Production Supervisor

Smithfield Foods•Des Moines, IA

About The Position

The Production Supervisor leads front-line production operations and oversees the manufacturing process, including tracking yields, making real-time adjustments, and ensuring safety and USDA health standards are met. The role guides production employees during assigned shifts to meet production targets on time and to quality standards, while training, coaching, and motivating employees. The supervisor promotes clear communication and alignment on daily objectives, maximizes efficiency, minimizes costs, and oversees routine maintenance and setup of equipment and facilities. The position performs production-floor inspections, leads safety audits and ergonomic initiatives, and ensures compliance with HACCP and USDA regulations. It enforces food safety and quality plans, trains employees on safe operating procedures such as lock-out/tag-out, and ensures work meets product specifications. The supervisor tracks and analyzes yields, efficiencies, variances, and other performance metrics, collaborates with Operations Managers and other Supervisors to improve workflows and equipment use, and identifies opportunities for continuous improvement. The role also directs hourly employees, leads monthly line meetings, and walks the production floor daily. The plant environment may be wet or humid, extremely hot or cold, and include moving mechanical parts, fumes or airborne particles, chemicals, and moderate-to-loud noise. The role may require long hours and weekend work when needed, and travel up to 5% of the time.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university in Business or a related field and 2+ years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Experience acting as a lead by training, coaching, or mentoring less experienced staff, or by managing a process or project.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Ability to lead problem-solving efforts for complex process issues.
Solid analytical and math abilities.
Ability to motivate, train, and coach employees to achieve peak performance.
Ability to foster a positive, respectful, and team-oriented work environment.
Adaptability to fast-paced, dynamic environments and varying conditions, including heat and cold.
Willingness to work long hours and weekends when needed.

Nice To Haves

Proficiency with SAP, internet tools, spreadsheets, Word, order processing, and inventory software.
Experience in food processing, leadership, and manufacturing, including knowledge of yields, plant efficiencies, and operations procedures.
Bilingual ability.

Responsibilities

Oversee the production process, track yields, and make real-time adjustments to maintain smooth operations.
Ensure safety and USDA health standards are met throughout manufacturing.
Perform daily production-floor inspections, identify unsafe conditions, and take corrective action.
Lead safety audits and ergonomic initiatives, and ensure adherence to HACCP and USDA regulations.
Enforce Food Safety and Food Quality plans and ensure tasks meet product specifications.
Train employees on safe operating procedures, including lock-out/tag-out.
Track and analyze production yields, efficiencies, and variances.
Work with Operations Managers and Supervisors to improve workflows and equipment use, minimize downtime, and reduce costs.
Direct and guide hourly production employees to meet safety, quality, and production goals.
Train, coach, and motivate employees and foster clear communication about daily objectives and results.
Lead monthly line meetings and walk the production floor daily.
Analyze product performance metrics, identify improvement opportunities, and recommend changes to enhance efficiency, control costs, and maintain quality.
Oversee routine maintenance and setup of equipment and facilities.