Production Manager

Wow Bao; Forest City (IA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

Paid Time Off

Employee Discount Programs

Employee Assistance Program

CARE culture

Job summary

Wow Bao in Forest City is seeking a hands-on 1st Shift Production Manager to lead daily manufacturing activities and drive safety, quality, and efficiency. You will provide direct leadership to production supervisors and hourly staff, coordinate with Quality, Maintenance, and Supply Chain, and ensure the first-shift schedule is executed with accountability and continuous improvement.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years in food manufacturing and 3+ years in supervisory roles, with strong knowledge of

Qualifications

• 5+ years of manufacturing experience in food or high-volume production.
• 3+ years of supervisory or line leadership experience.
• Strong knowledge of production scheduling, line performance, labor planning, changeovers, downtime, yield, waste, and throughput.
• Experience with HACCP, GMPs, food safety systems, sanitation and quality standards.
• Ability to coach front-line leaders and drive performance.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to work in fast-paced production environments and adapt to changing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Lead first-shift production teams to meet daily schedules and quality targets.
• Oversee floor execution including line performance, staffing, and changeovers.
• Coach supervisors and team leads on discipline, accountability, and problem solving.
• Ensure timely production reporting and accurate handoffs.
• Directly supervise production supervisors, team leads, and hourly staff.
• Develop safety, quality, service, cost, and people through accountability.
• Support training, onboarding, and performance evaluations.
• Collaborate with maintenance and QA to ensure equipment reliability and food safety.
• Drive continuous improvement on standard work, changeovers, and waste reduction.

Skills

Production leadership

Line performance

Labor planning

HACCP knowledge

GMP compliance

Quality standards

Coaching frontline leaders

Communication skills

Tools

ERP systems

Production scheduling software

Job description

POSITION SUMMARY

Wow Bao is seeking a hands-on, results-driven 1st Shift Production Manager to lead daily production activities at our Forest City production facility. This role is responsible for executing the first-shift production schedule, ensuring safe and efficient manufacturing of high-quality food products, and driving accountability across line performance, labor utilization, quality compliance, and employee development. The 1st Shift Production Manager will provide direct leadership to production supervisors, leads, and hourly production team members while partnering closely with Quality, Maintenance, Warehouse, Supply Chain, HR, and plant leadership to meet production goals.

What we look for:

• 5+ years of manufacturing experience, preferably in food, frozen food, bakery, prepared foods, or high-volume production environments.
• 3+ years of supervisory or production leadership experience leading supervisors, leads, or hourly production teams.
• Strong understanding of production scheduling, line performance, labor planning, standard work, changeovers, downtime tracking, yield, waste, and throughput.
• Working knowledge of HACCP, GMPs, food safety systems, sanitation expectations, and quality standards in a food manufacturing environment.
• Proven ability to coach front-line leaders, build accountability, resolve conflict, and drive performance through people.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, decision-making, and follow-up skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced production environment and respond quickly to changing priorities.

Innovative. Fast Pace. Growth.

Wow Bao has once again been recognized as a 2023 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers! Ranked no. 1 in 2019 and 2022, we are the only brand to have taken home the honor more than once. This year we were privileged to be ranked no. 4, and the leading Asian fast-casual concept. At Wow Bao, we believe that every day deserves a big, bold serving of WOW. So we’ve made it our mission to shake up the sea of sameness and bring a fresh, exciting new spin to the fast-casual experience.

Join the fastest growing Asian virtual kitchen concept in the US! Our virtual kitchen concept has launched 600+ locations and is growing rapidly. Our retail/grocery business is also experiencing unprecedented growth - our Frozen Bao and Potstickers will be in thousands of grocery stores across the US by the end of 2023.

Wow Bao is an innovative Asian fast casual restaurant that fuses superior hospitality and industry leading technology to deliver signature flavors “at the speed of life.” Our menu features rice bowls, pan-seared potstickers, dumplings, soups, and our iconic Bao – steamed hot Asian buns with a variety of savory and sweet fillings.

We foster a culture of caring.

Whether it’s our guests or our employees, we put people first. We strive to inspire, to motivate, and to appreciate one another every day. We live by the golden rule and treat everyone with kindness, empathy, respect, and a healthy dose of humor. We take our work, not ourselves, seriously.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

(Other duties will be assigned as needed)

Production Leadership

• Lead first-shift production teams to achieve daily production schedules, output targets, labor standards, and quality expectations.
• Manage floor execution by monitoring line performance, staffing levels, changeovers, material readiness, and production flow.
• Coach supervisors and team leads on effective floor leadership, accountability, communication, and problem solving.
• Ensure production reporting, shift handoffs, downtime tracking, and daily performance communication are accurate and timely.

Team Leadership & Development

• Directly supervise production supervisors, team leads, and hourly production employees.
• Build a high-accountability production culture focused on safety, quality, service, cost, and people.
• Coach, mentor, and develop front-line leaders to improve performance, communication, decision-making, and employee engagement.
• Support staffing plans, onboarding, cross-training, skills development, performance evaluations, and corrective actions when necessary.
• Facilitate training and daily communication focused on safety, food safety, quality, standard work, and production execution.

Food Safety & Quality

• Ensure compliance with FDA, USDA, HACCP, GMP, and company food safety requirements.
• Partner with Quality Assurance to address product issues and implement corrective actions.
• Support audits, inspections, and documentation requirements.
• Promote a culture where food safety and quality are non-negotiable priorities.

Labor & Cost Management

• Manage first-shift labor utilization, staffing plans, productivity, overtime, and attendance to support production requirements.
• Monitor production efficiency, yield, waste, rework, and material usage to support cost and performance targets.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Warehouse to ensure materials, packaging, and inventory needs support the production schedule.
• Identify and execute opportunities to reduce waste, improve throughput, and control controllable production costs.

Equipment & Maintenance Partnership

• Collaborate with Maintenance to maximize equipment reliability and uptime.
• Support preventive maintenance programs.
• Assist with root-cause analysis and equipment improvement initiatives.

Continuous Improvement

• Use production data, line observations, and root-cause problem solving to improve safety, quality, throughput, downtime, yield, and labor efficiency.
• Lead or support continuous improvement projects focused on standard work, changeover reduction, waste reduction, employee engagement, and production reliability.
• Promote a culture of ownership by engaging supervisors, leads, and hourly team members in identifying and solving production challenges.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Full-time on-site position. Monday - Friday 1st Shift
• HACCP Certification and/or PCQI for Human Food, or ability to achieve this certification.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically.
• Experience with ERP, production reporting, labor management, or manufacturing execution systems.
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement training.
• Experience in frozen food, bakery, protein, ready-to-eat, or prepared foods manufacturing.
• Ability to work under pressure to meet strict deadlines and effectively prioritize multiple tasks.
• Some duties may require attention outside of normal business hours.
• Maintain complete knowledge of and comply with all policies, procedures and standards as outlined in the Employee Handbook and Handbook Supplements

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Frequent standing, walking, bending, and lifting up to 50 pounds at a time.
• Ability to work in various environments including cold environments for extended periods.
• Use of protective equipment such as gloves, safety glass, and ear protection.

• Health Insurance (medical, dental, vision)
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Voluntary Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability
• Paid Time Off
• Employee Discount Programs
• Employee Assistance Program
• We foster a culture of CARE

Benefits eligibility varies based on things like position, hours worked, and length of service, and all benefits are subject to change, some of the benefits you might expect are listed above.

Accessibility varies by location