Plant Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Plant Manager

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Industry: Food & Beverage Manufacturing

Salary: 200K Base + Bonus

Position Overview

A well-established food and beverage manufacturer is seeking an experienced Plant Manager to take full ownership of operations at its Knoxville facility.

This leader will drive Safety, Quality, Productivity, Cost, Customer Service, and People Development while strengthening the leadership team, improving processes, and building an engaged, accountable workforce. The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who spends time on the floor, digs into operational challenges, identifies root causes, and drives sustainable improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead overall plant operations and provide clear direction to the site leadership team.
• Drive continuous improvement across safety, quality, productivity, cost, and customer service.
• Build a strong plant culture centered on accountability, employee engagement, and operational discipline.
• Develop, coach, and mentor plant leaders and strengthen capabilities throughout the workforce.
• Establish and manage KPIs, conduct performance reviews, and turn performance gaps into actionable improvement plans.
• Improve throughput, downtime, labor utilization, waste, rework, maintenance costs, and overall operating performance.
• Develop and execute short- and long-term capital plans.
• Control operating expenses, labor costs, overtime, and capital assets.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions to prevent recurring operational issues.
• Maintain strong food safety, quality, GMP, environmental, health, and safety standards.
• Ensure compliance with customer, regulatory, internal, and GFSI audit requirements.
• Partner with corporate and cross-functional leadership while maintaining strong site-level ownership.
• Identify operational risks quickly, develop action plans, and communicate effectively with senior leadership.
• Ensure production consistently delivers safe, high-quality products meeting specifications and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, or related STEM discipline preferred.
• 10+ years of manufacturing/production experience , preferably in food and/or beverage manufacturing.
• 5+ years of operations leadership experience with demonstrated success building high-performing teams.
• Strong record of improving plant KPIs and operational performance.
• Hands-on leadership style with the ability to engage from the production floor through senior leadership.
• Strong knowledge of GMPs and food manufacturing standards.
• Knowledge of GFSI audit schemes, including BRC and/or SQF.
• Lean Six Sigma, TPM, PMP, or other relevant certifications beneficial.
• Experience with Continuous Improvement, root cause analysis, and corrective action systems.
• Strong communication, organizational, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office.
• Flexibility to support different shifts and travel as needed.

Benefits

• 10 paid company holidays
• Generous vacation and sick time
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• HSA with company contributions
• Flexible Spending and Dependent Care accounts
• 401(k) with company match and discretionary profit sharing
• Employee Assistance Program and financial wellness resources
• Company-paid disability coverage
• Company-paid life insurance equal to 3× annual compensation
• Additional health, financial, and employee wellness benefits