Plant Manager

As a leader and innovator in the snack food industry for over 50 years, J&J Snack Foods provides branded snack foods to foodservice and retail supermarket outlets across the U.S. Its products include such icons as SUPERPRETZEL, ICEE, and Dippin’ Dots along with other key brands like LUIGI’S Real Italian Ice, The Funnel Cake Factory Funnel Cakes, and Hola Churros. J&J also has a strong presence in bakery providing cakes, cookies, and pies to some of the largest grocery and convenience retailers in industry. Our company continues to deliver record sales led by a talented team and a commitment to “Fun Served Here”.

POSITION SUMMARY:  

Reporting to the Director of Operations, the Plant Manager serves as the senior leader responsible for the overall operational performance of a high-volume snack food manufacturing plant. This role oversees all day-to-day plant activities and is accountable for safety, quality, service, cost, people, and culture. The Plant Manager leads cross-functional teams across production, maintenance, quality, warehouse, planning, and sanitation to ensure the efficient production of high-quality products in alignment with company standards and financial targets. This position combines strategic leadership with hands-on execution, translating company objectives into daily plant operations while driving operational excellence and continuous improvement. The Plant Manager plays a critical role in delivering the production plan, enhancing productivity and profitability, and fostering a safe, engaged, and high-performing workforce. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:  

• Leads and manages all aspects of plant operations, including production, maintenance, quality, warehouse, planning, and sanitation, to ensure the safe, efficient, and timely manufacturing of high-quality products.  

• Establishes and sustains a strong safety culture by promoting a zero-injury mindset; ensure full compliance with all OSHA, FDA, GMP, HACCP, and environmental regulations through proactive programs, audits, and corrective actions.  

• Delivers the production plan on time and in full by optimizing operational performance, including OEE, labor efficiency, yield, and waste reduction, while identifying and eliminating constraints and bottlenecks.  

• Partners with Quality to uphold the highest food safety and product standards; ensure adherence to all quality systems, maintain audit readiness, and lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for quality deviations.  

• Builds, leads, and develops a high-performing team by recruiting, training, and coaching supervisors and frontline employees; fosters a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement, while supporting succession planning and positive employee/labor relations.  

• Owns and manages the plant’s financial performance, including the operating budget, labor and overtime costs, waste, and conversion costs; monitor expenditures and drive cost-effective operations aligned with business objectives.