Description
Plan, direct, and coordinate high-volume food production operations to deliver safe, consistent, and cost-effective products, overseeing scheduling, quality, compliance, and resource utilization.
- • Conduct sensory and visual checks of in-process and finished products to verify flavor, texture, and specification compliance.
- • Investigate and resolve product quality issues, deviations, or customer complaints, implementing corrective actions.
- • Schedule and receive raw material and packaging deliveries; verify quality, certificates, and quantities.
- • Monitor process controls, formulations, yields, and portioning to ensure products meet specifications and efficiency targets.
- • Monitor budgets, labor, and production costs; review transactions to ensure spending is authorized and on budget.
- • Create production schedules, assign line staffing, and allocate duties to meet demand.
- • Ensure compliance with food safety, sanitation, OSHA, and fire regulations; enforce GMPs, HACCP, and allergen controls.
- • Coordinate assignments of cooks and line personnel to optimize throughput and minimize waste and downtime.
- • Maintain regulatory and food safety records, including sanitation logs, CCP monitoring, and traceability documentation.
- • Establish performance standards for safety, quality, throughput, and housekeeping; hold teams accountable.
- • Forecast raw material and packaging needs based on production plans and historical usage.
- • Review SOPs and resolve operational bottlenecks to improve service levels, productivity, and safety.
- • Assist with batch preparation, changeovers, and line start-ups when needed to maintain schedules.
- • Maintain ingredient, WIP, and finished goods inventories; reconcile counts and investigate variances.
- • Lead training programs on SOPs, safety, food safety, and equipment operation; hire, coach, and evaluate staff.
- • Order and purchase equipment, parts, and production supplies to support operations.
- • Standardize formulations and processes; calculate yields and labor and overhead costs per unit.
- • Track production output, scrap, and rework; analyze margins to identify underperforming items.
- • Assess staffing needs and recruit production personnel through postings, agencies, and job fairs.
- • Schedule and oversee preventive maintenance and repairs; coordinate sanitation, waste removal, and pest control services.
- • Verify allergen changeover procedures and label and code date accuracy on packaging.
- • Coordinate production sequencing, line changeovers, and run rates to meet orders and minimize setups.
- • Ensure product specifications, nutritional data, and labeling are accurate and compliant with regulations.
- • Plan production based on forecasts, capacity, customer orders, and cost targets.
- • Partner with sales, procurement, QA, and R&D to plan trials, scale-ups, and new product introductions.
- • Reconcile material usage and yield variances; report KPIs and recommend continuous improvement initiatives.
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Hospitality, Events & Tourism
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Sources & Standards:
This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
