Plant Manager (WA - Kent)

doughzoneusa; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance

Paid Sick Leave

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Paid Holidays

401(k) Retirement Plan

Employee Discount Programs

Career Growth

Job summary

MOJI Food Inc. in Kent, WA, is seeking a Plant Manager to lead day-to-day operations at our central kitchen and commissary producing dumplings, buns, noodles and more.

This hands-on leadership role oversees Production, Purchasing & Warehouse, Quality, Sanitation, and Maintenance to ensure safety, quality, and cost efficiency. The successful candidate will manage a diverse, multilingual team on-site, drive continuous improvement, and scale operations while maintaining compliance with FDA/USDA and

Qualifications

• 8+ years in plant or operations management in food manufacturing.
• Direct experience managing USDA-inspected facilities / meat processing.
• Strong ownership of safety, food safety, and quality outcomes.
• Experience leading multilingual, multi-shift teams.
• Bachelor's degree in related field or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations of Kent plant, ensuring schedules are met.
• Direct the Production Manager and Purchasing & Warehouse Manager; ensure safety and compliance.
• Lead cost control, budgeting, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Drive culture of safety, quality, and accountability on the production floor.

Skills

Hands-on leadership

Bilingual English/Chinese

People development

Safety and food safety focus

Analytical problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

ERP systems

Restaurant365 (R365)

Job description

Plant Manager — Kent, WA

Come grow with us at MOJI Food Inc!

We’re looking for aPlant Managerto lead day-to-day operations at our Kent manufacturing site, a central kitchen and commissary producing dumplings, buns, potstickers, noodles, and other food products.

This is ahands-on, working/coach leadership rolewith full accountability for site performance. The Plant Manager will ensure that our operation consistently delivers onemployee safety, food safety and quality, production output and efficiency, material availability, cost control, and team development.

The Plant Manager will directly lead theProduction ManagerandPurchasing & Warehouse Manager, while providing functional oversight ofQuality/Food Safety, Sanitation, and Maintenance.

Reporting to Corporate Operations leadership, this role translates company plans and customer demand intosafe, compliant, efficient, and cost-effective daily production.

This role is ideal for an operations leader who enjoys beingclose to the work, developing a diverse group of employees, solving problems, and building systems that make a growing food manufacturing operation safer, more efficient, and more scalable.

At MOJI Food Inc, you’ll have the opportunity to make a direct impact on our people, products, customers, and continued growth.

Key Responsibilities

Site Operations & Production

• Own the full daily, weekly, and monthly operation of the plant, ensuring production schedules are meton time, in full, and to specification.
• Direct the Production Manager in planning labor, lines, and output against demand forecasts, store orders, and shipment schedules.
• Balance throughput, yield, labor efficiency, and quality across all production processes, including dough/wrappers, fillings, forming, cooking/steaming/frying, packaging, freezing, and cooling.
• Resolve daily operational bottlenecks, including staffing gaps, equipment downtime, and material shortages, to maintain uninterrupted production.
• Lead production planning for seasonal, holiday, new-store, and large-order demand surges.

Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory Compliance

• Hold the site accountable for applicableFDA, USDA/FSIS, Washington State Department of Agriculture, and local food-safety requirements.
• Ensure GMP, HACCP, SSOP, allergen control, traceability, and sanitation programs are consistently implemented and maintained in an audit-ready state.
• Lead the site through regulatory inspections, customer audits, third-party certifications, and mock recalls.
• Champion afood-safety-first cultureand have the authority to stop production when food safety, product quality, or regulatory compliance is at risk.

Cost, Budget & Financial Performance

• Own the site operating budget and manage key cost drivers, including labor, overtime, materials, packaging, yield, utilities, scrap, and waste.
• Track and improve cost-per-unit, labor hours per unit, yield, and waste/rework rates.
• Partner with Finance on month-end close, budget-to-actual variance analysis, forecasting, and financial planning.
• Identify, prioritize, and lead cost-reduction and operational-efficiency initiatives.

People Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, and develop theProduction ManagerandPurchasing & Warehouse Manager, and through them, supervisors, leads, hourly employees, and seasonal staff.
• Build a stable, safe, respectful, and accountable workplace for a multilingual multicultural workforce, includingEnglish, Chinese, and Spanish speaking employees.
• Partner with HR on hiring, onboarding, performance management, retention, and employee relations.
• Build bench strength and cross-training programs to reduce operational dependence on individual employees and strengthen leadership depth.

