Plant Manager

Plant Manager

We are seeking an experienced Plant Manager to lead a high-volume manufacturing facility in Valencia, CA. This is a key leadership position responsible for driving safety, quality, production, supply chain, inventory control, operational efficiency, cost management, and employee development across the facility.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on manufacturing leader with a strong background in food or ingredient manufacturing and experience managing complex, 24/7 operations. This individual will build a strong safety and accountability culture while continuously improving plant performance, developing future leaders, and ensuring customers receive high-quality products on time and at competitive costs.

Experience with liquid flavor production, dry powder blending, spray drying, food processing, or process extraction is especially valuable.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership for plant operations across all shifts in a 24/7 manufacturing environment.
• Champion a strong safety culture and partner closely with EH&S to ensure safe operating practices, training, and regulatory compliance.
• Lead manufacturing strategy and develop operational plans supporting safety, quality, service, productivity, and profitability goals.
• Ensure production and shipping schedules meet customer requirements while maintaining appropriate raw material and finished-goods inventory levels.
• Drive compliance with food safety, product quality, SOP, and regulatory requirements.
• Lead, mentor, and develop plant leadership and production teams through training, talent development, succession planning, and clear accountability.
• Establish performance expectations and provide ongoing coaching and feedback to direct reports.
• Support resolution of customer concerns and quality issues in partnership with Quality and other functional teams.
• Lead continuous improvement and Lean initiatives focused on productivity, throughput, waste reduction, cost savings, and operational efficiency.
• Develop and execute maintenance strategies incorporating preventive, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance.
• Lead operational readiness efforts supporting major CAPEX, equipment, automation, and ERP implementations.
• Develop long-term site and capital plans and build business justification for capital investments.
• Maintain strong inventory controls and ensure established processes are consistently followed.
• Monitor plant P&L, budgets, operating costs, and financial performance.
• Develop and track KPI dashboards measuring safety, quality, service, efficiency, and throughput across the operation.
• Support environmental stewardship initiatives related to wastewater, air permitting, and solid-waste reduction.
• Understand ingredient market dynamics, including seasonality, commodity pricing, and changing customer demand.
• Participate in customer visits and cross-functional initiatives that strengthen plant capabilities and customer relationships.
• Partner closely with Quality, Production, Supply Chain, Distribution, Logistics, Engineering, Maintenance, Customer Service, Sales, and Marketing.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required; degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Food Chemistry, Biology, Chemistry, or a related discipline preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive production/manufacturing leadership experience, with increasing levels of responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience leading a 24/5 or 24/7 manufacturing operation.
• Strong food or ingredient manufacturing background preferred.
• Experience with liquid production, dry powder blending, spray drying, or similar manufacturing processes highly desirable.
• Food-related process extraction experience is a plus.
• Strong understanding of food safety, quality systems, regulatory compliance, and manufacturing best practices.
• Proven success developing supervisors, managers, and future operational leaders.
• Strong background in Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.
• Experience developing and implementing preventive, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance strategies.
• Demonstrated experience supporting or leading significant CAPEX and plant improvement projects.
• Experience with equipment automation and the ability to work with PLC-controlled systems, automated batching, and production processes.
• Strong ERP/MRP experience; SAP and/or SAGE experience is a plus.
• Experience supporting large-scale ERP implementations and operational readiness initiatives.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets, P&L performance, cost controls, KPIs, and capital expenditures.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, spreadsheets, databases, ERP systems, and analytical tools.
• Strong communication, leadership, problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Why This Opportunity?

This is an excellent opportunity for an accomplished manufacturing leader to take ownership of a complex operation and have a direct impact on safety, people development, operational excellence, continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and long-term plant strategy.

If you are a hands-on Plant Manager who enjoys developing teams, improving manufacturing processes, and leading change in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment, we would like to hear from you.