Production Manager, Food Manufacturing

Production Manager, Food Manufacturing
Location: Hayward, CA (on site)
Employment Type: Full time
Schedule: Wednesday to Sunday. Shift times to be finalized and may shift slightly based on production needs.
Salary: $90,000 to $120,000 annually plus bonus potential
Benefits: Health benefits and share options
Reports to: VP of Culinary

About Locale
Locale makes high protein prepared meals held to the highest health and ingredient standards in the industry. We use only organic, nutrient dense ingredients, with no processed ingredients, refined sugars, emulsifiers, or seed oils, and every meal is packed in a microplastic free glass jar.
We are reinventing how prepared meals are made at scale. Our Hayward kitchen is where that happens, and this role will shape how it runs as we grow.
The Role
We are looking for a Production Manager who leads from the production floor. You will run our Hayward jar building operation, leading a team of 50+ and producing approximately 40,000 jars per week.

Your Mission
Improve the consistency, efficiency, and quality of every finished product while building a strong, accountable production team.

What You Will Own
Consistency
• Ensure jars are built accurately to established specifications.
• Maintain portion accuracy, especially proteins.
• Ensure build sheets and production standards are followed.
Efficiency
• Establish and measure production standards.
• Track jars per labor hour.
• Identify bottlenecks and improve workflow, staffing, and production flow.
• Increase productivity without sacrificing quality.
Quality
• Ensure finished jars meet our standards for freshness, portioning, cleanliness, packaging, and presentation.
• Use QC results and customer feedback to identify and correct recurring problems.
• Maintain food safety and sanitation compliance across the production floor.
People
• Lead and hold the production team accountable.
• Hire, train, coach, and develop employees.
• Identify and mentor future team leaders and supervisors.

What We're Looking For
A strong operations leader who:
• Is comfortable being on the production floor.
• Has experience leading large production teams.
• Uses data and KPIs to manage performance.
• Understands labor productivity and continuous improvement.
• Has high standards for quality and attention to detail.
• Can develop leaders, not just manage employees.
• Identifies root causes and follows problems through to resolution.

Requirements
• 5+ years in operations or production management.
• Experience leading large hourly production teams, ideally 25+ people.
• Food manufacturing or large scale prepared food production experience (meal kits, catering, central kitchens) strongly preferred.
• Food safety certification (ServSafe Manager, HACCP, or equivalent) preferred.
• Comfortable tracking production KPIs in spreadsheets or production software.
• Able to stand for extended periods, lift and move product and supplies, and work in refrigerated areas.

Nice to Have
• Conversational Spanish.

What Success Looks Like
The right product, built to the right specification, at the right quality, using the right amount of labor, consistently. We're looking for someone who can help us build an operation that becomes stronger and more efficient as we grow. Locale is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of any protected characteristic.