Production Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

About the Company  

Chan & Chan USA LLC is a growing food manufacturer producing high-quality frozen dumplings, buns, sausages, and other specialty products for our own brands and for leading retail and foodservice customers. Our team works in a modern, clean facility where safety, food safety, and quality come first. 

Position Summary  

The Operations Manager runs production at the Bethlehem, PA plant day to day across all lines (Dumpling, Soup Dumpling, Steam Bun, Sausage, Bacon & Ham, Dim Sum, Wonton/Shumai, Kitchen & Kettle, and Mixing & Grinding), along with maintenance, reporting to the Director of Operations. The role owns the production schedule and turns it into safe, on-time output that meets food safety, quality, and cost targets. Building and developing a strong plant team is a critical priority. Success is measured by schedule attainment, labor hours per case, yield, equipment uptime, safety performance, and audit results. 

Essential Functions  

• Build the operations and maintenance teams: recruit, hire, onboard, and develop supervisors, working leads, operators, and technicians to meet the labor plan; keep a cross-training matrix and a bench of future leaders. 
• Lead production and maintenance day to day on a single shift. 
• Own the production schedule: build and adjust it with the Production Clerk, the Director of Supply Chain (raw material availability), and the Director of Logistics (customer orders and shipments). 
• Bring new and expanding lines to planned staffing, rates, and quality on the labor plan’s timeline. 
• Own and report weekly KPIs: schedule attainment, labor hours per case, line efficiency and downtime, yield, scrap, overtime, preventive maintenance completion, and on-time order completion. 
• Lead, coach, and develop the Production Supervisors and the Maintenance Supervisor; set goals, give feedback, and handle performance and discipline with HR. 
• Direct maintenance: preventive maintenance completion, work order backlog, spare parts, and downtime reduction. Work with the Director of Engineering on capital projects and new equipment start-up. 
• Partner with the Director of FSQA and the FSQA Supervisor on GMP compliance, allergen changeovers, monitoring records, product holds, and the sanitation schedule. 
• Support new product launches and co-manufacturing start-ups with the Director of Commercialization, including trials, first runs, and line readiness. 
• Lead workplace safety: enforce safety rules, lockout/tagout, powered industrial truck rules, and PPE; investigate incidents and close corrective actions with the EHS Specialist. 
• Prepare the operations portion of the annual budget (labor, overtime, maintenance parts and services, supplies) and manage spending against it; drive continuous improvement through standard work, SOPs, and 5S. 

Food Safety, Quality and Safety Responsibilities  

The company operates under dual USDA (FSIS) and FDA jurisdiction. 

• Follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), hygiene, allergen, and foreign-material controls, and complete all required food safety and safety training. 
• Verify GMP compliance, ensure production and monitoring records are completed accurately and on time, place product on hold when a deviation occurs, and stop the line when food safety or employee safety is at risk. 
• Own food safety culture and results for the plant, ensure only trained people perform critical tasks, and own corrective and preventive actions. 
• Serve as the operations lead during USDA (FSIS) and FDA inspections and customer and certification audits. 
• Ensure production records for every line are complete, accurate, and reviewed before product is released, meeting both USDA and FDA requirements. 
• Support FSQA’s authority to hold or stop product; never release held product without FSQA approval. 

Supervisory Responsibilities  

Directly supervises the Production Supervisors (organized by product area), the Maintenance Supervisor, and the Production Clerk. Indirectly oversees about 100 hourly employees, including working Team Leads, production operators, and the maintenance team. 

What you bring:  

• Bachelor’s degree in operations, engineering, food science, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience. 
• 5+ years in food or consumer products manufacturing, including 3+ years managing supervisors. 
• Working knowledge of USDA (FSIS) and FDA requirements, GMP, HACCP, and allergen control. 
• Strong Excel and Word skills; comfortable with data analytics and basic AI tools. 
• English required. 

Preferred:  

• Sage X3 experience. 
• Experience leading a plant start-up, line transfer, or expansion. 
• Frozen food, meat, or co-manufacturing experience. 
• Cantonese or Mandarin, to communicate with our team; Spanish a plus. 

Work environment: Split between office and production floor. Production rooms are below 50&degree;F, with periodic work in freezers below 0&degree;F. Standing and walking on the floor up to 6 hours a day. 

Chan & Chan USA LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic protected by law.