Production Lead

Production Lead

Reports To: Production Operations and Logistics Manager 

Discover your Purpose, Seize Opportunity and Build a Vibrant Community with Sweet Cow!

We value bright, adaptable, energetic team players with a strong desire to contribute and lead. If you possess an insatiable curiosity and an eagerness to learn, we want you on our team. We are an evolving company with a focus on four values: community, kindness, contribution, and growth.

Our mission is simple: At Sweet Cow, we are committed to making the best-tasting ice cream, served by the friendliest scoopers, in the cleanest shops (and Factory!) on the planet.

Your Role

The Production Lead is an experienced Ice Cream Maker who takes on additional responsibility for helping lead daily production execution, supporting fellow team members, and ensuring Sweet Cow's production, quality, food safety, and cleanliness standards are consistently followed throughout the shift.

Production Leads work alongside the production team and are expected to be active participants in production. This is a hands-on floor leadership position, not an administrative or management role.

Working under the direction of the Production, Operations & Quality Assurance Manager and Factory Manager, the Production Lead helps translate the day's production plan into effective execution by coordinating workflow, assigning tasks, monitoring progress, supporting and coaching team members, identifying issues, and communicating operational needs to factory leadership.

Production Leads are expected to demonstrate mastery of Ice Cream Maker responsibilities and serve as examples of quality, efficiency, urgency, cleanliness, teamwork, and accountability.

If you are an excellent Ice Cream Maker who enjoys helping others succeed, solving problems, and taking ownership of a great production shift, this role is designed for you.

Your Contribution and Responsibilities

Production Execution

• Actively participate in daily ice cream and food production while helping coordinate the work of the production team.
• Understand the daily production plan and help organize people, equipment, ingredients, and workflow to execute it effectively.
• Delegate and coordinate production tasks based on priorities, staffing, workflow, and operational needs.
• Ensure recipes, ingredients, measurements, processes, yields, and production standards are followed accurately.
• Monitor production progress throughout the shift and communicate delays, obstacles, shortages, or other concerns promptly.
• Help maintain an efficient pace of production while protecting product quality and food safety.
• Identify workflow problems and make appropriate real-time adjustments within established procedures.
• Ensure ingredients, equipment, tools, and work areas are prepared and ready to support production.
• Support opening, startup, shutdown, cleaning, and end-of-shift procedures.
• Complete required production records, checklists, logs, and documentation accurately.
• Assume responsibility for leading production-floor execution when assigned by factory leadership.

Quality Assurance & Food Safety

• Model and reinforce Sweet Cow's standards for product quality, food safety, sanitation, and cleanliness.
• Monitor products throughout production for consistency with established recipes and quality standards.
• Identify potential quality issues or deviations and take appropriate immediate action within established procedures.
• Escalate quality, food safety, allergen, equipment, or process concerns to factory leadership promptly.
• Ensure proper ingredient handling, labeling, rotation, temperature control, allergen procedures, and sanitation practices are consistently followed.
• Complete required quality and food safety checks accurately and on time.
• Help ensure SOPs and documented production procedures are consistently followed by the team.
• Never sacrifice product quality or food safety in pursuit of production speed or efficiency.

Lead the Shift

• Help establish clear priorities and expectations for the production team at the beginning of and throughout the shift.
• Delegate tasks appropriately and adjust assignments as production needs change.
• Provide real-time direction, coaching, encouragement, and support to fellow team members.
• Help maintain a positive, productive, and accountable working environment.
• Lead by example through strong work ethic, urgency, organization, cleanliness, and attention to detail.
• Help onboard and train new Ice Cream Makers on recipes, equipment, SOPs, food safety, quality standards, and production expectations.
• Recognize when a situation requires management involvement and escalate appropriately.
• Support factory leadership in implementing operational changes, new procedures, and improved ways of working.

Operational Excellence

• Follow established SOPs, production standards, and workflows consistently.
• Identify inefficiencies, recurring problems, unnecessary steps, or opportunities to improve production flow and communicate them to factory leadership.
• Participate in testing and implementing improved production methods, workflows, equipment, and procedures.
• Help ensure tools, ingredients, supplies, and equipment are organized and returned to established locations.
• Take ownership of keeping the production environment clean, organized, efficient, and ready for the next shift.
• Contribute ideas and observations that can make production safer, simpler, more consistent, or more efficient.

Communicate with Impact

• Utilize clear, direct, respectful, and solution-oriented communication.
• Communicate production status, team needs, equipment issues, quality concerns, shortages, and workflow problems proactively.
• Provide clear direction to fellow team members when leading production activities.
• Ensure important information is communicated to the Production, Operations & Quality Assurance Manager and/or Factory Manager.
• Receive feedback professionally and help create an environment where team members can do the same.
• Communicate schedule and availability proactively.

Production Lead Certification

Before independently serving as Production Lead for a shift, team members must demonstrate proficiency in all core Ice Cream Maker responsibilities and be formally trained and approved by factory leadership.

Certification should include demonstrated competency in:

• Recipe and production execution
• Equipment operation
• Product quality standards
• Food safety and sanitation
• Allergen procedures
• Production documentation
• Opening and closing procedures
• Task delegation and workflow coordination
• Real-time problem solving
• Team communication and coaching
• Appropriate escalation to factory leadership

Production Lead status is dependent upon maintaining these standards consistently.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated mastery of Sweet Cow Ice Cream Maker responsibilities or comparable food-production experience.
• Demonstrated ability to consistently produce products according to established recipes, quality standards, and procedures.
• Ability to coordinate and delegate work among multiple team members.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality.
• Ability to maintain urgency and organization in a fast-paced production environment.
• Ability to identify problems, make appropriate decisions within established guidelines, and know when to escalate.
• Positive, dependable, team-oriented leadership style.
• Willingness and ability to coach and support fellow employees.
• Ability to learn and consistently execute SOPs, quality controls, and food safety procedures.
• Able to lift up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to stand and perform physical production responsibilities throughout scheduled shifts.
• Availability to work early mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays as operational needs require.
• Maintain consistent attendance and punctuality.