Job Description

Plant Manager

Greater Milwaukee Area, WI | On-site

Our client is a growing food manufacturing company seeking a hands-on Plant Manager to lead plant operations, develop a strong leadership team, and drive operational performance as the business continues to grow.

This is an opportunity for a results-oriented manufacturing leader who thrives on the plant floor, builds accountable teams, and knows how to improve safety, quality, productivity, and cost performance. The Plant Manager will oversee day-to-day operations across production, maintenance, labor, and plant performance, partnering closely with Quality, Supply Chain, Engineering, and senior leadership to strengthen the operation and support future growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead plant operations: Oversee day-to-day manufacturing activities, ensuring production goals, customer requirements, and business objectives are consistently met.
• Develop and lead teams: Build, coach, and develop plant leaders and frontline employees while fostering a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement.
• Drive operational performance: Improve throughput, labor efficiency, yield, waste, downtime, and overall equipment effectiveness through disciplined execution and data-driven decision-making.
• Champion safety and quality: Establish clear expectations and accountability for workplace safety, food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance.
• Lead continuous improvement: Implement Lean manufacturing principles and practical process improvements to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and strengthen operating performance.
• Partner cross-functionally: Work closely with Supply Chain on production planning, scheduling, inventory, and service levels, while collaborating with Quality and Engineering to resolve issues and improve processes.
• Manage plant resources: Oversee labor planning, operating budgets, and resource allocation to achieve production and financial objectives.
• Support growth and investment: Lead or support capital projects, equipment improvements, capacity expansion, and operational initiatives that position the facility for future growth.
• Strengthen plant infrastructure: Partner with Maintenance and Engineering to improve equipment reliability, preventive maintenance, and production uptime.

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of progressive experience in food manufacturing or a related consumer products manufacturing environment, including significant responsibility for plant or manufacturing operations.
• Demonstrated success leading production teams and improving plant performance across safety, quality, productivity, labor, and cost.
• Experience developing supervisors and managers, building strong teams, and establishing clear performance expectations.
• Working knowledge of Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and operational performance metrics.
• Strong understanding of production planning, labor management, equipment reliability, and manufacturing cost drivers.
• Ability to balance strategic priorities with a visible, hands-on approach to day-to-day operations.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills, with the ability to build relationships across all levels of the organization.
• Comfort leading through change, solving operational challenges, and supporting a growing business.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on plant performance, team development, and the future growth of a manufacturing operation. The ideal candidate brings strong operational fundamentals, a practical leadership style, and the ability to turn business priorities into measurable results on the plant floor.

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