Production Manager
We are working with a growing food manufacturer in the Santa Barbara/Ventura area that is looking for a Production Manager. The Production Manager will lead day-to-day production operations, ensuring products are manufactured safely, efficiently, on schedule, and in accordance with quality and food safety standards. This position provides hands-on leadership to the production floor and is accountable for production schedule attainment, staffing and labor utilization, productivity, yield, waste reduction, and employee performance. This person will work closely with the Plant Manager, Quality, Maintenance, Warehouse/Dispatch, HR, and other departments to identify and resolve issues affecting production and customer service. This position is a highly visible, hands-on leader who identifies problems early, develops frontline leadership, and drives consistent execution and accountability.
Location: Santa Barbara/Ventura, CA area
Job Responsibilities:
- Lead daily production activities to achieve production schedules and customer requirements.
- Review daily production requirements, staffing, materials, equipment availability, and potential constraints.
- Monitor production throughout the day and adjust labor and resources as necessary.
- Identify production delays and at-risk orders early and ensure appropriate action and escalation.
- Coordinate with Quality, Maintenance, Warehouse/Dispatch, and other departments to minimize disruptions.
- Ensure effective communication and shift handoffs regarding production, quality, staffing, and equipment issues.
- Monitor production performance, including output, labor, yield, downtime, rework, and waste.
- Identify and address significant production variances and opportunities to improve workflow and efficiency.
- Partner with the Plant Manager to improve yield and reduce avoidable waste and product loss.
- Participate in root-cause analysis and corrective actions following significant operational, quality, or production failures.
- Ensure critical production procedures, equipment checks, and operational controls are consistently followed.
- Lead, coach, and develop production supervisors, leads, and hourly employees.
- Maintain a strong and visible presence on the production floor.
- Ensure appropriate staffing and employee deployment based on production requirements.
- Set clear performance expectations and hold employees accountable for attendance, productivity, quality, safety, and workplace conduct.
- Partner with HR regarding staffing, recruiting, retention, attendance, training, and employee performance concerns.
- Ensure employees receive appropriate onboarding and job-specific training.
- Partner with Quality to promptly address concerns while minimizing unnecessary production disruption.
- Participate in incident investigations and corrective actions as appropriate.
Required Skills/Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in a related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
- 5+ years of progressive manufacturing experience, including supervisory or management responsibility.
- Regulated manufacturing experience required, food manufacturing preferred.
- Experience managing production schedules, staffing, productivity, yield, waste, and operational performance.
- Strong leadership, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills.
- Ability to analyze production information and translate findings into practical actions.
- Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, or root-cause analysis experience preferred.
- Ability to remain calm, organized, and solutions-focused in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
- Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively across departments.
- Bilingual English/Spanish skills highly desirable.
- This role requires significant time standing and walking on the production floor.