The Operations Manager is a hands-on manufacturing leader responsible for safe, reliable, and efficient day-to-day operations at Honest Origins, a food manufacturing operation producing cooked instant rice. During the initial phase of this role, the Operations Manager will also provide operational leadership for a significant facility construction and expansion project, including equipment installation, commissioning, start-up, and transition to stable production. The position requires plant-level leadership capability and is intended to build the breadth and readiness needed to assume broader Plant Management responsibilities as business needs evolve. This leader will direct production priorities; support maintenance, quality, sanitation, warehousing, and shipping activities; manage operating performance; and build an employee-owner culture grounded in safety, food quality, accountability, continuous improvement, teamwork, and customer service. The Operations Manager partners closely with Engineering, Quality/Food Safety, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Finance, Human Resources, and external contractors to deliver both current operating results and successful expansion outcomes. Key Responsibilities Essential functions • Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions. • Lead day-to-day cooked instant rice manufacturing operations to achieve safety, food safety, quality, service, cost, yield, throughput, and productivity objectives. • Develop daily and weekly operating priorities, production schedules, staffing plans, and cross-functional action plans based on customer demand, inventory requirements, material availability, and equipment capacity. • Monitor key operating measures, including safety performance, schedule attainment, downtime, labor efficiency, yield, waste, quality results, sanitation performance, inventory accuracy, and on-time shipment; lead corrective action when performance falls short. • Ensure operations comply with company policies and applicable food safety, quality, environmental, and workplace safety requirements, including plant programs, inspections, audits, emergency response, and required documentation. • Partner with Quality and Food Safety leadership to maintain process controls, product specifications, traceability, sanitation standards, corrective actions, and readiness for customer and certification audits. • Provide visible floor leadership; coach leads and employee oweners, remove barriers, reinforce standard work, and create clear accountability for results. • Build a culture of employee ownership, engagement, trust, continuous improvement, responsibility, and problem-solving through consistent communication and leading by example. • Partner with Human Resources on workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, employee development, engagement, and consistent application of company policies and corrective action practices. • Lead lean manufacturing and process-improvement efforts that reduce waste and operating cost while improving capacity, reliability, flow, quality, and service. • Coordinate with maintenance to prioritize preventive maintenance, repairs, reliability improvements, utilities, facility needs, and equipment performance. • Manage operating expenses and contribute to annual budgeting, forecasting, capital planning, and evaluation of actual performance against plan. • Ensure accurate control and reporting of raw materials, work in process, finished goods, supplies, and other plant inventory; support effective receiving, warehousing, and shipping processes. • Build effective vendor, contractor, and service provider relationships while maintaining clear scope, safety, quality, schedule, cost, and escalation expectations. • Facilitate regular operating reviews, project updates, shift communications, and cross-functional meetings to ensure timely decisions and accurate information flow. Construction & Expansion Project Leadership • Serve as the primary operations representative for the facility expansion, ensuring the design and construction plan supports safe, sanitary, maintainable, and efficient food manufacturing operations. • Work with executive leadership, Engineering, project managers, contractors, equipment suppliers, Quality/Food Safety, IT, Finance, and other stakeholders to align scope, schedule, budget, operational requirements, and business continuity plans. • Participate in design reviews, equipment selection, layout and workflow decisions, utility planning, hygienic design reviews, and operational risk assessments. • Monitor project milestones, dependencies, risks, change requests, contractor performance, and readiness activities; promptly escalate concerns and recommend practical solutions. • Plan operational readiness, including staffing, training, standard operating procedures, food safety and quality documentation, spare parts, maintenance plans, production trials, commissioning, acceptance testing, and start-up support. • Coordinate construction and installation activity around ongoing operations to protect employees, products, customers, and production continuity. • Lead the transition from project completion to stable operations, including ramp-up planning, performance validation, issue resolution, and handoff of equipment and documentation to operating teams. Leadership Competencies & Interpersonal Skills • Hands-on, visible leadership with the judgment and presence to lead both daily operations and a complex expansion environment. • Strong safety, food quality, customer service, and employee-owner mindset. • Ability to translate strategy and project plans into clear priorities, ownership, milestones, and measurable operating results. • Calm, decisive problem-solving under pressure, with appropriate escalation of safety, quality, cost, schedule, or business-continuity risks. • Collaborative, curious, adaptable, and respectful approach with employees, contractors, technical experts, and senior leaders. • Ability to delegate authority, develop leaders, provide candid feedback, and hold individuals accountable for commitments and outcomes. • Strong change leadership and communication skills, especially during facility construction, process redesign, equipment start-up, and workforce growth. Benefits • Employee-owned • Advancement Opportunities • Insurance coverage that includes medical, dental, vision and life insurance and flexible spending accounts • 401(k) with employer match • Paid holidays and competitive vacation/sick pay plans • Tuition assistance program • Employee stock ownership program (ESOP)