Production Operator - Day Shift

Colonial Group; Bethlehem (Northampton County); On-site; USD 21,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

Freshpet is seeking a Production Operator to help manufacture high-quality fresh pet foods. You will work on a team across the cooking, packaging, and quality control stages to ensure safe, ready-to-eat meals are delivered to customers.

You will operate production equipment, load ingredients, document process data, and maintain GMP/HACCP standards in a refrigerated facility. A high school diploma and at least 1 year in production are required.

Qualifications

• Must have 1+ years of experience in production within manufacturing, preferably in food or beverage.
• Ability to work independently and within a team.
• Solid problem solving and decision-making skills.
• Must be able to work in a refrigerated (40 degrees) food manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Operate production equipment and move ingredients through cooking to packaging.
• Load ingredients manually and operate machines using PLC touch screens.
• Package cooked product, palletize and shrink wrap.
• Record data on product and verify batch ingredients and finished product count.
• Perform startup, changeovers, and shutdown of processing machinery.
• Complete paperwork related to production schedule, inventory, HACCP, and quality standards.
• Follow SOPs and corrective action procedures and maintain cleanliness.

Skills

Teamwork

Problem solving

Basic computer skills

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Microsoft D365 ERP

Microsoft Office

Job description

Who We Are

At Freshpet, our goal is to change the way people nourish their pets forever. We strive to strengthen the bond between people and our pets so that we both live longer, healthier, and happier lives while being kind to the planet. We believe that if we can create fresh, real foods that pets love and help them live healthier lives, that their pet parents will also enjoy the many benefits of a rich life shared with a pet. IT’S AMAZING WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU START COMPLETELY FRESH!

What You Will Do

As a Production Operator, you are responsible for making the highest quality fresh foods that will nourish pets and help them live healthier lives! You will be part of a team operating various production equipment, moving ingredients across the cooking process to packaging the ready-to-eat fresh meals to be delivered to our customers.

How You Will Make an Impact

• Perform duties with a safety-first approach and support a "Safety First" culture
• Processing and cooking raw meat, vegetables, and dry ingredients
• Manually loading ingredients as well as operating machines using a computer terminal and PLC touch screens
• Packaging cooked product into plastic packaging, packing into boxes, palletizing and shrink wrapping
• Recording data on product throughout the shift. Cooking times/ temperatures, verify batch ingredients, and finished product count/inventory
• Responsible for startup, assembly/disassembly, changeovers, and shutdown of processing machinery and processing line equipment
• Accurately completes paperwork related to production schedule inventory, HACCP plan, and/or quality standards
• Is responsible for complete processing area machine operation
• Responsible for weighing and staging ingredients for batch making
• Follows all relevant SOPs and corrective action procedures
• Cleans and sanitizes machine parts, equipment, and other areas.
• Assures food safety standards with regards to GMPs and HACCP plan are being followed by self and fellow employees
• Follows established company policies and those outlined in the Employee Handbook
• Other duties as assigned

What You Will Bring

• High school diploma or GED required
• 1+ years of experience in production within manufacturing, ideally in the food or beverage industry
• Ability to work independently and within a team
• Solid problem solving and decision-making skills
• Must be able to work in a refrigerated (40 degrees) food manufacturing environment
• Ability to lift, push, and pull 50 pounds frequently without assistance
• Ability to frequently kneel, squat, bend, and stoop, twist, and reach overhead with repetitive motion
• Ability to spend significant time standing on the manufacturing floor
• Basic computer skills (Microsoft D365 ERP, Microsoft office)

What We Offer

At Freshpet, we offer a competitive salary and an excellent benefits package, including medical, dental and vision insurance, basic and optional life insurance, short- and long-term disability protection, flexible spending accounts, and a 401(k) plan with company match, paid parental leave, pet insurance, tuition assistance, a generous PTO plan and so much more!

Our Commitment to a Diverse Workforce:

At Freshpet, we embrace and encourage our employees’ differences in age, sex, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique.

Freshpet aims to foster, cultivate, and preserve a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our employees are our most valuable assets. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and company’s achievement as well. Freshpet is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Disclaimers

We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas.