at US Spice Mills, Inc. in Glendale Heights, Illinois, United States
Job Description
We are looking to hire a Bilingual (Spanish and English) Production Supervisor - Mill Mfg. to lead our 1st Shift of production associates/technicians to make safe, high-quality spices, seasonings and milled products on schedule and on cost. As the Production Supervisor you will lead and cover receiving, cleaning, milling and grinding, sifting, blending, pathogen reduction and packaging. In this role you will own the daily line performance, enforce food safety and GMP standards, and develop the team on the floor. It is the main link between the production floor and Quality, Maintenance, Sanitation, Warehouse and Planning.
Key responsibilities:
Production and scheduling
- Run the shift production schedule to hit daily output, yield and delivery targets.
- Assign associates to lines and stations based on skills, staffing levels and priorities.
- Lead pre-shift huddles and shift handoffs covering safety, quality, schedule and open issues.
- Monitor line speeds, downtime, changeovers and waste, and act fast to recover lost output.
- Coordinate raw material and packaging staging with Warehouse and Planning.
- Escalate equipment problems to Maintenance and track repairs to closure.
People leadership
- Train and certify associates on SOPs, equipment and food safety.
- Coach performance, give regular feedback, complete reviews and apply discipline fairly and consistently.
- Manage attendance, timekeeping, overtime and labor hours against budget.
- Build an engaged, respectful team and develop line leads for future growth.
- Communicate policies and changes clearly, and work within union agreements where applicable.
Milling, grinding and blending
- Oversee cleaning, milling, grinding, cracking, sifting and blending of whole spices, herbs, seeds, grains and dehydrated vegetables.
- Set and verify mill, grinder and screen settings to meet particle size (mesh), color, moisture and volatile oil specifications.
- Ensure formulas and batch tickets are followed exactly, with scaled ingredients verified and recorded.
- Plan run sequences and changeovers to limit allergen, color and flavor carryover (e.g., run mild to hot, non-allergen before allergen).
- Manage bulk handling of bags, totes and super sacks, and control lot tracking from raw material to finished goods.
Food Safety
- Enforce GMPs, allergen controls, sanitation and foreign-material prevention on the production floor.
- Make sure operators complete and record required CCP and preventive control checks each shift.
- Hold any suspect product and notify Quality right away.
- Verify line clearance, labels and date codes at every changeover.
- Keep the production area audit-ready and complete assigned corrective actions on time.
Key Responsibilities
Your day-to-day will never be boring as you wear multiple hats to maintain plant operational continuity and drive efficiency:
- Proactive Problem Solving: Actively spot equipment needs on the floor and independently address them before they turn into bottlenecks.
- Preventive Maintenance (PMs): Stay ahead of the game by conducting scheduled check-ups on machines to keep them in peak shape and prevent unexpected downtime.
- Rapid Diagnostics: Troubleshoot equipment malfunctions on the fly and implement smart, corrective actions to restore operations safely.
- Production Partnership: Act as a reliable technical partner to our production team, jumping in to assist whenever operational support is needed.
- Safety & Organization: Maintain a pristine, organized work environment in strict adherence to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and OSHA safety standards.
- Digital/Written Tracking: Complete daily work orders to accurately document your repairs and maintenance milestones.
