SANITATION SUPERVISOR
Compensation: $80,000–$90,000 base salary
About the Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced Sanitation Supervisor to lead and maintain the sanitation program at a food manufacturing facility.
This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands food-industry sanitation and CIP (Clean-in-Place) systems and can effectively coordinate sanitation activities with Production, Quality, Maintenance, and other plant teams.
The Sanitation Supervisor will oversee sanitation personnel and activities, maintain sanitation schedules and procedures, monitor CIP performance, identify sanitation risks and deficiencies, and ensure processing and product-contact equipment is properly cleaned, sanitized, verified, and ready for production.
The role requires someone who can bring an experienced perspective to the operation, identify opportunities for improvement, and confidently communicate when sanitation requirements need to take priority over production demands. The position also has the authority to delay production when sanitation requirements have not been met or when food safety or product quality could be compromised.
Team & Scope
- Function: Sanitation / Quality Assurance / Operations
- Team: Approximately 21 operators across three shifts, with 2 dedicated sanitation employees working primarily on first shift
- Sanitation Coverage: Operators are responsible for sanitizing their own filling equipment, while dedicated sanitation personnel focus on facility cleaning and CIP
- Schedule: Primarily Monday–Friday, approximately 5:00 AM–1:30 PM
- Schedule Flexibility: Occasional later starts and periodic second- or third-shift visits based on sanitation and production needs
- Weekend Support: Saturday or Sunday work may occasionally be required depending on production and cleaning needs
- Leadership Scope: Assign, delegate, establish expectations, and hold sanitation activities accountable across the operation
Key Responsibilities
Sanitation Program Leadership
- Lead and coordinate sanitation personnel and sanitation activities across the facility
- Maintain and enforce the Master Sanitation Schedule
- Assign and delegate sanitation activities and establish clear expectations
- Ensure sanitation activities follow GMPs, SSOPs, sanitation procedures, and safety requirements
- Maintain communication with Production, Quality Assurance, Maintenance, and other departments regarding sanitation readiness
- Identify sanitation deficiencies, risks, and opportunities for improvement
- Coordinate sanitation training and support employee development
- Help maintain readiness for regulatory inspections and internal and external audits, including SQF-related requirements
- Promote a positive, accountable, and team-oriented sanitation culture
CIP & Sanitation Systems
- Manage and oversee the plant CIP program for processing and packaging equipment
- Ensure CIP circuits are cleaned according to established procedures, schedules, and validated parameters
- Monitor critical CIP parameters, including:
- Time
- Temperature
- Chemical concentration
- Flow
- Valves and related system components
- Ensure required CIP checks are completed and properly documented
- Investigate CIP alarms, incomplete washes, failed cycles, deviations, and recurring sanitation issues
- Maintain complete, accurate, and traceable CIP records
- Work with Maintenance when pumps, valves, spray devices, tanks, or other equipment require repair or adjustment
- Evaluate CIP changes or modifications before implementation
- Use sanitation and CIP data to identify recurring issues and support continuous improvement
The facility's CIP program is a significant part of the role, and the successful candidate should already understand the fundamentals of CIP systems even though the specific system and facility processes can be learned. The underlying job description specifically calls for experience with CIP systems and food-contact equipment sanitation.
Cross-Functional Leadership & Accountability
- Partner closely with Production to ensure sanitation activities are completed without compromising food safety or quality
- Hold employees accountable for completing assigned sanitation activities and following established procedures
- Identify and communicate sanitation readiness and deficiencies
- Push back when production priorities conflict with required sanitation standards
- Stop or delay production when sanitation requirements have not been met or conditions may compromise food safety or product quality
- Coordinate corrective actions and follow issues through to resolution
- Work with Maintenance and other departments to address equipment and sanitation-related issues
What We're Looking For
The ideal candidate will bring:
- Minimum 3 years of related sanitation, food manufacturing, or equivalent experience
- 3–5 years of sanitation experience in food manufacturing preferred
- Experience with CIP systems and food-contact equipment sanitation is required
- Previous supervisory or lead experience preferred
- Food manufacturing experience required
- Dairy, milk processing, beverage, or other high-care food manufacturing experience strongly preferred
- Strong understanding of CIP systems, including critical parameters such as time, temperature, chemical concentration, and flow
- Knowledge of COP cleaning, food-contact surface sanitation, chemical concentration testing, sanitation verification, pre-op inspections, SSOPs, GMPs, and HACCP principles
- Understanding of environmental and microbiological sanitation principles
- Knowledge of pumps, valves, solenoids, piping systems, tanks and silos, pasteurizers, fillers, and packaging equipment
- Strong ability to identify sanitation issues, determine corrective actions, and follow problems through resolution
- Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively across Production, Quality, Maintenance, and other plant teams
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook
- High school diploma or GED required
- Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Microbiology, or a related field is a plus
- Bilingual English/Spanish skills are a plus
The Right Fit
This opportunity is ideal for a hands-on sanitation leader with food manufacturing experience who understands the connection between sanitation, food safety, product quality, and production readiness.
The ideal candidate will have strong CIP knowledge and be comfortable troubleshooting sanitation issues by evaluating factors such as time, temperature, chemical concentration, flow, valves, and other system parameters. You should also be comfortable partnering closely with Production and Maintenance while maintaining clear sanitation standards, even when production pressures are high.
This role also calls for someone who can bring structure, accountability, and a continuous-improvement mindset to the sanitation operation—identifying opportunities to strengthen processes and improve overall plant performance.
The position is primarily first shift, but flexibility is important. The supervisor may periodically visit second or third shift and may occasionally work weekends or adjusted hours based on production and sanitation needs. The role may also require work at night, on weekends, holidays, and during changing production schedules.