Director of Manufacturing

Who We Are       
At JonnyPops, our team is empowered to make an impact every day—from producing high‑quality, innovative frozen novelties to spreading kindness one pop at a time. We are a high‑growth, values‑driven organization built on operational excellence, disciplined execution, and people who care deeply about doing things the right way.

Job Summary
The Director of Manufacturing is a senior operations leader responsible for end-to-end manufacturing performance at JonnyPops. This role owns 24/7 production execution, safety, repairs & maintenance priorities, and people leadership, while building the systems, standard work, and leadership capability required to scale.

This leader integrates people, process, and equipment to deliver safe, high-quality, efficient production that supports brand growth, seasonal demand, and long-term capacity plans—operating both in the business and on the business. 
Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Ensure exceptional plant performance as measured by:
  • Human & Food Safety
  • Attainment
  • Scrap
  • Labor $/Pop and Overhead $/Pop
• Manufacturing & Production Leadership
  • Own 24/7 manufacturing operations, ensuring safe, efficient, and high quality output
  • Establish, document, maintain, and sustain standard work for critical manufacturing processes
  • Generate and lead continuous improvement initiatives to increase throughput, reliability, and efficiency
  • Leverages production and operating data and other inputs to direct the resolution of operational, manufacturing, and maintenance issues to ensure minimum costs and prevent operational delays
• Quality & Food Safety
  • Partner closely with Quality department to embed food safety and quality systems into daily operations
  • Reinforce quality as a nonnegotiable operating discipline
• Safety & Compliance
  • Create and sustain a strong safety culture across all shifts and teams
  • Ensure compliance with OSHA and internal safety standards
  • Proactively address hazards, near misses, and incidents with corrective actions
  • Consistently create safety awareness among all employees to prevent safety incidents and achieve company safety goals
• Maintenance Leadership and Engineering Partnership
  • Develop and manage R&M/Engineering priorities to ensure proper maintenance of the physical plant and equipment for quality and food safety, line up-time, and production efficiency.
  • Own preventative maintenance execution and downtime reduction strategies
  • Partner with Engineering to ensure equipment reliability and uptime
• People Leadership & Talent Development
  • Lead, coach, and develop supervisors and managers to build a high performing manufacturing team
  • Ensure effective communication, collaboration, and teamwork between all plant operations team members
  • Ensure clear expectations, accountability, and performance management
  • Foster engagement, ownership, and continuous improvement at all levels
  • Hire, develop, and retain talent aligned with JonnyPops values
• Cross Functional Collaboration
  • Effectively partner with Supply Chain, Quality, R&D, Engineering, Finance, and Commercial teams
  • Provide operational input on new products, scale up feasibility, and commercialization
• Financial & Operational Discipline
  • Manage manufacturing budget and operating costs
  • Monitor labor, material, and overhead efficiency
  • Use metrics and scorecards to drive fact based decisions and continuous improvement

Minimum Qualifications
Education:  

• Bachelors (or equivalent experience) in Manufacturing Operations, Industrial Engineering, Operations or related field.  

Experience & Skills:  

• 7+ years of food manufacturing experience preferably in wet food / dairy products.  
• Demonstrated experience working with LEAN Manufacturing Principles.  
• Working mechanical knowledge of equipment.  
• Must be familiar with GMP’s (Good Manufacturing Practices) and QC standards required in a foods packaging environment.  
• Experience hiring, leading and developing an effective production team.  
• Must be able to manage multiple tasks and balance competing priorities in a dynamic environment.  
• Proven experience maintaining or implementing metrics to measure and manage performance.  
• Effective written communication and presentation skills. Ability to influence up, down and across organization levels.  
• Strong MS Office skills (Excel, Word, and Outlook)  
• Strong planning and prioritization skills.  
• Adaptable, resilient, flexible, fast-paced/sense of urgency.  

Food Safety Requirements:

• Ensure all frozen novelty products meet established safety, quality, and regulatory standards (e.g., FDA, HACCP, USDA). 

• Partner with Quality leadership to develop and implement quality control protocols, inspection procedures, and corrective actions to maintain product excellence. 

• Participate in regular audits and inspections of production facilities, addressing issues proactively. 

Expected Pay Range:
$150,000 - $180,000 annual salary 
Employees may be eligible for additional incentive/bonus programs*

JonnyPops offers a competitive benefits package which includes the following:

• Medical/Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• HSA
• FSA
• DCFSA
• Life & AD&D Insurance
• Short & Long Term Disability
• FTO/PTO
• EAP Programs
• Paid Holidays
• Employee Referral Program
• Sick & Safe Leave
• 401k
• Company Sponsored Meal Plan

* Hired candidates may be eligible to receive additional compensation in the form of bonuses and/or commissions.