Production Manager (Food & Beverage)

Symrise

Columbus, GA

Estimated pay: Est. $18–$27/hr (market estimate, not employer-stated)

**About Us**

Symrise is a global supplier of fragrances, flavors, food, nutrition, and cosmetic ingredients. Its clients include manufacturers of perfumes, cosmetics, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and producers of nutritional supplements and pet food.

Its sales of € 4.9 billion in the 2025 fiscal year make Symrise a leading global provider. Headquartered in Holzminden, Germany, the Group is represented by more than 100 locations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the United States and Latin America.

The Columbus facility operates as an innovation-focused manufacturing environment supporting product commercialization, small-scale production, and customer-driven growth initiatives.

Symrise works with its clients to develop new ideas and market-ready concepts for products that form an integral part of everyday life. Economic success and corporate responsibility are inextricably linked as part of this process.

Symrise – always inspiring more…

**About the Role**

**Position Summary**

The Production Manager leads all beverage and dry blend operations at the Columbus manufacturing site, driving operational performance, compliance with food safety and regulatory standards, and facility growth. This role establishes systems supporting safety, quality, service, cost efficiency, and employee development, while building future supervisory leadership. Strong cross-functional collaboration is required. Reports to the Plant Manager.

**Essential Duties and Responsibilities**

• **Operational & Production Leadership**
• + Direct daily production activities for beverage and dry blend operations, ensuring safety, quality, delivery, and productivity targets are met.

+ Oversee all manufacturing processes (processing, blending, filling, packaging, sanitation, finished goods), and ensure effective communication, shift handoffs, and escalation routines.

+ Collaborate with Planning, Logistics, Quality, Maintenance, and other teams to resolve constraints and meet customer requirements.

+ Execute production schedules through effective labor planning and resource allocation.

• **People Leadership & Development**
• + Recruit, train, coach, and develop production staff and future leaders, fostering engagement, accountability, and a culture of continuous improvement.

+ Build organizational capability through mentoring, structured expectations, and performance management, supporting succession planning.

• **Food Safety, Quality & Compliance**
• + Ensure compliance with GMP, HACCP, FDA, SQF, and customer/regulatory requirements; maintain audit readiness through documentation, training, and process control.

+ Partner with Quality to resolve issues, implement corrective actions, and drive continuous improvement in quality systems.

• **Continuous Improvement & Equipment Ownership**
• + Lead initiatives to improve efficiency, reduce downtime and waste, and enhance productivity, safety, and quality using Lean Manufacturing and performance metrics.

+ Support standard work, visual management, KPI tracking, and daily management systems.

+ Partner with Maintenance to improve equipment reliability, preventive maintenance, and support new equipment commissioning and process optimization.

• **Safety Leadership**
• + Champion a safety-first culture, ensuring compliance with OSHA, company safety policies, PPE, and safe operating procedures.

+ Lead incident investigations, corrective actions, and proactive risk reduction activities.

**About You**

**Required Qualifications**

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, Operations Management, or related field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and progressive manufacturing leadership experience considered.
• + With a Bachelor's degree, must have a minimum 5 years manufacturing experience with at least 2 years of experience in food and/or beverage manufacturing.

+ With an Associate's degree, must have a minimum 7 years manufacturing experience with at least 2 years of experience in food and/or beverage manufacturing.

+ With a High School Diploma/GED, must have a minimum 10 years manufacturing experience with at least 2 years of experience in food and/or beverage manufacturing.

• Minimum 3 years production leadership experience required. Experience leading supervisors, leads, or multi-functional production teams preferred.
• HACCP certification is required.
• Ability to lead, coach, develop, and hold teams accountable.
• Strong employee engagement and communication skills.
• Ability to develop future leaders.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, production systems, and performance management.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a rapidly changing environment.
• Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis capability.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Ability to work effectively with Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Engineering, Commercial, and Product Development partners.
• Abilit