Sanitation Program Lead: Food Safety & Continuous Improvement

Welch's; North East (Erie County); On-site; USD 110,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401K plan

Paid Time Off

Paid Volunteer Time Off

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Welch's is seeking a hands-on Sanitation Program Manager to lead our plant sanitation strategy and execution in the United States. You will partner across Operations, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, and Environmental Health & Safety to strengthen sanitation systems, improve equipment design, optimize cleaning processes, and ensure the facility meets top food safety standards.

This leadership role emphasizes problem solving, people development, and measurable improvements across the plant,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Biology, Engineering, or related technical field.
• 3 to 5+ years of progressive sanitation program leadership experience in a food/beverage manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of sanitation chemistry, CIP systems, sanitary equipment design, environmental monitoring, and hygienic manufacturing practices.
• Experience in HACCP, GMP, SQF, or other GFSI-certified environments.
• Lean Manufacturing, Root Cause Analysis, Continuous Improvement, and Statistical Process Control experience.
• CQE preferred or willingness to obtain certification.
• Strong computer proficiency, including Microsoft Office.
• Flexibility to support multiple shifts and plant priorities.

Responsibilities

• Lead and continuously improve all plant sanitation and pest control programs, ensuring compliance with food safety regulations and internal quality standards.
• Serve as the site's sanitation SME, providing technical leadership and troubleshooting support across production, maintenance, engineering, quality, and corporate teams.
• Own the development, validation, and continuous improvement of sanitation procedures, CIP systems, sanitation chemistry, and sanitary equipment design.
• Build a culture of accountability by training, coaching, and developing employees across all shifts on sanitation best practices, chemical safety, GMPs, and food safety expectations.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that eliminate waste, improve cleaning effectiveness, reduce downtime, and enhance operational performance using Lean and problem-solving methodologies.
• Conduct routine sanitation audits, GMP inspections, and housekeeping assessments, ensuring timely corrective actions and sustainable improvements.
• Lead the site's Environmental Monitoring Program, post-CIP microbiological verification, and sanitation validation activities while ensuring robust documentation and regulatory compliance.
• Partner with Engineering and Maintenance to ensure new equipment, facility modifications, and capital projects incorporate sanitary design principles from the outset.
• Lead sanitation readiness for internal, customer, regulatory, and third-party audits while supporting rapid and effective corrective action execution.
• Manage the Master Sanitation Schedule and ensure sanitation activities completed effectively, documented accurately, and continuously optimized.
• Monitor sanitation performance through KPIs and trend analysis, using data to identify opportunities and drive measurable improvements.
• Build strong partnerships with chemical suppliers and external service providers to ensure best-in-class sanitation practices.
• Lead Root Cause Analysis investigations and implement sustainable corrective and preventive actions.
• Supervise and develop sanitation technicians and janitorial staff, establishing clear expectations, coaching for performance, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Promote a proactive food safety culture by actively participating in Food Safety Teams, consumer complaint investigations, internal audits, regulatory inspections, and cross-functional improvement.

Skills

Sanitation leadership

Root Cause Analysis

Lean manufacturing

Continuous Improvement

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Biology, Engineering or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Welch's is seeking a hands-on Sanitation Program Manager to lead our plant sanitation strategy and execution in the United States. You will partner across Operations, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, and Environmental Health & Safety to strengthen sanitation systems, improve equipment design, optimize cleaning processes, and ensure the facility meets top food safety standards.

This leadership role emphasizes problem solving, people development, and measurable improvements across the plant,