Full-Time

Production Process Lead

creative werks

creative werks

201-500 employees

Turnkey food co-packing and manufacturing

Compensation Overview

$22 - $34/hr

Elk Grove Village, IL, USA

In Person

Bachelor's

Category
Operations & Logistics (1)
Required Skills
Six Sigma
Data Analysis

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Requirements
  • Basic math and mechanical aptitude.
  • Basic statistical analysis and problem-solving skills.
  • Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and/or Six Sigma.
  • Ability to communicate effectively at all levels, in writing and verbally.
  • Ability to prioritize and organize workload.
  • High school diploma, or GED with four years of experience.
  • Ability to work between an office setting and warehouse environment with temperatures ranging from 55 to 80 degrees.
  • Ability to work weekends or shifts other than the employee's own when needed.
  • Ability to operate standard office equipment.
  • Ability to reach with hands and arms; lift up to 49 pounds; stand and/or walk for up to 8 hours a day; and frequently push, pull, squat, bend, and reach, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Responsibilities
  • Improve and standardize production performance through a positive, safe, efficient, and quality-focused work environment.
  • Analyze and optimize assigned lines and zone processes, including downtime, mechanical failures, operator and crew skills, quality issues, and scrap through project management.
  • Communicate safety as the number one priority, encourage safe work practices, and immediately address safety concerns.
  • Observe and implement safety corrections on assigned lines.
  • Train employees to work safely.
  • Maintain assigned line budgeted performance.
  • Maintain and publish OEE and line performance metrics.
  • Maintain whiteboards displaying KPI metrics at the line, including downtime paretos.
  • Trend and report performance analyses.
  • Identify improvement opportunities and take ownership of actions.
  • Report and document machine changes that improve efficiency based on the item running.
  • Maintain and publish an active action register with tasks, priorities, owners, and due dates to meet KPIs.
  • Follow up with responsible parties to complete assigned tasks and escalate incomplete tasks to management.
  • Create Standard Operating Procedures with Dozuki software and review and train employees on them.
  • Analyze scrap and create actionable tasks to meet annual KPIs.
  • Capture and analyze data to optimize and standardize machine setup, including recipes, best practices, and material changes.
  • Support a clean production floor with equipment, pallets, and personnel in proper positions.
  • Monitor and revise 6S areas.
  • Monitor scrap and overfill.
  • Track and audit machine settings and speeds.
  • Participate in site DMS meetings.
  • Work scheduled shifts and provide support across all shifts, including early, late, and weekend work as needed.
  • Select and train production team members on all three shifts.
  • Communicate with and support all shifts throughout the day as necessary.
  • Work with personnel in various operations departments to ensure the production floor runs safely and efficiently.
  • Ensure assigned lines are in proper mechanical condition.
  • Enter maintenance work orders for mechanical issues and follow up and escalate unresolved issues.
  • Suggest changes to the preventive maintenance plan to decrease mechanical breakdowns.
  • Coordinate and partner with maintenance on machine setup.
  • Manage quality-related issues on assigned lines.
  • Complete root cause analyses within one week of an incident.
  • State corrective actions to prevent recurrence within one week of an incident.
  • Change written process procedures to permanently prevent future incidents within one week of an incident.
  • Maintain a positive work environment.
  • Supervise team leaders, operators, and line workers and report issues to supervisors.
  • Coach and train team leaders, operators, and line workers in new procedures and skills.
  • Report employee disciplinary issues to the Production Supervisor.
  • Perform other duties as assigned by management.
Desired Qualifications
  • Bilingual English and Spanish language ability.
  • A bachelor's degree.
  • Demonstrated experience in data analysis, problem solving, Six Sigma, or Lean Manufacturing.

Creative werks provides contract packaging and manufacturing services for food and beverage brands, offering turnkey design, manufacturing, and co-packing to move from concept to final retail distribution. It uses the Werkshop Design Group for in-house R&D and packaging development and operates over 70 production lines in a climate-controlled facility with more than 1,000,000 square feet. It can design, produce, fill, and package at scale in formats like bags, cartons, and thermoformed packaging, including candy cane tubes, serving high-volume programs and seasonal launches. Its goals are to streamline production, lower costs, and scale operations with strong quality and safety standards (SQF Excellent, ISO 14001), while positively impacting employees and the community as a family-owned business.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Founded

1999

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • 2025 TIF deal funded a 244,921-square-foot expansion in Elk Grove Village.
  • 2026 openings and demand-planner postings signal active hiring across operations.
  • Company claims 97% on-time attainment, 99.5% first-pass quality, and zero recalls.

What critics are saying

  • 2025 NLRB charges filed against Creative Werks with staffing firms over retaliation.
  • OSHA opened a 2025 follow-up inspection at 1470 Brummel Avenue.
  • Elk Grove Village warned 2025 relocation follows without larger space, threatening continuity.

What makes creative werks unique

  • 2026 site: 70+ lines and dozens of formats span design through distribution.
  • 1999-founded, family-owned Creative Werks serves Fortune 500 food brands from Chicagoland.
  • SQF Excellent and ISO 14001 certification support regulated food packaging execution.

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Benefits

Flexible Work Hours