Operations Supervisor

Who We Are

FedUp Foods, one of the nation's early producers of kombucha through the Buchi brand, and one of the largest functional beverage manufacturers in America, offers a diverse portfolio of organic private label functional beverages for top global retailers

Position Summary

Schedule: 2nd shift, with the flexibility to be able to change assignment to 1st shift if needed.

We are seeking a hands-on Site Operations Supervisor with a strong background in food or beverage manufacturing to lead and coordinate daily operations at our fermented beverage manufacturing facility. This role directly oversees their assigned shift's Packaging and Warehouse departments, provides dotted-line guidance to the Brewing team, and works in close collaboration with the Quality Assurance, Sanitation, Inventory, and Maintenance teams. This role is responsible for achieving daily production, packaging, and shipping goals, ensuring compliance with manufacturing safety, food safety and regulatory standards, and building a team that feels heard, respected, and motivated to grow.

The ideal candidate brings a people-first and results-driven leadership mindset, prioritizing safety, quality, and team development while fostering a collaborative and resilient culture.

General Duties/Responsibilities

Operations and Sanitation Leadership

• Ensure packaging and warehouse staffing, prioritization, and workflows meet production, inventory, and customer shipment requirements.
• Coordinate and support equipment troubleshooting, changeovers, and line setups.
• Validate carbonation levels and tank readiness for packaging.
• Conduct pre- and post-shift inspections and ensure the facility is production-ready.
• Oversee warehouse operations, including finished goods shipping, receiving of materials, documentation accuracy, and food safety, quality, and safety standard adherence.
• Ensure effective material flow by supervising receiving and inventory-related activities, coordinating cycle counts with Finance, and working with Scheduling to confirm materials are available for daily production needs.
• Ensure sanitation staffing, prioritization, and workflows that enable successful pre-op, operational, and scheduled sanitation tasks completion according to SSOPs, regulatory standards, and the Master Sanitation Schedule.
• Manage sanitation supplies and chemical inventory in collaboration with the Sr Manager of Quality and Food Safety, coordinating with vendors as needed and maintaining appropriate stock levels to support operations.

Safety and Continuous Improvement

• Model safe behavior, address unsafe conditions, and reinforce site safety practices that champion a proactive safety-first culture.
• Conduct regular safety observations and inspections of equipment, work areas, and procedures to ensure compliance with company policies, OSHA, GMPs, and food safety standards (SQF, allergen, sanitation, and pest management).
• Investigate safety incidents and near misses promptly, escalating when appropriate and contributing to corrective actions (CAPAs) and required documentation.
• Lead or assist in root cause analyses, corrective actions, and process adjustments.
• Participate in safety meetings, training sessions, and hazard-prevention activities to support continuous improvement in plant safety performance.
• Ensure compliance with SQF, allergen, sanitation, and pest management policies.
• Identify and implement improvements to increase efficiency and reduce waste.

Team Management & Culture

• Lead with empathy and humility, acting as a leader who builds trust and supports the development of every team member.
• Recruit, train, coach, and retain high-performing employees.
• Model effective conflict resolution and clear communication to support a respectful, team-based work environment.
• Coach teams to continuously improve in performance, safety, and problem-solving.
• Facilitate onboarding, cross-training, and employee skill development initiatives.
• Monitor attendance, performance, and compliance; address disciplinary issues with fairness and consistency.

Communication & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as the primary on-site point of contact across shifts, ensuring smooth communication between teams and functions.
• Communicate shift reports, performance updates, and operational changes to stakeholders in real time.
• Partner with the Brewing, Quality, Maintenance, and Supply Chain teams to resolve issues quickly and prevent recurrence.
• Ensure proper documentation in ERP and digital logs, including downtime, product traceability, and efficiency metrics.

Food Safety and Quality Responsibilities

• Follow GMP policy when in the production facility and encourage your team to do the same.
• Understand our SQF policies relating to pest control, visitors, allergen management, and cleaning and sanitation.
• Demonstrate awareness of Management's Commitment to SQF and work towards Food Safety and Quality and help the company meet this commitment.
• If there is a problem that involves food quality and safety, report to the Quality Assurance Manager so that the CAPA (corrective action, preventative action) log may be filled out, the situation be investigated, and resolved with the goal of continuous improvement of food quality and safety.

Required Skills/Abilities

• Strong understanding of OSHA, GMP, HACCP, food safety, and sanitation practices.
• Proven ability to lead teams with empathy, consistency, and accountability.
• Strong problem-solver that's agile to changing needs or equipment issues.
• Clear and effective communicator that collaborates across departments and shifts.
• Familiarity with production scheduling, inventory systems, and ERP platforms.
• Self-motivated and committed to continuous learning and leadership development.
• Forklift certified or willing to obtain certification.
• Able to stay calm and effective in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.
• Dependable and available to flex across shifts, work extended shifts, and provide occasional weekend coverage to ensure consistent operations and leadership.

Education and Experience

• High School Diploma or GED or degree required
• 5 years of high-speed beverage or food manufacturing supervisory experience required
• 2 years experience with root cause analysis, continuous improvement, 5S, HACCP, CIP sanitation, SQF, Lean/Six Sigma, or forklift safety, required
• 5 years experience with rotary fillers, preferred

Work Environment/Physical Requirements

• Ability to work in a crowded, noisy manufacturing production facility, navigate extremes in temperatures, walking on uneven, and slippery surfaces
• Standing, walking, pushing, pulling, lifting and maneuvering heavy equipment and/or parts, up to 50 pounds regularly; occasionally 100 pounds with assistance
• Ability to safely navigate around manufacturing equipment, and PIT traffic

EEO Statement

AKM provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment