What are the responsibilities and job description for the Production Manager - Food Manufacturing position at Safety Fresh Foods?
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Location: Plymouth, WI
Company: Safety Fresh Foods
About the Role
Safety Fresh Foods is seeking a Production Manager to lead day-to-day production operations in our food manufacturing facility. This role is responsible for ensuring safe, efficient, timely, and cost-effective production while maintaining high standards for food safety, quality, service, and team performance.
The Production Manager will oversee production execution, scheduling, labor planning, and cross-functional coordination with sanitation, quality/food safety, warehouse/shipping, maintenance, and other support teams. This leader will play a key role in driving operational excellence, continuous improvement, and a strong culture of accountability.
Key Responsibilities
• Lead daily production operations to achieve safety, quality, productivity, and service goals.
• Manage supervisors, leads, and hourly production team members across assigned shifts.
• Set production priorities and ensure smooth communication and handoffs between shifts.
• Oversee production scheduling and execution to meet customer demand and shipping deadlines.
• Monitor staffing, labor utilization, workflow, and equipment performance to maintain efficiency.
• Partner cross-functionally with procurement, logistics, quality, sanitation, maintenance, and customer-facing teams.
• Ensure compliance with GMPs, HACCP/Preventive Controls, sanitation standards, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Maintain a safe, clean, and audit-ready facility.
• Coach, develop, and hold team members accountable for performance and continuous improvement.
• Track and improve key performance indicators, including labor, waste, downtime, safety, quality, and on-time performance.
• Help drive cost control initiatives and process improvements across operations.
Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Food Science, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• 5 years of supervisory or management experience in food manufacturing, food processing, or related production operations.
• Strong understanding of food safety, sanitation, and regulatory compliance in a food production environment.
• Experience with production scheduling, staffing, KPI reporting, and performance management.
• HACCP training/certification required or strongly preferred.
• Experience with ERP systems and continuous improvement methods is a plus.
• Bilingual English/Spanish is a plus.
What Success Looks Like
• Safe, efficient, and consistent plant operations
• Strong labor and schedule performance
• High product quality and food safety compliance
• Effective team leadership and employee development
• Improved operational metrics and continuous improvement results
Work Environment
This role works in a food manufacturing environment and may involve exposure to cold temperatures, loud noise, and moving mechanical parts. Regular time on the production floor is expected.
To Apply
If you are a hands-on operations leader with food manufacturing experience and a passion for building strong teams and efficient processes, we would love to hear from you.