Director of Manufacturing

ELK RIVER, MN
Full Time
Production
Executive
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.

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