Production Manager (WA - Kent)

Dough Zone USA; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Vision insurance

Dental insurance

Paid sick leave

Paid time off

Paid holidays

401k plan

Employee discounts

Career growth

Job summary

Moji Food seeks a Production Manager with Quality Assurance experience to lead food safety programs at the Kent, WA plant. You will advance HACCP-based QA systems, manage audits, and drive continuous improvement while coordinating with Production, Warehouse, and IT teams on compliance and traceability.

You will oversee RTE safety controls, CAPA, and regulatory readiness, with travel to Texas for training as needed.

Qualifications

• Experience in start-up food manufacturing with QA and food safety.
• Strong knowledge of HACCP, GMPs, sanitation, preventive controls, traceability, recall, and QA systems.
• Experience developing and implementing food safety programmes.
• Strong documentation, investigation, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action skills.
• Hands-on production floor experience including lifting and moving.
• Strong change management, communication and cross-functional leadership.
• Ability to start early hours (≈4:30am) before factory operations.
• Willingness to travel to Texas plant for training.

Responsibilities

• Food Safety & Quality Management Systems: lead development and improvement of QA programs (HACCP, SSOPs, SOPs, GMPs, allergen control, traceability, recalls, CAPA).
• RTE Food Safety: manage controls for Ready-to-Eat products and verify records.
• Regulatory & Audit readiness: prepare for inspections; coordinate audits and corrective actions.
• Plant Assessment & Gap Analysis: assess existing systems, identify gaps, and plan corrective actions.
• Sanitation & Environmental Controls: establish sanitation procedures and environmental monitoring where needed.
• Quality Control & Product Standards: set specs and monitor product quality; address defects and complaints.
• Traceability, Recall & Lot Control: ensure traceability across materials and finished goods.
• ERP & Production Data Compliance: verify data capture and audit ERP/production records.
• Documentation & Record Control: standardize QA records and ensure retention for audits.
• Training & Food Safety Culture: train staff in food safety practices and assess effectiveness.
• Internal Audits & Continuous Improvement: conduct audits and drive KPIs; report findings.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: collaborate with Production, Warehouse, Purchasing, IT.

Skills

Startup experience in food plant

HACCP & GMPs

Quality Assurance systems

Traceability & recalls

Cross-functional leadership

Education

PCQI certification

HACCP certification

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Come grow with us!! Do you have start-up experience in a food plant/factory or restaurant chain environment? We are looking for a Production Manager with Quality Assurance (QA) experience for our Kent, WA plant. The Production Manager will be responsible for leading and strengthening the food safety and quality assurance programs for the Company's Washington-area food manufacturing operation. This role will be instrumental as we endeavour to establish a fully automated plant mirroring our Texas plant. As the Production Manager you will ensure that our products and services meet established quality standards through systematic oversight and process improvement. This position will oversee quality and food safety systems supporting both fresh/refrigerated products and Ready-to-Eat (RTE) products, with particular emphasis on developing, implementing, validating, and continuously improving the plant’s food safety management systems. You will report directly to the Plant manager. You will be a hands-on leader who can evaluate current operations, identify gaps, establish practical systems and procedures, train employees, verify execution, and maintain documentation demonstrating ongoing compliance. You will work closely with Production, Warehouse, Purchasing, Maintenance, Operations, and other corporate departments to ensure that food safety, quality, regulatory, and company standards are consistently implemented. Successful candidates will need to lean into the process and roll up their sleeves as we move to the next level of automation in this plant.

