Distillery Production Lead — Safety, Quality & Ops (Denver)

Stranahan's; Denver (CO); On-site; Full time

Job description

Location: Stranahan’s Distillery (Denver, CO)

Reports to: Senior Production Manager

Job Type: Salaried (Full-Time)

Pay rate: $75,000 – $90,000, 401K match, and medical and wellness benefits.

Position Description:

The Production Supervisor is responsible for the day‑to‑day leadership and oversight of all distillation and bottling operations in Denver, Colorado. This role ensures that production targets—including distillation, barrel management, and finished goods bottling—are achieved safely, efficiently, and in full compliance with quality standards. Key focuses include leading distillery health and safety services, executing all quality initiatives, and driving process reliability across the entire facility.

Key Responsibilities

Distillery & Bottling Operations:

• Provide daily leadership, coaching, and development to distilling and bottling staff.
• Manage distilling operations including the planning and scheduling of mashing, fermenting, distillation, and barrel filling activities.
• Planning and scheduling of all bulk whiskey operations.
• Hands‑on supervision and scheduling of all bottling line operations, including full‑time and part‑time temporary employees.
• Maintain accurate production records and ensure compliance with federal and state record‑keeping requirements.

Safety Leadership:

• Proactively lead and promote a strong safety culture, ensuring all staff complete required training assignments.
• Conduct and document weekly safety inspections, Lock Out Tag Out audits, and Job Risk Assessments.
• Investigate safety incidents using Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and manage reporting through Solvace.
• Maintain and communicate monthly safety metrics and manage the procurement of PPE for all operations.

Quality Control:

• Integrate and align with the corporate Quality Assurance Team and QC standards for distilling and bottling operations.
• Lead bi‑weekly quality assurance meetings with distillery and corporate staff.
• Responsible for 100 % adherence to quality standards, including liquid quality, proof, fill heights, and package labeling standards.
• Train operations employees on quality sampling plans and defect manual identification.
• Develop and audit Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and follow up to close gaps.

Manage the instrument calibration program and report daily defects and waste.

Skills/Requirements

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Packaging Engineering, Brewing/Distilling Science, or related field preferred.
• 3–5 years’ supervisory experience in packaging, brewing, and distilling operations.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and proficiency in Microsoft Office and production tracking systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to work effectively with all levels of personnel.
• Heavy lifting over 55 lbs, and the ability to work in a production environment (noise, dust, variable temperatures).
• Flexibility to work off‑shifts and weekends as required.