Moji Food - Plant Manager; WA - Kent

Come grow with us at MOJI Food Inc!

We're looking for a
Plant Manager
to lead day-to-day operations at our Kent manufacturing site (22k square feet) that includes a central kitchen and commissary producing dumplings, buns, pot stickers, noodles, and other food products.

This is a
hands-on, working/coach leadership role
with full accountability for site performance. The Plant Manager will ensure that our operation consistently delivers on
employee safety, food safety and quality, production output and efficiency, material availability, cost control, and team development.

The Plant Manager will directly lead the
Production Manager
and
Purchasing & Warehouse Manager
, while providing functional oversight of
Quality/Food Safety, Sanitation, and Maintenance
.

Reporting to Corporate Operations leadership, this role translates company plans and customer demand into
safe, compliant, efficient, and cost-effective daily production
.

This role is ideal for an operations leader who enjoys being
close to the work
, developing a diverse group of employees, solving problems, and building systems that make a growing food manufacturing operation safer, more efficient, and more scalable.

At MOJI Food Inc
, you'll have the opportunity to make a direct impact on our people, products, customers, and continued growth.

• Own the full daily, weekly, and monthly operation of the plant, ensuring production schedules are met
  on time, in full, and to specification
  .

• Direct the Production Manager in planning labor, lines, and output against demand forecasts, store orders, and shipment schedules.

• Balance throughput, yield, labor efficiency, and quality across all production processes, including dough/wrappers, fillings, forming, cooking/steaming/frying, packaging, freezing, and cooling.

• Resolve daily operational bottlenecks, including staffing gaps, equipment downtime, and material shortages, to maintain uninterrupted production.

• Lead production planning for seasonal, holiday, new-store, and large-order demand surges.

• Hold the site accountable for applicable
  FDA, USDA/FSIS, Washington State Department of Agriculture, and local food-safety requirements
  .

• Ensure GMP, HACCP, SSOP, allergen control, traceability, and sanitation programs are consistently implemented and maintained in an audit-ready state.

• Lead the site through regulatory inspections, customer audits, third-party certifications, and mock recalls.

• Champion a
  food-safety-first culture
  and have the authority to stop production when food safety, product quality, or regulatory compliance is at risk.

• Own the site operating budget and manage key cost drivers, including labor, overtime, materials, packaging, yield, utilities, scrap, and waste.

• Track and improve cost-per-unit, labor hours per unit, yield, and waste/rework rates.

• Partner with Finance on month-end close, budget-to-actual variance analysis, forecasting, and financial planning.

• Identify, prioritize, and lead cost-reduction and operational-efficiency initiatives.

• Lead, coach, and develop the
  Production Manager
  and
  Purchasing & Warehouse Manager
  , and through them, supervisors, leads, hourly employees, and seasonal staff.

• Build a stable, safe, respectful, and accountable workplace for a multilingual multicultural workforce, including
  English, Chinese, and Spanish speaking employees
  .

• Partner with HR on hiring, onboarding, performance management, retention, and employee relations.

• Build bench strength and cross-training programs to reduce operational dependence on individual employees and strengthen leadership depth.

• Ensure, through the Purchasing & Warehouse Manager, that ingredients, packaging, and other materials are sourced, received, stored safely, and staged appropriately so production is not interrupted by material shortages.

• Oversee inventory accuracy, FIFO/FEFO practices, cold-chain controls, receiving, and finished-goods shipping to stores and the broader distribution network.

• Coordinate with Corporate Purchasing and other company sites on supply, inter-site transfers, sourcing, and standardization.

• Ensure effective preventive maintenance, equipment uptime, facility organization, and adherence to
  5S
  standards.

• Enforce applicable
  OSHA and Washington L&I safety requirements
  , PPE standards, LOTO procedures where applicable, and…