop, and lead production supervisors, leads, and the Quality team, and build backup coverage for critical roles.
- Set clear expectations, follow up consistently, and address attendance, conduct, and performance issues promptly and fairly with HR.
- Create standard work, training, and qualification plans so results do not depend on any one person.
- Foster a culture of safety, food safety, quality, accountability, and continuous improvement throughout the plant.
Skills & Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Food Science, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- Minimum of 7 years of experience in food or CPG manufacturing, including 3 years leading supervisors in a plant setting.
- Strong knowledge of GMPs, HACCP, allergen control, sanitation programs, quality systems, and OSHA requirements.
- Experience leading or working closely with QA/QC teams, including specifications, testing, holds, and corrective action.
- Proven record of improving safety, quality, delivery, and cost results.
- Experience building budgets and managing labor and spending.
- Hands-on experience with an ERP system for production, inventory, and lot traceability.
- Strong leadership, problem-solving, organization, and communication skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office.
- Experience with dry blending, seasonings, or liquid sauce production, SQF Practitioner or PCQI certification, and Lean or Six Sigma training are highly preferred.
Working Conditions
- Production environment with exposure to noise, moving equipment, temperature changes, spice dust, and food allergens; must follow all GMP, PPE, and safety requirements.
- Must be able to stand and walk for extended periods and occasionally lift up to 50 lbs.
- Regular presence on the production floor, with potential for early, late, overtime, or weekend work to support all shifts and urgent production needs.
