Processing Lead (1st Shift)

Description

Ready for more than just a job? Build a career with purpose.

At Lactalis in the USA, we're committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our people to learn, grow, and thrive-whether you're just starting your journey with us or looking to take the next step in your career. From day one, we offer the tools and support to help you succeed.

As the world leader in dairy, Lactalis is a family-owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Each day, we're proud to produce award-winning dairy products that bring people together.

In the US, we proudly offer an unrivaled house of beloved brands, including Galbani Italian cheeses and ricotta, President specialty cheeses and butters, Kraft natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone's cottage cheese, Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond cheddar, and Parmalat milk. Our yogurt portfolio includes siggi's, Stonyfield Organic, Brown Cow, Oui, Yoplait, Go-Gurt, :ratio, Green Mountain Creamery, and Mountain High, along with a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun, Gopi, and Arz.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values-Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We foster a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone's unique background and ideas are valued.

Even if you don't meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We want to hear about your PASSION, your STORY, and how your EXPERTISE can help us shape the future of dairy.

From your PASSION to ours

Midwest Yogurt, part of the Lactalis family of companies, is currently hiring a Processing Lead based in Murfreesboro, TN.

Murfreesboro is a high performing, multi-platform non-union facility with over 300 employees leading the safe, high-quality production of a wide range of dairy products. This site supports the Midwest Yogurt business across over 10 production lines. The Processing Lead will direct shift processing output on the manufacturing floor. This is a hands-on role that will lead the shift, direct the operators, own various pieces of data entry accuracy, and troubleshoot operational breakdowns / bottlenecks.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Lead and direct shift operations to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant dairy manufacturing processes.
• Drive and execute Project Blackhat initiatives, ensuring deliverables are completed on schedule and aligned with plant performance objectives.
• Champion all SAP data entry as the SME, owning the oversight of system accuracy for production, inventory, and BOM accuracy.
• Monitor and verify processing schedules, adjusting staffing and resources to meet daily output targets.
• Supervise, coach, and develop team members while promoting accountability and engagement.
• Ensure strict adherence to food safety, GMP, HACCP, SQF, FSSC and regulatory compliance requirements.
• Investigate production issues, quality concerns, and equipment downtime, implementing corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Coordinate with Maintenance, Quality, Warehouse, and Planning teams to optimize operational performance and product flow.
• Review production metrics, yield performance, labor efficiency, and waste reduction opportunities, communicating results to processing leadership.
• Conduct shift handoff meetings, safety discussions, and daily direction setting with processing teams.
• Ensure all sampling and testing procedures for the shift are completed for the Lactalis GMP initiative.
• Verify completion and accuracy of production documentation, pasteurization charts, CIP verification logs, and all other associated documents.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives focused on productivity, cost reduction, process optimization, and employee safety.
• Serve as the primary leadership contact during the assigned shift, ensuring timely communication, issue escalation, and successful shift handoff to incoming leadership.
• Fill in as necessary if the shift falls below minimum staffing requirements.

Requirements

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

• 5+ years of experience within a manufacturing environment (preferably food processing). Experience leading a manufacturing team is highly preferred.
• Proven ability to lead and motivate a team, fostering a positive and productive work environment.
• Strong understanding of food manufacturing principles, GMPs, and relevant quality control regulations.
• Experience with processing equipment and testing methodologies.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to flex work schedule when required to support a 24/7 manufacturing operation. This includes weekend and holiday work, and/or on-call support as directed by the processing management team.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.

At Lactalis, we offer a comprehensive Total Rewards Program with a variety of affordable benefits and coverage options. We support insurance costs significantly, contribute generously to retirement plans, and offer Paid Time Off from day one. We are committed to your professional growth, providing training and development opportunities, including Education Reimbursement. Join us and grow your career.

Lactalis is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities. Further, any division of the Company that is an Affirmative Action Employer will comply with all related legal obligations.