Plant Manager (Food Processing Facility)

Don Lee Farms; Mansfield (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Don Lee Farms is seeking a Plant Manager to own the day-to-day manufacturing performance at our Mansfield, Texas facility. This hands-on, on-site leadership role is fully accountable for safety, quality, service, cost, and people across production, quality, maintenance, sanitation, and warehouse teams.

Responsibilities include audits, corrective actions, and continuous improvement, with a focus on high-volume, fast-paced operations and strict adherence to USDA/GMP/HACCP/OSHA standards.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of leadership in food manufacturing operations.
• Experience supervising supervisors or managers in a production setting.
• Strong knowledge of food safety systems (GMP, HACCP, USDA).

Responsibilities

• Own plant performance across safety, quality, service, cost, and people.
• Lead production, quality, maintenance, sanitation, and warehouse teams.
• Drive audits with internal, customer, and regulatory teams.
• Improve yields, reduce downtime, and control labor and waste.
• Ensure on-time, in-spec production and continuous improvement.

Skills

Leadership experience

Food manufacturing operations

Operational discipline

Audits and compliance

Job description

Don Lee Farms is a multigenerational, family-run food manufacturer producing burgers, bowls, and tacos for leading national retailers including Trader Joe’s, Costco, Walmart, and Sam’s Club. We operate at scale with a focus on food safety, operational discipline, and consistent execution across both branded and private-label products.

Role

The Plant Manager owns day-to-day manufacturing performance of the facility. This role is fully accountable for safety, quality, service, cost, and people. The Plant Manager leads production, quality, maintenance, sanitation, and warehouse teams to ensure products are made safely, on time, and to specification—every shift, every day. This is a hands-on, on-site leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Own plant performance across safety, food safety, quality, labor, yield, uptime, and cost.
• Ensure full compliance with USDA, GMP, HACCP, OSHA, and company standards.
• Set expectations, drive accountability, and develop supervisors and department leaders.
• Run daily operations reviews and ensure clear communication across shifts.
• Partner with Quality to prepare for and execute internal, customer, and regulatory audits.
• Drive corrective actions, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Oversee production planning and execution to meet customer service and inventory targets.
• Partner with Maintenance to ensure equipment reliability, preventative maintenance, and capital planning.
• Support new product launches and process changes with R&D and Operations.
• Identify operational risks early and take decisive action to prevent disruptions.
• Build and sustain a culture of ownership, discipline, and teamwork.

Requirements

• 5+ years of leadership experience in food manufacturing operations.
• 5+ years managing supervisors or managers in a production environment.
• Strong understanding of food safety systems, GMPs, HACCP, and USDA environments.
• Proven ability to lead in high-volume, fast-paced manufacturing operations.
• Comfortable being on the production floor and holding teams accountable in real time.

Preferred

• USDA-regulated facility experience.
• Frozen food or protein manufacturing background.
• Experience operating mixed meat and vegetarian production lines.
• Track record of improving yields, reducing downtime, and controlling labor and waste.

Location

In-person role based at our Mansfield, Texas manufacturing facility.