Production Supervisor - 2nd Shift

Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp; Illinois; On-site; USD 55,000 - 83,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation Package

Job summary

Smithfield Foods, Inc. in Illinois is seeking a Production Supervisor to lead frontline operations on the production floor.

You will oversee the entire production process, monitor yields, implement real-time adjustments, and ensure safety and USDA health standards are met. You will guide hourly workers, run monthly line meetings, and drive clear communication to keep daily objectives aligned and production targets reached.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field with 2+ years of relevant experience.
• Experience leading training, coaching, or mentoring staff.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills for complex processes.
• Willing to work long hours and weekends; travel up to 5%.

Responsibilities

• Safety and Compliance: perform daily inspections, lead safety audits, and ensure HACCP/USDA adherence.
• Product Quality and Training: maintain Food Safety/Food Quality plans, train on SOPs, ensure task adherence to specs.
• Operational Efficiency: track yields, efficiencies, and variances; improve workflows with Operations Managers; reduce downtime and costs.
• Team Leadership and Communication: direct hourly employees; lead monthly line meetings and daily floor walks.
• Continuous Improvement: analyze performance metrics; identify improvements to boost efficiency and quality.

Skills

Leadership

Training & Coaching

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Team motivation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or related field

Tools

SAP

Excel

Word

Job description

THE VALUE YOU’LL BRING

In this role, you'll be at the heart of our operations—leading the charge on the front lines. You'll oversee the entire production process, from tracking yields to making real-time adjustments to keep things running smoothly. Ensuring safety and USDA health standards are met at every stage of the manufacturing process will be in your hands. Your efforts will directly contribute to maintaining the trusted quality that brands like Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, and others are known for. As a supervisor, you'll guide and lead production employees during your shifts, ensuring production targets are met on time and to the highest quality standards. You'll play a pivotal role in training, coaching, and motivating your team to achieve production goals while maintaining safety and quality. You’ll drive clear communication across all levels, keeping the team aligned with daily objectives and results, all while maximizing efficiency and minimizing costs. Plus, you'll oversee the routine maintenance and setup of equipment and facilities to keep everything running at peak performance. This is your chance to make a real impact in a dynamic environment where your leadership and expertise will shape the success of the operation.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Safety and Compliance

You will perform daily inspections on the production floor to identify unsafe conditions and take immediate corrective action as needed. You’ll also lead safety audits, champion ergonomic initiatives, and ensure adherence to HACCP and USDA regulations.

Product Quality and Training

You will maintain product quality by enforcing the Food Safety and Food Quality plans, training employees on safe operating procedures (including lock-out/tag-out), and ensuring tasks are performed according to product specifications.

Operational Efficiency

You will track and analyze production yields, efficiencies, and variances, working with Operations Managers and Supervisors to improve workflows and equipment use to minimize downtime and reduce costs.

Team Leadership and Communication

You will direct and provide guidance to hourly production employees, ensuring alignment on safety, quality, and production goals. You’ll also lead monthly line meetings and walk the production floor daily.

Continuous Improvement

You will analyze key product performance metrics, identify areas for improvement, and suggest changes to enhance production efficiency, minimize costs, and maintain high standards of quality.

WHAT WE’RE SEEKING

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university in Business or a related field and 2+ years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience, required. Experience acting as a lead by providing training, coaching or mentoring to less experienced staff or through managing a process or project. Strong communication skills (oral and written) while leading problem-solving efforts for complex process issues with solid analytical and math abilities. Skilled at motivating, training, and coaching employees to achieve peak performance while fostering a positive, respectful, and team-oriented work environment. Adaptable to fast-paced, dynamic environments, capable of working in varying conditions (heat and cold), and willing to work long hours and weekends when needed. This role offers the opportunity to travel up to 5% of the time.

OTHER SKILLS THAT MAKE YOU STAND OUT

If you're savvy with SAP, internet tools, spreadsheets, Word, order processing, and inventory software, we want to see your skills in action! Bring your experience in food processing, leadership, and manufacturing to the table—your knowledge of yields, plant efficiencies, and operations procedures will be key to driving success. Bonus points if you're bilingual! We love diverse skills that help us connect and thrive.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT

The plant environment will include wet or humid conditions (non-weather related), extreme cold and heat (non-weather related), working near moving mechanical parts, exposure to fumes or airborne particles, and chemicals. Noise level in the work environment is usually moderate but can be loud when in the production area. Occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision and ability to adjust focus. Frequently required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and talk or hear.

IndSPR-Ops

The expected pay range for this position is $55,000 - $82,500 annually. Smithfield Foods provides pay ranges that reflect its good faith estimate of the salary or hourly wage the company reasonably expects to pay for a position at the time of hire. Individual compensation will be determined based on several factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the role, location of the position, the candidate’s qualifications and experience, internal equity, external market pay for comparable positions and budget considerations. At Smithfield Foods, base pay represents only one aspect of the comprehensive total rewards package. Learn more about our benefits package here. Relocation Package Available Yes

EEO Information

Smithfield is an equal opportunity employer committed to workplace diversity.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, gender identity, protected veterans status, status as a disabled individual or any other protected group status or non-job characteristic as directed by law.

If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment selection process, please call us at 757-357-1595.

At Smithfield, good food starts with good people.

"Good food. Responsibly.®" is more than just our tagline; it's what we do. We provide good jobs. We take good care of our animals. We are good stewards of the environment. We do good in our local communities. Smithfield is proud to offer robust, flexible and affordable benefit plans and programs to support our team members and their loved ones, and with out-of-pocket costs, on average, 20 percent less than plans offered by other employers. Beyond our medical plans, our Be Well programs offer tools and resources to enhance your quality of life, at no additional cost. These programs are uniquely tailored to our Smithfield team and provide support for elective surgeries, weight loss, mental health, cancer, kidney disease, diabetes, smoking cessation, asthma, maternity management and more. Our company invests in your future. We offer comprehensive training and professional development programs designed to help you reach your full potential. Through LinkedIn Learning, employees can access on‑demand courses, professional certificates, and skill‑based training to build capabilities aligned with career and business needs. Our partnership with Guild supports your continuing education with tuition assistance covering English language learning, high school completion, and degree programs, while our leadership development initiatives nurture high‑potential talent. We also offer unique benefits like our Smithfield Scholarship Program for employees’ children.

Headquartered inSmithfield, Virginia,since 1936,Smithfield Foods, Inc. is an American food company with a leading position in packaged meats and fresh pork products. With a diverse brand portfolio and strong relationships with U.S. farmers and customers, we responsibly meet demand for quality protein around the world.

For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com. We believe in the power of protein to end food insecurity and have donated hundreds of millions of food servings to our communities. Smithfield boasts a portfolio of high-quality iconic brands, such as Smithfield®, Eckrich® and Nathan's Famous®, among many others. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com and connect with us on Facebook, X, formerly known as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.