Manager II, Plant Production

Leprino Foods • Allendale, MI

8d • Onsite

About The Position

Within our 300-person manufacturing facility in Allendale – Leprino is seeking a Plant Production Manager to help us scale dairy ingredient output while keeping safety, quality, and consistency tight. We take pride in our “world’s best” ambition, and we back it with investment, steady improvement, and a focus on hiring great people. What You’ll Do: Lead plant-wide production across cheese , nutrition , and processing teams so we hit daily plans. Guiding and developing department managers and supervisors. Set the daily and weekly operating cadence: direction setting, shift handoffs, escalation paths, and follow up. Build the site production plan with supply chain, maintenance, and quality so priorities stay aligned. Decide the run strategy and staffing plan based on capacity, constraints, and equipment readiness. Review yields, losses, downtime, and sanitation performance, then assign actions with owners and dates. Partner with maintenance on downtime reviews, PM priorities, and shutdown planning to stabilize throughput. Oversee sanitation and food safety readiness, including microbiological controls and corrective action follow through. Lead safety routines and learning after incidents so improvements stick across all shifts. Plan and track labor and department budgets, balancing cost, service, and product quality. Write and refresh leader standard work and training plans so expectations stay consistent across teams. Build transparent, collaborative relationships across the plant so teams solve problems early.

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Food Science, Dairy Technology, or a closely related field, or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years of experience in food manufacturing, with broad exposure to production and sanitation.
• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience, including direct leadership of department managers.
• Proficiency using manufacturing systems and standard computer tools, with the ability to learn SAP.
• Prior experience as a Plant Production Manager or Plant Manager in a food manufacturing facility.
• Direct leadership experience over other people managers as part of your core scope. Experience limited to frontline supervisor leadership will not align with this role.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in dairy or cheese manufacturing, particularly in packaging or processing operations.
• A master’s degree in Engineering, Food Science, Dairy Technology, or a closely related field.
• Prior leadership experience in dairy or cheese manufacturing, including complex, multi-department operations.
• Familiarity with HACCP, GMPs, and sanitation programs that protect food safety and product quality.

Responsibilities

• Lead plant-wide production across cheese , nutrition , and processing teams so we hit daily plans.
• Guiding and developing department managers and supervisors.
• Set the daily and weekly operating cadence: direction setting, shift handoffs, escalation paths, and follow up.
• Build the site production plan with supply chain, maintenance, and quality so priorities stay aligned.
• Decide the run strategy and staffing plan based on capacity, constraints, and equipment readiness.
• Review yields, losses, downtime, and sanitation performance, then assign actions with owners and dates.
• Partner with maintenance on downtime reviews, PM priorities, and shutdown planning to stabilize throughput.
• Oversee sanitation and food safety readiness, including microbiological controls and corrective action follow through.
• Lead safety routines and learning after incidents so improvements stick across all shifts.
• Plan and track labor and department budgets, balancing cost, service, and product quality.
• Write and refresh leader standard work and training plans so expectations stay consistent across teams.
• Build transparent, collaborative relationships across the plant so teams solve problems early.

Benefits

• A chance to be part of a global team of individuals passionate about producing and delivering high-quality products that help feed and nourish families around the world.
• Through competitive salaries and bonuses, life, medical/dental/vision coverage, voluntary benefits, employee assistance programs, wellness incentives, tuition assistance, vacation, ten paid holidays, sick time, paid parental leave, annual merit increases, as well as the LFC Profit-Sharing & 401(k) plan.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager