We have an immediate opening for an Production Manager. The Production Manager is responsible for leading and overseeing daily manufacturing operations across three core production departments: Straws, Kitting & Packaging, and Injection Molding within a fast-paced food packaging and plastics manufacturing environment. This role provides direct leadership and oversight to four Shift Supervisors to ensure safe, efficient, and high-quality production operations across all shifts.
The Production Manager will drive operational excellence by focusing on safety, productivity, quality, employee engagement, equipment reliability, and continuous improvement initiatives. This position plays a key role in achieving production goals, improving efficiencies, minimizing downtime and waste, and supporting a culture of accountability and teamwork throughout the facility. The role reports to the Plant manager.
Essential Duties & ResponsibilitiesOperational Leadership- Lead and oversee daily manufacturing operations for the Straws, Kitting & Packaging, and Injection Molding departments across all shifts.
- Directly manage and support four Shift Supervisors and Maintenance Technicians to ensure operational effectiveness and equipment reliability.
- Ensure production schedules, efficiency goals, quality standards, and customer demands are consistently achieved.
- Monitor and analyze operational metrics including productivity, downtime, scrap, labor utilization, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
- Maintain strong floor presence while providing hands-on leadership and operational support within the manufacturing environment.
- Coordinate staffing, labor allocation, and production priorities to meet changing business needs and customer demands.
- Drive accountability and operational discipline throughout all production departments.
Department Oversight ResponsibilitiesInjection Molding Operations- Oversee the production of plastic cutlery products including knives, forks, spoons, soup spoons, soda spoons, taster spoons, and sporks.
- Manage operations involving polystyrene and polypropylene resin materials.
- Support and optimize production performance across three injection molding machines.
- Partner with Maintenance and Engineering teams to improve machine uptime, process consistency, and overall production efficiency.
Straw Manufacturing Operations- Oversee the manufacturing of multiple straw product lines including Milk, Spike, Stirrer, Jumbo, Super Jumbo, Giant, Flex, and Colossal straws.
- Manage production operations involving both single-head and dual-head extrusion equipment.
- Oversee packaging processes including hand pack, handbag, auto-bag, and chip pack operations.
- Ensure product quality, color consistency, and packaging accuracy for customer-specific straw programs.
Kitting & Packaging Operations- Lead operations for automated and manual kitting and packaging processes supporting customer-specific product kits.
- Oversee five robotic automated kitting lines supporting single-wrap and 3-piece cutlery kits.
- Manage four Intellifeed kitting machines along with manual, horizontal, and vertical kitting equipment.
- Coordinate production priorities to maximize robotic automation and Intellifeed machine efficiencies while utilizing manual lines during peak demand periods.
- Oversee assembly of customized kits containing cutlery, condiments, straws, moist wipes, napkins, and other customer-required components.
Leadership & Team Development- Coach, mentor, and develop Shift Supervisors and Maintenance Technicians to strengthen leadership capabilities and operational performance.
- Conduct performance evaluations, corrective actions, and employee development planning.
- Foster a culture focused on accountability, communication, teamwork, and employee engagement.
- Support employee retention initiatives and workforce development efforts.
- Partner with HR regarding staffing, attendance management, employee relations, and performance concerns.
Safety & Compliance- Promote and maintain a strong safety-first culture throughout all manufacturing areas.
- Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations, GMPs, food safety standards, and company policies.
- Conduct safety audits, incident investigations, and corrective action follow-up.
- Ensure employees consistently follow safe work practices and PPE requirements.
Quality & Continuous Improvement- Partner with Quality teams to ensure products meet customer specifications and food packaging standards.
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on operational efficiency, waste reduction, scrap reduction, and process optimization.
- Utilize Lean Manufacturing and problem-solving methodologies to improve manufacturing performance.
- Support investigations related to quality concerns, customer complaints, and process deviations.
Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, or related field preferred.
- 7+ years of manufacturing leadership experience required.
- Previous experience managing supervisors and multiple production departments required.
- Experience in plastics manufacturing, food packaging, extrusion, injection molding, automated packaging, or related manufacturing environments strongly preferred.
- Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, and operational metrics.
- Demonstrated leadership, coaching, and employee development experience.
- Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and decision-making abilities.
- Excellent communication and organizational skills.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office and manufacturing/ERP systems.
Preferred Skills & Experience- Experience overseeing high-speed manufacturing and automated production environments.
- Knowledge of food-grade manufacturing and GMP compliance.
- Experience with extrusion equipment, robotic automation, and injection molding operations.
- Ability to improve production efficiency, reduce downtime, and minimize scrap.
- Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.
Working Conditions- Manufacturing plant environment with exposure to noise, moving machinery, heat, and production equipment.
- Frequent walking, standing, and movement throughout production areas.
- Ability to work flexible hours, including weekends or off-shift support, based on operational needs.
If this sounds like the kind of company and team you want to grow with, we'd love to hear from you.
