Extraction Supervisor

Ascend Wellness Holdings•Franklin, NJ

About The Position

The Extraction Supervisor is responsible for orchestrating the day-to-day and hour-by-hour operations of the extraction lab, ensuring that people, equipment, materials, and schedules are continuously aligned to meet production, quality, and safety targets. This role oversees simultaneous extraction operations and functions as the operational execution owner on the lab floor, translating production plans into real-time action while adapting to changing conditions such as equipment availability, staffing levels, inventory constraints, upstream/downstream bottlenecks, and compliance requirements. The Supervisor is accountable for maintaining safe, compliant, and efficient extraction operations while enforcing SOP discipline, developing technicians, and ensuring consistent output of high-quality cannabis products.

Requirements

2+ years of experience in extraction, laboratory, manufacturing, or regulated production environments.
Working knowledge and practical skills of ethanol, hydrocarbon, and solventless extraction and refinement processes.
Understanding of local and state regulations pertaining to cannabis extraction.
Working knowledge of Metrc and electronic compliance systems, including package lifecycle management and inventory reconciliation.
Understanding of cannabis regulatory requirements related to extraction, safety, and inventory tracking.
Strong leadership and communication skills with the ability to provide clear direction in real-time operational environments.
Proven ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously under time pressure.
High attention to detail and strong documentation discipline.
Profeciency with basic computer applications including Microsoft 365 and electronic tracking systems.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, highly regulated manufacturing environment.
Familiarity with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP).
Flexibility in work hours and a willingness to adapt to changing priorities and schedules.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to perform grasping, talking, hearing, seeing and repetitive motions.
Physical demands - May be required to stand and/or walk for extended periods of time. Must be able to lift, carry and balance up to 50 pounds (200 pounds with assistance)

Nice To Haves

Experience supervising hydrocarbon extraction, ethanol extraction, post-processing, distillation, and formulation systems concurrently.
Experience managing equipment repairs and preventative maintenance to achieve 90% uptime.
Experience coordinating cross-department production workflows.
Prior experience with inventory management of solvents, ingredients, and consumables in regulated environments.
Demonstrated experience leading teams through process changes or equipment transitions.

Responsibilities

Orchestrate, execute, and manage hour-by-hour extraction operations, dynamically assigning labor, sequencing runs, and adjusting priorities to maintain throughput and minimize downtime.
Supervise simultaneous extraction and refinement processes, balancing shared resources including labor, biomass, post extraction processing systems, and solvent handling infrastructure.
Execute daily production plans by coordinating extraction, recovery, post-processing, distillation, formulation, and hand-offs to other downstream operations.
Serve as the primary on-floor decision-maker during active production, resolving issues related to equipment performance, material flow, staffing gaps, and process deviations in real time.
Maintain continuous situational awareness of active extraction systems and intervene immediately when conditions deviate from safe, compliant, or planned operating states.
Own real-time safety oversight during extraction operations, including response to LEL alarms, abnormal pressures, solvent odors, equipment faults, near-misses, and unsafe conditions.
Make immediate decisions to pause, adjust, or safely shut down operations as required to protect personnel, equipment, and compliance.
Conduct shift readiness checks prior to initiating production, including verification of staffing, material staging, equipment status, safety systems, and current SOP availability.
Ensure clean, compliant, and well-documented end-of-shift handoffs to maintain continuity across shifts.
Lead, direct, and supervise extraction technicians, providing real-time coaching, task direction, and corrective feedback to ensure SOP adherence and performance expectations are met.
Train, mentor, and develop technicians on extraction techniques, equipment operation, safety protocols, and regulatory requirements.
Ensure accurate completion of batch records, logbooks, solvent usage tracking, and electronic compliance systems.
Serve as first-line owner of deviations, nonconformances, and corrective actions occurring during extraction, ensuring timely documentation and escalation.
Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant data entry in Metrc, including package creation, package adjustments, conversions, transfers, and waste associated with extraction and post-extraction activities.
Verify that all physical material movements in the lab are reflected accurately in METRC and internal tracking systems in real time.
Identify, correct, and escalate METRC discrepancies related to weights, packages, or statuses before they become audit findings.
Manage and forecast ingredient, terpene, solvent, and consumable inventory including filters, media, gaskets, PPE, and laboratory supplies to support uninterrupted production.
Coordinate ordering, receiving, staging, and reconciliation of materials in alignment with short-term and weekly production plans.
Monitor work-in-process, solvent usage, and inventory levels to prevent shortages, overstocking, or compliance risks.
Identify early indicators of equipment wear or failure and initiate maintenance requests proactively.
Coordinate with maintenance and engineering teams during live production to minimize downtime and operational risk.
Support implementation of new equipment, process improvements, and updated SOPs.
Communicate daily production results, safety concerns, equipment risks, staffing gaps, and inventory constraints to management.
Stay informed on evolving extraction technologies, safety practices, and regulatory changes relevant to cannabis manufacturing.
Partner with QA and Compliance teams to support audits, investigations, and regulatory inspections by providing accurate METRC and production data.