Job Description
Manage maintenance, repairs, and upgrades to our building and its fixtures.
Company Overview
Ancient Crunch Inc. is the fastest-growing healthy snack brand in the US. MASA Chips ( our top product is the no.1 selling tortilla chip in popular stores like Erewhon. We use only real ingredients like beef tallow—no seed oils or artificial flavors or ingredients—and manufacture everything ourselves in Hackettstown, NJ.
Job Description
We are seeking a full-time, on-site Plant Manager to join our team. The Plant Manager will be responsible for leading day-to-day operations of the production facility, ensuring output goals are met while maintaining high standards in safety, quality, and efficiency. This role involves coordinating with multiple departments, managing people and processes, and driving continuous improvement in a fast-growing environment.
Your Responsibilities
Specifically, you will do…
- Production Oversight:
- Goal : Ensure we are hitting daily production targets safely and efficiently.
- Action : Manage all aspects of daily plant operations — from scheduling and staffing to equipment readiness — ensuring the facility runs smoothly and output goals are met.
- People Management:
- Goal : Build and lead a reliable, high-performing production team.
- Action : Supervise production floor staff, support team leads, set performance expectations, and provide coaching. Foster a positive, accountable, and safety-minded work culture.
- Troubleshooting and Downtime Management:
- Goal : Minimize production downtime and maintain workflow.
- Action : Act as the first line of response for production-related issues. Work with maintenance, engineering, and quality to resolve problems quickly and effectively.
- Continuous Improvement:
- Goal : Identify and implement improvements in safety, productivity, and quality.
- Action : Collaborate with cross-functional teams to analyze operations, recommend changes, and implement process improvements that drive efficiency and consistency.
- Quality & Safety:
- Goal : Ensure we produce top-quality products while keeping the team safe.
- Action : Enforce adherence to food safety, GMP, and OSHA standards. Support quality assurance programs and address non-conformances when they arise.
- Scheduling and Planning:
- Goal : Maximize output while minimizing waste and downtime.
- Action : Plan and execute daily and weekly production schedules in alignment with inventory, demand forecasts, and staffing levels.
- Cross-Functional Coordination:
- Goal : Keep everyone aligned and informed.
- Action : Work closely with procurement, maintenance, engineering, and leadership teams to ensure production requirements are met and issues are escalated and resolved quickly.
- On-call Availability:
- Goal: Ensure operational issues are handled swiftly, with minimal disruption.
- Action: Be available to respond to urgent production issues after hours when needed. Build systems to reduce the need for escalation, but ultimately own plant performance.
Areas under your control
For the avoidance of doubt the areas that fall under your purview, but are not limited to:
- Daily production operations
- Production scheduling and staffing
- Team performance and coaching
- Quality assurance on the production floor
- Food safety and workplace safety compliance
- Coordination with maintenance for equipment upkeep
- On-floor troubleshooting and problem solving
- Workflow optimization and lean practices
- Production SOP adherence and improvements
- Production data tracking and reporting
- Inventory usage (raw materials and packaging inputs)
- Cleanliness and organization of the production environment
- Escalation of maintenance and facilities issues
- Coordination with facilities, engineering, and leadership
Growth Opportunities
- With demonstrated success leading a single plant, there is opportunity to oversee multiple teams or locations as the company continues to expand.
What We Offer
- Above-market base compensation
- Performance Bonus
- Health insurance
- A health and wellness-focused culture
- All the chips you can eat!
Qualifications
- English required; Bi-lingual or willingness to learn Spanish is a bonus
- Live within 35 minutes of Hackettstown, NJ
- 5-10+ years of experience in food manufacturing or plant operations
- Experience supervising and mentoring production teams in a manufacturing setting
- Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive mindset
- Deep understanding of food safety, GMPs, OSHA, and operational best practices
- Comfortable navigating high-growth environments where processes are evolving
- High attention to detail and strong follow-through
- Comfortable using basic software tools:
- Email
- Excel/Google Sheets
- Production or ERP systems
- Bonus: Interest in health, wellness, fitness, or food
Job Tags
Full time,