Production Supervisor
Job Summary
The Production Supervisor is responsible for the safe, efficient, and effective operation of assigned production areas. This position provides direct leadership to production employees, ensures products are manufactured according to company specifications and food safety requirements, and drives performance in the areas of safety, quality, productivity, and employee development.
The Production Supervisor works closely with Quality Assurance, Maintenance, Shipping, Warehouse, Sanitation, USDA/regulatory personnel, and other departments to ensure production schedules and customer requirements are met while maintaining compliance with all applicable food safety, regulatory, and company standards.
Responsibilities
- Direct and supervise daily production activities to meet established production schedules, customer requirements, and company goals.
- Identify and resolve safety, quality, and production issues and communicate significant problems to management and appropriate support departments.
- Monitor production rates, yields, downtime, product flow, and labor utilization.
- Assist with troubleshooting production equipment and process issues. Coordinate maintenance activities to minimize production downtime.
- Ensure production employees are trained and follow all standard operating procedures, work instructions, and established processes (Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), sanitation requirements, HACCP/Preventive Controls, allergen controls, and other applicable food safety programs).
- Maintain a strong food safety and quality culture throughout the production department. Support regulatory and customer audits and ensure production areas remain audit-ready.
- Ensure accurate production records, downtime reports, counts, and other required documentation are completed.
- Monitor employee performance, attendance, productivity, and adherence to company policies.
Qualifications
Required
- High school diploma or equivalent.
- Previous supervisory or leadership experience in a manufacturing, food processing, warehouse, or similar production environment.
- Ability to lead employees in a fast-paced production environment.
- Strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work effectively with employees at all levels of the organization.
- Ability to read and understand production schedules, work instructions, SOPs, and safety/quality documentation.
- Ability to work flexible hours, including nights, weekends, holidays, and overtime as required by production needs.
Preferred
- Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred
- Associate's or bachelor's degree in Food Science, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Business, or a related field.
- Experience with HACCP, Preventive Controls, GMPs, USDA/FDA requirements, or other food safety systems.
- Experience with ERP/MES production systems.
- Experience using production KPIs and continuous improvement methodologies.
Physical & Work Environment
- Ability to stand and walk for extended periods during the work shift.
- Ability to work in a manufacturing environment with varying temperatures, noise, wet conditions, and exposure to food products and production equipment.
- Ability to wear required PPE and comply with facility hygiene and safety requirements.
- Ability to occasionally lift, carry, push, or pull materials or equipment as required.