Production Line Lead — Safety, Quality & Lean Ops

Synlait Milk Limited; Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance cover

Parental leave (Matua policy)

B Corp certification

Social Club opportunities

Job summary

Synlait Milk Limited is seeking an experienced Production Line Lead for its Blending & Canning team. You will lead a high-performing production group, balancing people leadership with commercial outcomes to drive safety, quality, cost and delivery.

You will coach teams, solve problems, and deliver measurable improvements daily, while ensuring GMP and HACCP compliance and strong cross-functional collaboration across Maintenance, Quality, Engineering and Planning.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience within dairy, food, beverage or another complex manufacturing environment.
• Track record of improving operational performance through coaching, team engagement and continuous improvement.
• Strong commercial acumen with understanding of productivity, cost, waste reduction and operational efficiency.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, IWS, TPM, Six Sigma or similar frameworks.
• Sound understanding of GMP, HACCP and food safety systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to make informed decisions under pressure.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to influence stakeholders and build cross-functional relationships.
• Genuine passion for developing people and creating a culture where teams can perform at their best.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of operators to create a safe, engaged and high-performing culture.
• Drive safety, quality, productivity, yield and cost performance.
• Champion continuous improvement through IWS, daily management systems and problem-solving methodologies.
• Own product quality, compliance and audit readiness while ensuring GMP and HACCP standards are met.
• Coach on the production floor while embedding standard work and developing capability.
• Collaborate with Maintenance, Quality, Engineering and Planning to optimise plant performance and minimise downtime.
• Provide on-call support to ensure reliable plant operations.
• Use data and performance insights to identify opportunities and deliver sustainable business results.

Job description

Synlait Milk Limited is seeking an experienced Production Line Lead for its Blending & Canning team. You will lead a high-performing production group, balancing people leadership with commercial outcomes to drive safety, quality, cost and delivery.

You will coach teams, solve problems, and deliver measurable improvements daily, while ensuring GMP and HACCP compliance and strong cross-functional collaboration across Maintenance, Quality, Engineering and Planning.