Production Assistant Operations Manager

Wonder•Swedesboro, NJ

5d•$62,000 - $71,500•Onsite

About The Position

The Production Assistant Operations Manager supports daily culinary production operations within a high-volume food manufacturing and distribution environment. This role helps ensure the safe, efficient, and accurate execution of production workflows, including ingredient staging, preparation, cooking, assembly, packaging, and handoff to warehouse and logistics teams. The Production Assistant Operations Manager provides hands-on leadership to production teams while supporting the Operations Manager in aligning labor, production capacity, food safety, quality, and operational priorities with business needs. This role is responsible for driving consistent shift execution, maintaining product integrity, coaching associates, and supporting seamless coordination across culinary production, warehouse staging, and outbound distribution. The Production Assistant Operations Manager is expected to lead from the floor, identify and escalate operational barriers, use available data to support decision-making, and reinforce a culture of accountability, safety, continuous improvement, and team engagement. Up to and including completing all other duties as assigned. This role operates within a culinary production facility and warehouse environment where associates are exposed to food preparation equipment, refrigerated storage areas, and fast-paced production workflows. Strict adherence to safety, sanitation, and food handling standards is required.

Requirements

At least two years of lead, supervisor, assistant manager, or related leadership experience in food production, manufacturing, or high-volume culinary operations
Experience leading frontline teams in a fast-paced operation
Demonstrated experience supporting high-volume production operations and multiple workstreams
Working knowledge of production workflows, labor deployment, food safety requirements, quality standards, and operational KPIs
Demonstrated ability to coach teams, reinforce standards, and drive performance accountability. Experience using operational data and floor observations to identify issues and support problem-solving
Strong communication, organizational, decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration skills
Ability to effectively prioritize and make decisions in a fast-paced, changing production environment
18 years old and legally authorized to work in the US
Able to lift, pull, and push 50 pounds of weight by oneself
Able to stand for extended periods
Able to move throughout a large production and warehouse environment
Able to bend, reach, and operate production equipment
Ability to read and comprehend safety policies and operational manuals in English; ability to communicate effectively with team members and follow verbal instructions to ensure a safe and productive work environment
Ability to work flexible schedules, including mornings, nights, weekends, and holidays
Ability to work in varying temperature zones including cold environments for extended periods

Nice To Haves

HACCP or other recognized food safety certification preferred
Experience with production scheduling tools, inventory systems, WMS platforms, or similar operational systems preferred
Bilingual preferred

Responsibilities

Support daily culinary production operations across ingredient staging, preparation, cooking, assembly, packaging, labeling, and finished goods transfer to warehouse
Execute assigned production schedules, ensuring recipes, batch quantities, production timelines, quality expectations, and shipment requirements are achieved
Provide direct leadership, coaching, and direction to production associates across assigned workstreams and shifts
Coordinate production workflow across prep, cook, assembly, packaging, and staging teams to maintain consistent operational flow
Conduct regular floor walks to assess food quality, production output, labor deployment, safety, and operational efficiency
Identify production constraints and operational risks, resolve issues within scope, and escalate barriers to the Operations Manager as appropriate
Lead shift huddles and team communications to reinforce production targets, safety expectations, staffing priorities, and business updates
Support appropriate leadership coverage and operational continuity throughout the shift
Partner with the Operations Manager, Supply Chain, Warehouse, Quality, and Logistics teams to execute production schedules aligned with forecasted demand and outbound shipment requirements
Support translation of production forecasts into actionable staffing, labor, equipment, ingredient, and capacity needs
Monitor ingredient availability, preparation timelines, equipment capacity, and packaging requirements and escalate risks that may impact production targets
Support production-to-warehouse handoffs, ensuring finished goods are properly labeled, scanned, staged, and available for distribution
Proactively communicate production delays, ingredient shortages, staffing gaps, equipment constraints, or quality concerns and support timely resolution
Provide input into production forecasting, staffing alignment, and capacity planning based on shift-level observations and performance
Adjust shift execution in real time, within established direction, to respond to changing business needs while minimizing operational disruption, waste, and service impact
Directly lead, coach, and develop production associates and leads within assigned areas
Reinforce clear performance expectations and ensure associates consistently execute company policies, operational standards, and production procedures
Build team capability through regular coaching, feedback, cross-training, and performance conversations
Hold associates accountable for performance, attendance, food safety, quality, and operational execution in partnership with the Operations Manager
Partner with the Operations Manager and HR on associate development, coaching, progressive discipline, performance management, and employee relations matters
Support onboarding, training, and development programs for production associates and emerging leaders
Identify high-performing talent and support cross-training, skill development, and internal growth opportunities
Foster a positive and inclusive culture focused on accountability, collaboration, engagement, and operational excellence
Ensure consistent execution of food safety and quality standards throughout assigned production areas
Ensure strict adherence to applicable FDA, HACCP, sanitation, allergen management, food handling, and company food safety requirements
Complete and verify required food safety checks, including temperature monitoring, allergen controls, sanitation verification, and production documentation
Maintain accountability for proper PPE, hygiene, sanitation, and safe food handling practices
Ensure incidents, quality deviations, food safety concerns, and compliance gaps are appropriately documented, escalated, and addressed
Partner with Quality and Safety teams during audits, inspections, corrective action follow-up, and continuous improvement activities
Take timely corrective action when food safety, quality, or operational standards are not met and escalate significant concerns
Support production performance across labor productivity, production output, yields, waste, quality, and operational efficiency
Deploy staffing and labor within assigned areas based on production demand and operational priorities
Monitor labor utilization and make shift-level adjustments to support productivity while maintaining food safety, quality, and service expectations
Monitor ingredient usage, production yields, waste, scrap, and product damage and escalate trends or opportunities for improvement
Partner with inventory and warehouse teams to support ingredient availability, rotation, and FIFO standards
Support cycle counts, ingredient reconciliation, and inventory processes that contribute to accurate production planning
Identify root causes of production inefficiencies and support implementation of sustainable corrective actions
Participate in continuous improvement initiatives focused on productivity, cost, waste reduction, quality, and operational consistency
Monitor key production KPIs, including production output, labor productivity, waste, yields, quality compliance, safety, and schedule attainment
Use operational data and floor observations to identify trends, risks, and opportunities and recommend appropriate actions
Reinforce daily and weekly performance expectations for production associates and assigned workstreams
Review shift results with the Operations Manager and complete appropriate follow-up when performance expectations are not achieved
Provide timely production updates and communicate operational risks, recovery needs, and opportunities to production leadership
Ensure assigned corrective actions and continuous improvement activities are completed and sustained
Maintain strong partnerships across Production, Warehouse, Quality, Safety, Supply Chain, Logistics, HR, and other operational teams
Participate in daily operational reviews, production planning meetings, staffing discussions, and business reviews as appropriate
Ensure production priorities, business changes, staffing needs, and operational risks are communicated clearly to assigned teams
Partner cross-functionally to resolve issues that impact production capacity, product quality, labor, or outbound service
Support facility-wide initiatives, audits, change management efforts, and company-wide process improvements