Position
Processing Manager
Department
Aerosol
Manager
Director of Aerosol
Job Type
Exempt, Salary
Location
Burlington, NC
Position Opportunity
The Processing Manager oversees all processing operations in a 24/7 manufacturing environment, ensuring safe, efficient, and compliant production of high-quality dairy products. This role provides leadership to processing supervisors and operators, drives continuous improvement, and ensures adherence to food safety, regulatory, and quality standards.
Essential Duties/Responsibilities
Operational Leadership
- Lead daily processing operations including pasteurization, standardization, batching, separation, and CIP/SIP processes.
- Manage and support a team of processing supervisors and operators across all shifts in a 24/7 environment.
- Develop, implement, and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistent, efficient, and safe production.
Food Safety & Quality
- Ensure compliance with all food safety, quality, and regulatory requirements including FDA, USDA, PMO, HACCP, SQF, and GMPs.
- Partner with Quality Assurance to monitor product specifications, conduct root-cause investigations, and implement corrective actions.
- Champion a culture of quality and sanitation throughout processing operations.
Production Efficiency & Continuous Improvement
- Analyze processing KPIs-yield, throughput, downtime, labor efficiency-and develop action plans for improvement.
- Lead process optimization initiatives, including waste reduction, automation improvements, and capacity expansion.
- Collaborate with Maintenance and Engineering to ensure equipment reliability, preventive maintenance, and prompt resolution of equipment issues.
People Development
- Recruit, train, coach, and evaluate processing personnel; support employee growth and cross-training.
- Ensure proper staffing levels across all shifts; manage scheduling in a 24/7 environment.
- Foster a positive, safety-focused, quality driven work culture with strong communication and accountability.
Compliance & Documentation
- Maintain accurate production, sanitation, and traceability records.
- Ensure adherence to safety, environmental, and regulatory policies.
- Support audits (internal, regulatory, and third-party) and implement audit recommendations.
Qualifications
Education/Training/Certifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Engineering, or related field; or equivalent experience.
- 5+ years of experience in dairy or food manufacturing, including supervisory or management responsibility.
- Strong knowledge of dairy processing systems (pasteurization, homogenizers, batching systems).
- Experience working in a 24/7 production environment.
- Proven leadership, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
Work Environment
- 24/7 production facility requiring occasional off-shift or weekend support.
- Exposure to cold, hot, and humid environments.
- Routine interaction with processing equipment, chemicals, and sanitation activities
Travel Requirements:
- Must be able to travel to additional company sites as needed for meetings and business needs.
- Must have reliable transportation.
- Must possess a valid driver's license.
Physical Requirements:
- Standing
- Walking
- Sitting
- Use of hands, fingers
- Reaching with hands and arms
- Climb and balance
- Stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl
- Talk and hear
- Distance vision (clear vision at 20 feet or more)
- Color vision (ability to identify and distinguish colors)
- Peripheral vision (ability to observe an area up, down, left, and right while eyes remain fixed on a point)
- Depth perception (three-dimensional vision, ability to judge distances and spatial relationships)
