Director of Bakery Operations

At Sugar Bowl Bakery, we believe that simple, delicious food brings joy to everyday moments. If you’re passionate about delightful treats, we want you on our team! From our rich, chocolatey Brownie Bites to buttery soft Madeleines and subtly sweet Palmiers, each perfectly portioned baked good is crafted with high-quality ingredients and a commitment to taste. Help us spread sweetness with every bite—your journey into the world of delectable baked goods starts here!

The Director of Bakery Operations is responsible for the overall leadership, performance, and strategic direction of Sugar Bowl Bakery's Hayward manufacturing facility. This role serves as the senior operational leader for the bakery and is accountable for production, warehouse operations, sanitation, service, safety, food safety, quality, employee engagement, cost management, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

The Director leads a large, multi-shift manufacturing organization through managers, and supervisors and is responsible for developing organizational capability, building leadership bench strength, establishing effective operating systems and standards, and ensuring the bakery consistently meets customer requirements, operational goals, and financial objectives.

This leader drives a culture of accountability, teamwork, employee development, food safety, and continuous improvement while ensuring the facility operates safely, efficiently, and profitably.

• Provide overall leadership and direction for all Hayward bakery operations to drive consistent execution and sustainable results.
• Develop and execute operational strategies aligned with company objectives, customer requirements, and long‑term growth plans.
• Partner with Executive Team on annual operating plans, budgets, capital priorities, and performance objectives.
• Lead and develop the bakery management team fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence.

• Direct all bakery operations across production, warehouse, sanitation, maintenance and QA.
• Monitor and analyze key performance indicators, operational variances, waste, labor efficiency, yields, throughput, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), implementing corrective actions as needed.
• Conduct regular plant walkthroughs to monitor performance, identify opportunities, investigate issues, and reinforce operational standards.
• Support new product launches, commercialization initiatives, and strategic growth projects.

• Lead, coach, and develop a strong team, promoting a culture of accountability, recognition, teamwork, and continuous learning.
• Partner with Human Resources on workforce planning, talent acquisition, employee relations, engagement, and performance management initiatives.

• Champion a safety‑first culture, ensuring food safety and employee safety throughout the facility.
• Ensure compliance with all food safety, quality, GMP, HACCP, SQF, regulatory, and customer requirements.
• Partner closely with Quality leadership to ensure audit readiness and successful execution of internal, customer, and third‑party audits, as well as sustainability of corrective action programs.
• Ensure thorough investigations, corrective actions, and preventative action plans related to food safety incidents, quality concerns, customer complaints, and non‑conformance issues.
• Partner with EHS leadership to proactively identify and reduce operational risk and ensure compliance with OSHA, environmental regulations, company policies, and all applicable regulatory requirements.
• Drive improvements in labor productivity, waste reduction, inventory management, and manufacturing costs.
• Ensure the bakery operates within budgeted standards and financial expectations.
• In partnership with Engineering, lead Lean Manufacturing, TPM, Operational Excellence, and Continuous Improvement initiatives across the site.
• Partner with Maintenance to improve equipment reliability, reduce downtime, and optimize manufacturing performance.
• Utilize…