Sanitation Manager

Job Summary

The Sanitation Manager owns the plant sanitation program and makes sure tanks, CIP systems, filling lines, product-contact equipment, and production and warehouse areas are cleaned and sanitized to meet food safety, quality, regulatory, and customer requirements.

This is the first dedicated Sanitation Manager role at Tone Products, and the person in this seat will help improve the current program. The role works 3rd shift, when most of our cleaning happens, and is on site through the full Friday night clean. It reports to the Director of Quality and works closely with Production, Quality Assurance, Maintenance, Warehouse, and Safety to hold one sanitation standard across all three shifts.

Core Responsibilities

1. Sanitation Program & Standards

• Manage the plant sanitation program in compliance with FDA, FSMA, GMP, HACCP, and SQF requirements.
• Develop, implement, and maintain SSOPs and validated cleaning procedures for mixing tanks, CIP systems, transfer lines, pumps, valves, fillers, conveyors, and production and warehouse areas, including walls, floors, ceilings, and drains.
• Build and maintain the master sanitation schedule for daily cleaning, washouts, CIP cycles, changeovers, and deep cleans, aligned with the production schedule.

2. Shift Execution & Oversight

• Lead the Friday night plant clean and 3rd shift sanitation work from setup through sign-off.
• Audit 1st and 2nd shift cleaning and washouts, review sanitation records, and follow up with Production supervisors to close gaps.
• Coordinate equipment access, washouts, and changeovers with Production to keep lines ready on time without compromising food safety.
• Document open sanitation tasks and risks and communicate them at shift handoff.

3. Verification & Corrective Action

• Partner with QA on pre-operational inspections, ATP swabbing, microbiological testing, and environmental monitoring, and recommend testing based on sanitation risk.
• Investigate recurring deficiencies, failed inspections, positive findings, and sanitation-related holds or rewashes. Lead root cause analysis and CAPA and confirm that fixes hold.
• Keep sanitation records audit ready and support internal, customer, and third-party audits.

4. Chemicals, Supplies & Pest Control

• Manage inventory and purchasing of sanitation chemicals, tools, and equipment.
• Set chemical selection, dilution, labeling, storage, and usage controls, and track chemical use.
• Support the pest control program and follow through on sanitation-related findings with the pest control vendor.

5. Equipment, Hygienic Design & Safety

• Work with Maintenance on equipment teardowns, sanitary repairs, preventive maintenance, and hygienic design improvements. Identify contamination risks at valves, fittings, gaskets, agitators, filler contact surfaces, and overhead areas.
• Partner with Safety so sanitation work follows OSHA requirements, including chemical safety, PPE, confined space entry, and lockout/tagout.

6. Training & Janitorial Oversight

• Train, coach, and give feedback to employees performing sanitation work on all shifts, including new hire and refresher training on SSOPs, GMPs, and safe chemical handling. Maintain training records.
• Oversee janitorial and waste-handling functions under the master sanitation program.

7. Decision Rights

• Sanitation owns sanitation standards, the master sanitation schedule, and the chemical program, directs sanitation work on all shifts, and confirms equipment and areas are clean before QA verification.
• Production owns staffing, line scheduling, and daily operations, and provides equipment access and people for scheduled sanitation.
• Quality Assurance keeps independent authority over sanitation verification, product holds, and release.
• Maintenance owns equipment repairs, preventive maintenance, and mechanical integrity.
• Disagreements over sanitation readiness that affect start-up or food safety go to the Director of Quality and the Production Manager.

8. Performance Metrics & Reporting

• Track and report sanitation KPIs, including first-pass pre-op acceptance, master schedule completion, repeat findings, sanitation-related rewashes and downtime, CAPA closure, and training completion.
• Recommend improvements to procedures, equipment, chemicals, and staffing based on results.

Technical Proficiencies

Required

· Food or beverage plant sanitation program management

· CIP systems, SSOPs, and master sanitation schedules

· FDA, FSMA, GMP, HACCP, and GFSI/SQF requirements

· Sanitation verification (pre-op inspection, ATP swabbing, environmental monitoring)

· Sanitation chemical selection, dilution, inventory, and safe handling

· Root cause analysis and CAPA

· Lockout/tagout, confined space, and chemical safety

· Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook)

· Bilingual English/Spanish

Preferred

· Beverage bottling or liquid processing

· Environmental monitoring programs in wet environments

· HACCP, PCQI, or SQF Practitioner certification

· Microsoft Dynamics 365

Key Soft Skills

Hands-On Leadership

Leads from the floor through the night, sets the standard by example, and holds every shift to the same SSOPs.

Program Builder

Builds and improves schedules, procedures, and records, and makes them stick across all three shifts.

Cross-Functional Partnership

Works through disagreements with Production, QA, and Maintenance using facts and documentation, and escalates when food safety is at risk.

Accountability & Follow-Through

Closes out deficiencies and corrective actions and checks that the fix holds.

Detail Oriented

Keeps sanitation records accurate and audit ready. A clean that is not documented did not happen.

Qualifications

Required

• 3 to 5 years of sanitation leadership experience in food or beverage manufacturing.
• Working knowledge of CIP systems, hygienic design, food safety regulations, and GFSI standards.
• Strong documentation, audit readiness, and root cause analysis skills.
• Experience training and leading hourly employees across multiple shifts.
• Bilingual English/Spanish.
• Ability to work 3rd shift, 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM, including the full Friday night clean.

Preferred

• Beverage bottling or liquid processing experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Experience with environmental monitoring programs in wet environments.
• HACCP, PCQI, or SQF Practitioner certification.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to stand and walk production floors for extended periods throughout the shift.
• Ability to work around wet floors, cleaning chemicals, noise, and temperature changes.
• Ability to climb ladders and access elevated equipment and platforms.
• Ability to bend, stoop, kneel, and reach to inspect equipment.
• Ability to lift up to 30 pounds.
• Ability to wear required PPE, including chemical-resistant PPE.
• Ability to walk the production floor and warehouse across all three buildings.
• Ability to work occasional weekends and adjust hours to overlap with 1st or 2nd shift as needed.

Why This Role Matters

At Tone Products, a line does not start until it is clean. A missed washout or a failed pre-op means a rewash, a late start, or a product hold. The Sanitation Manager makes sure every shift cleans to the same standard and that the records prove it.

In the first year, success looks like a complete master sanitation schedule, current SSOPs for every line, higher first-pass pre-op acceptance, fewer repeat findings and rewashes, and a sanitation program that holds up in every audit.

Pay: $105,000.00 - $115,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person

Salary : $105,000 - $115,000