Supply Chain, Materials & Inventory

• Ensure, through the Purchasing & Warehouse Manager, that ingredients, packaging, and other materials are sourced, received, stored safely, and staged appropriately so production is not interrupted by material shortages.
• Oversee inventory accuracy, FIFO/FEFO practices, cold-chain controls, receiving, and finished-goods shipping to stores and the broader distribution network.
• Coordinate with Corporate Purchasing and other company sites on supply, inter-site transfers, sourcing, and standardization.

Maintenance, Facilities & Safety

• Ensure effective preventive maintenance, equipment uptime, facility organization, and adherence to5Sstandards.
• Enforce applicableOSHA and Washington L&I safety requirements, PPE standards, LOTO procedures where applicable, and chemical-safety practices.
• Lead incident investigations, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions, with a focus on reducing workplace injuries and improving overall site safety.
• Partner with Maintenance and other functional leaders to identify equipment, facility, and infrastructure needs.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Report site performance to Corporate Operations leadership across key metrics includingsafety, food safety, output, quality, cost, delivery, and people.
• Use of operational data and KPIs to identify trends, establish performance targets, and drive measurable continuous improvement.
• Lead root-cause analysis and corrective-action efforts for recurring operational, quality, safety, and performance issues.
• Support capital planning, capacity expansion, automation initiatives, process improvements, and new-product scale-up.
• Establish a culture of accountability and continuous improvement in which problems are identified quickly, addressed at their root cause, and converted into sustainable process improvements.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience plant or operations management operations infood manufacturing, commissary, central-kitchen, or similar high-volume food production operations.
• Direct experience managingUSDA-inspected facilities. Meat processing experience.
• Demonstrated ownership of a production site'ssafety, food safety and quality, output, cost, delivery, and people performance.
• Strong working knowledge ofGMP, HACCP, SSOP, allergen control, sanitation, traceability, and applicable food-safety regulations.
• Proven ability to manageoperating budgets, labor costs, production performance, and operational KPIs.
• Experience leadingmultilingual, multi-shift teamsin a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret and act onproduction, labor, yield, cost, quality, and inventory data.
• Hands-on leadership style with the ability to work effectively on the production floor and engage directly with frontline teams.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Bakery and food production experience preferred. MOJI Food Inc producesprimarily Asian Foods. Specifically, dumplings, noodles, frozen and ready to eat products.
• Bilingual English/Chinesestrongly preferred given the workforce and corporate communication;English/Spanishis a plus.
• Experience supportingmulti-site restaurant, commissary, or foodservice supply operations.
• Experience withERP systems and/or Restaurant365 (R365).
• Proven experience leadingnew-product launches, production scale-ups, commercialization, or process-transfer initiatives.
• HACCP, PCQI, SQF, or other relevant food-safety certification.
• Exposure toLean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, 5S, or other continuous-improvement methodologies.
• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, Operations Management, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment: Safety is a priority.

• This is anon-site leadership rolein a food manufacturing environment that will include cold, hot, wet, refrigerated/freezer, and noisy production areas.
• Ability tostand, walk, and move throughout the facility for extended periods, including regular access to production, warehouse, and other operational areas.
• Ability tolift and carry up to 25–50 lbs. as needed.
• Ability to wear requiredpersonal protective equipment (PPE), including hairnets, gloves, safety shoes, freezer gear, and other required protective equipment.
• May requireearly-morning, evening, weekend, or holiday coveragebased on production schedules, business needs, and operational requirements.

Salary & Benefits

• Annual Salary:$120,000–$150,000, depending on experience, qualifications, and relevant industry background.
• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance:Comprehensive health insurance options.
• Paid Sick Leave:1 hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked.
• Paid Time Off (PTO):Time away from work to recharge and attend to personal needs.
• Paid Holidays:Company-paid holidays.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan:Retirement savings program to help support your long-term financial goals.
• Employee Discount Programs:Access to company employee discounts.
• Career Growth:Opportunities for professional development, increased responsibility, and career advancement within a growing organization.

MOJI Food Inc is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. MOJI Food Inc participates in the E-Verify program to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.