Team Lead Operator – Material Control Nights A

Abbott; North Carolina; On-site; USD 29,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits start day 1

Tuition reimbursement

401(k) with company match

Extensive vacation and holidays

Job summary

Abbott is seeking a Team Lead Operator at the Columbus, US facility to guide daily production activities and ensure operational excellence on the manufacturing line. This role acts as a functional leader, coordinating with maintenance and other departments to meet production requirements and regulatory standards.

The role emphasizes coaching operators, driving QA-friendly processes, and implementing efficiency improvements while ensuring GMP and EHS&S compliance in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• GMP knowledge essential for production environments.
• Minimum 2 years of experience in the department with full equipment familiarity.
• Minimum 3 years in food/pharma/nutrition manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of GMP, EHS&S and sanitation practices.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a consistent presence on the production line (≈75%) to coach, train and mentor operators.
• Communicate effectively across departments including QA, Processing, Material Control and Scheduling.
• Assist supervisor with performance issues and team-building efforts.
• Identify, recommend and implement cost-reducing operational enhancements to improve efficiency.
• Troubleshoot, perform first-level maintenance, CIP, Master Sanitation and PM tasks on line equipment.

Skills

GMP knowledge

Line leadership

Communication

Troubleshooting

Education

High school diploma or GED

Associate's degree or higher preferred

Job description

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 122,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

About Abbott

JOB DESCRIPTION: ABOUT ABBOTT Abbott is a global healthcare leader, creating breakthrough science to improve people’s health. We’re always looking towards the future, anticipating changes in medical science and technology.

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and your family, be your true self, and live a full life. You’ll also have access to:

• Production areas that are clean, well-lit and temperature-controlled
• Training and career development, with onboarding programs for new employees and tuition assistance
• Financial security through competitive compensation, incentives and retirement plans
• Health care and well-being programs including medical, dental, vision, wellness and occupational health programs, Medical Benefits start day 1
• Vacation – 120 hours of accrued vacation (1st yr is prorated) + vacation buy program + 5 personal days + 10 paid holidays
• Retiree Healthcare program
• Robust 401(k) retirement savings with a generous company match
• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.

A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune. A stable company with a record of strong financial performance and history of being actively involved in local communities. A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as the best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

Overview

The Team Lead Operator plays a pivotal role in guiding daily production activities and ensuring operational excellence on the manufacturing line. This position serves as the primary point of contact for line personnel regarding equipment functionality and production requirements. While not a supervisory role, the Team Lead Operator acts as a functional leader, offering direction, troubleshooting support, and coordination with maintenance teams as necessary. This role demands a strong working knowledge of production operations, a proactive presence on the line, and the ability to communicate effectively across departments including Quality Assurance, Processing, Material Control, Scheduling, and Corporate functions. The Team Lead Operator is also responsible for ensuring compliance with regulatory standards, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S) protocols.

What You’ll Do

Maintain a consistent presence on the production line—at least 75% of the time to coach, train, and mentor operators, ensuring competency across all equipment and adherence to safety and quality standards. The Team Lead Operator is expected to maintain healthy/effective communication, effective documentation, conflict resolution, advise the supervisor on any performance related issues and provide support to the supervisor’s team building efforts. This position requires regular collaboration with all plant department supervisors, employees, and staff to ensure alignment and cooperation in meeting production objectives. Externally, the role engages with key functional areas including Division Manufacturing, Engineering, Product Research and Development, Human Resources, Material Control and Scheduling, Purchasing, Distribution, Contract Manufacturing, Quality Assurance, and Accounting to support both ongoing operations and special initiatives. Additionally, the role maintains communication with other Abbott manufacturing facilities and their respective management teams to coordinate efforts and achieve shared manufacturing goals. A critical aspect of this position involves identifying, recommending, and implementing operational enhancements aimed at reducing manufacturing costs and improving overall efficiency. The incumbent exercises sound judgment in daily decision-making that directly influences production line uptime, operational efficiency, and adherence to schedules—decisions that have a significant financial impact on the production of nutritional and pediatric products, often involving thousands of dollars each day. Additional accountabilities include but not limited to troubleshooting, performing first-level maintenance, Clean-in-Place (CIP), Master Sanitation, and Preventive Maintenance (PM) tasks on all line equipment.

Required Qualifications

• HSD or GED required; Associate’s degree or higher strongly preferred
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in the department for the job, and fully trained/signed-off on all equipment, machines, and processes within the department
• Minimum of 3 years of related work experience in food, pharmaceutical, or nutrition manufacturing
• Strong understanding of regulatory standards, GMP, EHS&S protocols, and sanitation practices

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

Pre-Employment Inquiries and Citizenship | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc.gov) Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives: www.abbottbenefits.com Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Military/Veteran friendly Employer, committed to employee diversity. Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott, and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

The base pay for this position is $20.85 – $41.75/hour. In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.

JOB FAMILY: Manufacturing DIVISION: ANSC Nutrition Supply Chain LOCATION: United States > Columbus : Columbus Plant ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS: WORK SHIFT: Standard TRAVEL: No MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE: No SIGNIFICANT WORK ACTIVITIES: Driving a personal auto or company car or truck, or a powered piece of material handling equipment.

Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer of Minorities/Women/Individuals with Disabilities/Protected Veterans. EEO is the Law link - English: http://webstorage.abbott.com/common/External/EEO_English.pdf. EEO is the Law link - Espanol: http://webstorage.abbott.com/common/External/EEO_Spanish.pdf.

Abbott is about the power of health. For more than 135 years, Abbott has been helping people reach their potential — because better health allows people and communities to achieve more. With a diverse, global network serving customers in more than 160 countries, we create new solutions — across the spectrum of health, around the world, for all stages of life. Whether it’s next-generation diagnostics, life-changing devices, science-based nutrition, or novel reformulations, we are advancing some of the most innovative and revolutionary technologies in healthcare, helping people live their best lives through better health. The people of Abbott come to work each day with relentless energy, enthusiasm and a promise to enhance the health and well-being of millions of people. They push the boundaries to help manage and treat some of life’s greatest health challenges.

We invite you to explore opportunities at Abbott, to see if your talents and career aspirations may fit with our openings. An equal opportunity employer, Abbott welcomes and encourages diversity in our workforce.

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