Key Responsibilities

1. Food Safety & Quality Management Systems; lead the development, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the plant’s food safety and quality assurance programs. Maintain and improve programs including HACCP / Food Safety Plans, SSOPs, sanitation programmes, SOPs and Work Instructions, GMPs, allergen control, supplier and Ingredient Controls, traceability and lot control, recall and mock recall programmes, preventive controls, environmental monitoring, product hold and release procedures, Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA). Ensure food safety and quality programs are practical, properly documented, and consistently executed on the production floor.
2. RTE Food Safety Program; lead the development and implementation of appropriate food safety controls for Ready-to-Eat products. Evaluate product and process flow to identify biological, chemical, physical, and allergen hazards. Establish and verify appropriate preventive controls, CCPs, critical limits, monitoring procedures, and corrective actions. Oversee controls related to cooking and thermal processing, cooling, post-lethality handling, cross-contamination prevention, environmental sanitation, time and temperature control, product storage. Verify that required records are completed accurately and consistently.
3. Regulatory & Audit Readiness; ensure plant operations comply with applicable federal, state, and local food safety requirements. Lead preparation for regulatory inspections, third-party audits, customer audits, and certification activities. Serve as a primary plant contact for food safety and quality matters involving regulatory agencies, auditors, customers, and technical consultants. Coordinate corrective actions arising from inspections or audits and ensure timely closure. Support the Company in establishing and maintaining systems necessary for applicable USDA and/or FDA regulatory requirements and certifications.
4. Plant Assessment & Gap Analysis; conduct a comprehensive assessment of the plant’s existing food safety and quality systems. Review product flow, production processes, facility conditions, sanitation practices, employee practices, documentation, food safety programmes, quality controls. Develop a prioritised Gap List and Corrective Action Plan identifying responsible parties, deadlines, and verification requirements. Periodically reassess plant conditions and measure improvement.
5. Sanitation & Environmental Controls; establish and verify effective sanitation procedures for production equipment, utensils, processing areas, warehouse areas, and employee work practices. Work with Production and Sanitation teams to establish appropriate cleaning frequencies, methods, chemicals, verification procedures, and records. Conduct sanitation inspections and pre-operational inspections. Develop environmental monitoring programmes where appropriate based on product and regulatory risk. Investigate sanitation failures or environmental findings and implement corrective actions.
6. Quality Control & Product Standards; develop and maintain product quality standards and specifications. Establish appropriate incoming material, in-process, and finished-product inspection programmes. Monitor product quality issues. Investigate product defects, customer complaints, returns, and recurring quality issues. Identify root causes and implement corrective and preventive actions.
7. Traceability, Recall & Lot Control; ensure ingredients, packaging materials, work-in-process, and finished goods can be properly traced through the Company’s systems. Maintain effective lot coding and traceability procedures. Conduct periodic mock recalls and evaluate traceability performance. Work with Production, Warehouse, Purchasing, and IT/ERP teams to identify and correct gaps affecting traceability or food safety records.
8. ERP & Production Data Compliance; verify that production and warehouse processes accurately capture information required for food safety, quality, traceability, and inventory control. Periodically audit ERP and production records for: Lot numbers; Production dates; Expiration/use-by dates; Ingredient consumption; Finished-goods production; Product holds; Inventory movements; Traceability information. Work with Production, Warehouse, and IT teams to correct process or data-control weaknesses. The Production Manager is responsible for verification of process and data compliance but does not replace the operational ownership of Production, Warehouse, Accounting, or IT.
9. Documentation & Record Control; establish standardised QA and food safety forms and records. Ensure required records are completed accurately, reviewed, properly retained, and readily available for audits or regulatory review. Maintain document control for policies, SOPs, forms, specifications, and food safety plans. Eliminate unnecessary paperwork while ensuring documentation is sufficient to demonstrate effective implementation.
10. Training & Food Safety Culture; develop and conduct food safety, GMP, sanitation, HACCP, allergen, and QA training as appropriate. Ensure employees understand not only required procedures but also the reasons behind critical food safety controls. Verify training effectiveness through observation, audits, and follow-up. Promote accountability and a strong food safety culture throughout the plant.
11. Internal Audits & Continuous Improvement; establish and conduct routine internal audits covering food safety, sanitation, quality, documentation, and process compliance. Track findings and corrective actions to completion. Identify recurring problems and recommend systemic improvements rather than relying only on individual corrections. Develop meaningful QA and food safety KPIs and provide regular reports to management.
12. Cross-Functional Collaboration; (implicitly covered in other duties)

Qualifications

• Experience in start-up food manufacturing environment with quality assurance and food safety experience.
• Strong working knowledge of HACCP, GMPs, sanitation, preventive controls, traceability, recall, and food manufacturing QA systems.
• Experience developing and implementing food safety programmes rather than solely maintaining existing programmes.
• Strong documentation, investigation, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action skills.
• Ability to perform hands-on tasks on the production floor, including lifting, moving, and positioning materials as part of the manufacturing process.
• Strong change management, communication and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Ability to work early morning hours before factory operations begin (approximately 4:30am local time as they ramp in the first several months).
• Ability to travel to our Texas plant for training.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a start-up food manufacturing environment with (ready to eat) RTE food manufacturing.
• Experience with USDA-regulated food manufacturing environments.
• PCQI certification.
• HACCP certification.
• Experience preparing facilities for USDA, FDA, customer, or third-party audits.
• Experience establishing environmental monitoring programmes.
• Experience implementing or improving ERP-based lot traceability systems.
• Experience building QA systems for a growing food manufacturing organisation.

Salary ranges: $100,000 - $120,000 per year, depending on experience, scope, and qualifications.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Medical insurance
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• Paid Sick leave: 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours
• Paid Time off
• Paid Holidays
• 401k retirement plan
• Employee Discount Programs
• Opportunities for growth and career advancement

Moji Food 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, colour, 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 participates in the E-Verify program to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.