Food Production Lead - Quality and Food Safety

Butter Pecan Bakeshop•Vallejo, CA

3h•Onsite

About The Position

The Food Production Lead provides hands-on, day-to-day floor leadership for production while helping strengthen Butter Pecan Bakeshop's quality assurance and food safety systems. This position keeps employees focused on assigned work, monitors production flow, verifies product and order accuracy, reinforces sanitation and allergen controls, and makes sure required records are completed. This role is designed for a food professional with a foundation in food science, quality assurance, food safety, commercial food production, or a related field who is ready to take greater ownership on the production floor; it is not a laboratory-only quality role. The Production Manager retains responsibility for department planning, staffing, scheduling, purchasing, formal performance management, formulas, and final product-disposition decisions. The Floor Lead translates approved plans and standards into consistent daily execution and promptly escalates issues outside the position's authority.

Requirements

One to three years of relevant experience in food production, food manufacturing, quality assurance, food safety, commercial baking, or another regulated food operation. Relevant internships, cooperative education, or substantial academic laboratory and production experience may count toward this requirement.
Candidates must have either relevant college-level education in food science, food safety, microbiology, biology, chemistry, agricultural science, manufacturing, or a related field, or at least one year of direct quality assurance, food safety, or regulated food-production experience.
Working knowledge of food safety, sanitation, allergens, quality checks, recordkeeping, and Good Manufacturing Practices
Experience leading workflow, training employees, coordinating a team, or taking ownership of shift results; formal supervisory experience is helpful but not required for a candidate who demonstrates strong leadership readiness
Ability to recognize a problem, contain immediate risk, document what occurred, communicate clearly, and follow the issue through completion
ServSafe Manager certification or ability to obtain one within 30 days of hire
High school diploma or equivalent
Legal eligibility to work in the United States
Reliable and punctual attendance, with the ability to work variable schedules, including early mornings, weekends, and holidays, as required by production needs

Nice To Haves

Associate or bachelor's degree, or meaningful coursework, in food science, food safety, microbiology, biology, chemistry, nutrition, agricultural science, culinary science, manufacturing, or a related field
Experience with HACCP-based programs, preventive controls, traceability, internal audits, corrective actions, product holds, recall exercises, environmental or sanitation monitoring, or regulated production records
Experience in a bakery, frozen-food, packaged-food, ingredient, commissary, or central-production environment
HACCP, Preventive Controls Qualified Individual, internal auditor, or other relevant training or certification

Responsibilities

Review the day's production plan, priorities, staffing, and order deadlines with the Production Manager, then direct day-to-day workflow — assigning and redirecting tasks, adjusting sequence, and keeping the team on pace and quality standards
Monitor the shift for delays, bottlenecks, staffing gaps, or missing materials, and provide real-time coaching and correction when procedures or quality standards aren't being met
Work alongside the team on non-dough-making tasks (portioning, packaging, labeling, staging, sanitation, order prep) while maintaining oversight of the full shift, and serve as the floor point of contact when the Production Manager is unavailable
Perform and document in-process and finished-product checks (weight, appearance, count, packaging, labeling, lot/date info) against established specifications, and verify store and franchise orders are accurate and release-ready
Pause an activity or place product on temporary hold when there's a reasonable quality, allergen, contamination, or safety concern, and notify management immediately — without independently releasing, reworking, discarding, or determining final disposition
Track recurring defects, waste, rework, and order errors, and help identify practical corrective actions and process improvements
Monitor compliance with GMPs, hygiene, allergen controls, temperature controls, and sanitation procedures, and assist with pre-operational inspections of production areas and equipment
Immediately respond to and escalate contamination, pest activity, damaged packaging, equipment failure, or other food safety concerns
Verify sanitation, production, receiving, and quality control records are complete, accurate, and submitted on time, and support investigations, corrective actions, traceability exercises, and audits as assigned
Monitor ingredients, packaging, and supplies and report shortages; assist with receiving checks, inventory counts, stock rotation, and organization of storage areas
Confirm materials and equipment needed for upcoming production are ready, and report equipment, facility, or maintenance concerns for follow-up
Train and reinforce approved production, quality, and food safety procedures, and report recurring performance or training concerns to the Production Manager
Monitor dough production progress and verify process/quality requirements without independently changing recipes, formulas, or process parameters — participation in dough making requires separate authorization