Plant Manager

Plant Manager – Don Lee Farms

Company

Don Lee Farms is a family‑run food manufacturer producing burgers, bowls, and tacos for leading national retailers including Trader Joe’s, Costco, Walmart, and Sam’s Club. We focus on food safety, operational discipline, and consistent execution across branded and private‑label products.

Role

The Plant Manager owns day‑to‑day manufacturing performance of the facility. This role is fully accountable for safety, quality, service, cost, and people. The Plant Manager leads production, quality, maintenance, sanitation, and warehouse teams to ensure products are made safely, on time, and to specification every shift, every day. This is a hands‑on, on‑site leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Own plant performance across safety, food safety, quality, labor, yield, uptime, and cost.
• Ensure full compliance with USDA, GMP, HACCP, OSHA, and company standards.
• Set expectations, drive accountability, and develop supervisors and department leaders.
• Run daily operations reviews and ensure clear communication across shifts.
• Partner with Quality to prepare for and execute internal, customer, and regulatory audits.
• Drive corrective actions, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Oversee production planning and execution to meet customer service and inventory targets.
• Partner with Maintenance to ensure equipment reliability, preventative maintenance, and capital planning.
• Support new product launches and process changes with R&D and Operations.
• Identify operational risks early and take decisive action to prevent disruptions.
• Build and sustain a culture of ownership, discipline, and teamwork.

Requirements

• 5+ years of leadership experience in food manufacturing operations.
• 5+ years managing supervisors or managers in a production environment.
• Strong understanding of food safety systems, GMPs, HACCP, and USDA environments.
• Proven ability to lead in high‑volume, fast‑paced manufacturing operations.
• Comfortable being on the production floor and holding teams accountable in real time.

Preferred

• USDA‑regulated facility experience.
• Frozen food or protein manufacturing background.
• Experience operating mixed meat and vegetarian production lines.
• Track record of improving yields, reducing downtime, and controlling labor and waste.

Location

In‑person role based at our Mansfield, Texas manufacturing facility.

Compensation

Competitive and based on experience.