Production Line Lead

Job Overview

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is an industry-leading snacks company known for making more moments of goodness through its iconic brands. With a strong portfolio across chocolate, confectionery, and salty snacks, Hershey delights consumers every day. Our beloved brands include Hershey's, Reese's, KitKat, Dots Pretzels, Lesser Evil, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, and more.

At Hershey, we are committed to making a meaningful difference in the communities where we live, work, and do business. This commitment originated with our founder, Milton Hershey, and continues to shape who we are today.

Guided by our employee value proposition, Lead Today. Create Tomorrow, we empower our people to drive impact now while shaping what comes next. Our One Hershey mindset brings teams together across functions, geographies, and businesses, enabling us to operate with speed, collaboration, and shared purpose.

The Hershey Company is proud to be recognized as a top employer in the United States, reflecting our commitment to our people, culture, and purpose.

How will you fit in the big picture?

The Production Line Lead plays a key role in driving operational excellence at our West Hershey plant. This role is responsible for leading hourly production personnel while ensuring compliance with company policies, safety standards, and regulatory requirements. You will be empowered to independently identify opportunities, eliminate root causes of manufacturing challenges, and drive improvements that impact the business today and into the future-all while contributing to a culture that makes Hershey the Sweetest Place on Earth.

Accountabilities

What will you do?

• Lead and manage hourly production personnel to safely meet operational and business needs
• Ensure adherence to plant policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements
• Independently execute assignments and projects, escalating only the most complex issues
• Propose, plan, and implement solutions to address manufacturing challenges and drive continuous improvement
• Lead high-impact initiatives that influence safety, quality, cost, and productivity
• Oversee financial planning considerations within the production area
• Collaborate across departments to support maintenance and operational needs of the plant
• Interpret production performance reports to drive decision-making
• Support a flexible work schedule, including weekends and all shifts as required

Prior Experience

Minimum Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor's degree preferred

Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in manufacturing or a high-speed, complex environment required
• Minimum of 1 year of supervisory experience preferred
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite required
• Food manufacturing experience preferred
• SAP experience preferred

Skills & Capabilities:

• Strong leadership and people management skills
• Change management expertise with a focus on safety, quality, and cost optimization
• Effective written and verbal communication skills
• Knowledge of production systems and manufacturing processes
• Problem-solving and decision-making capabilities
• Understanding of union contracts and labor relations
• Ability to work effectively across all levels of the organization
• Knowledge of product quality standards and regulatory requirements
• General understanding of cost accounting and engineering principles

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The policy of The Hershey Company is to extend opportunities to qualified applicants and employees on an equal basis regardless of an individuals race, color, gender, age, national origin, religion, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other categories protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Minority/Female/Disabled/Protected Veterans.

You may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our online application process as a result of a disability.

You can request an accommodation via phone or email.

To request an accommodation via phone, please call +1 877-804-1794 and leave a voicemail with your contact information. You may also email a request for accommodation to ApplicationHelp@hersheys.com. Please be sure to include "Accommodation Needed" in the subject line. This will ensure that your email is routed to the appropriate contact who will handle your request.