The Production Team Leader provides leadership and direction for a production department, ensuring consistent execution of safety, quality, service, and cost objectives. This role leads teams, reinforces process discipline, ensures compliance with customer and regulatory requirements, and drives continuous improvement through structured problem-solving and operational excellence.

What you’ll do

• Lead, coach, and develop production partners, reinforcing Total Quality Control (TQC2) and process excellence principles.
• Direct departmental activities to meet or exceed targets for productivity, raw material usage, safety, customer complaints, and service.
• Identify, interpret, and communicate customer requirements to production and support teams.
• Develop, implement, and audit production control plans, critical control points, and standard operating procedures to ensure customer requirements are met.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory, food safety, quality, environmental, and labor requirements.
• Apply structured problem-solving methods, corrective action tools, and quality systems to identify and implement process improvements.
• Plan and coordinate production schedules to meet customer demand while optimizing efficiency and resource utilization.
• Identify and support capital improvement opportunities, including justification, approval, and project execution support.
• Monitor and manage standard costs, budgets, and operating expenses to support financial performance.
• Administer plant and departmental processes related to certifications, pay systems, assessments, and feedback mechanisms.
• Partner with leadership to investigate process deviations and ensure appropriate corrective actions are taken.

What you will need to succeed

• Bachelor’s degree in food or dairy science, engineering, finance, supply chain, or a related field.
• Typically requires 3–5 years of experience in a production supervisory, team advisor, or equivalent leadership role.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, food safety systems, and regulatory compliance.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, drive performance, and deliver continuous improvement results.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to travel up to approximately 15% to support operational or business needs.