About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

Where will you work?

Our Rochester, MN location is part of our Foundational Technologies Division and specializes in fermented ingredients for products related to the bio-science industry. Our team is proud of the work they do and have a focus on clean label or natural products ensuring freshness.  

 

Note: This is a night shift role from 4 PM - 4 AM on a 2-2-3 weekly rotation.

What will you do?

Lead and coordinate daily production operations to safely deliver high-quality products while meeting production, regulatory, and customer requirements. Supervise production teams, optimize manufacturing performance, maintain equipment and process efficiency, and ensure compliance with quality, food safety, and environmental standards. Partner with the Production Manager to drive continuous improvement initiatives and achieve key operational performance targets.

 

Main Activities:

• Lead, coach, and develop production employees through hiring, training, performance management, and employee relations activities.
• Provide operational leadership across assigned process areas (fermentation, dry packaging, wet blending, spray drying, etc.), ensuring compliance with SQF, HACCP, GMP, safety, sanitation, and preventive maintenance requirements.
• Utilize SAP and other systems to support material flow transactions and train team members on software, PLC interfaces, instrumentation, JAMs, and work instructions.
• Ensure employees have the knowledge, training, and tools needed to perform safely and effectively while supporting the development of training resources.
• Support new equipment implementation, SOP development, and product qualification activities.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date process documentation within QSet and ensure adherence to operating procedures and work instructions.
• Validate critical control point (CCP) instrumentation in the fermentation and cultures production process to ensure adherence to established quality assurance, GMP and regulatory procedures.
• Coordinate production schedules and daily staffing activities to meet ATP requirements and production objectives.
• Support troubleshooting efforts, initiate maintenance work orders, and coordinate timely resolution of equipment and instrumentation issues.
• Partner with Process Development and HACCP teams to optimize process performance and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure facility, equipment, and sanitation standards are maintained in compliance with internal programs and regulatory requirements.
• Lead and support 5S initiatives to improve organization, efficiency, and workplace standards.
• Maintain production records and KPI reporting to monitor operational performance and efficiency.
• Manage employee scheduling, Kronos timekeeping, vacation approvals, and staffing coverage.

What will you need to be successful?

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, food technology or a similar field. Non-degreed candidates will be considered if they meet the experience requirements.

Experience

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in food/beverage manufacturing or related industry with proven leadership skills.
• Familiarity with fermentation, spray drying and/or powders processing highly desirable.

Skills

• Ability to understand functioning process equipment.
• Good communication, leadership planning and organizational skills are required.
• Influential track record in training.
• Must have good computer/IT skills; Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint experience required. SAP is a nice to have.
• Comfortable working in a manufacturing setting.

Compensation Data

The pay range for this position is $74,200 - $95,400 in Annual Salary. Kerry typically does not hire an individual at the top or near the top of the range, as we are a pay-for-performance company, and this range is set to continue to reward performance annually while in role.  Compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. The specific compensation offered to a candidate within the above range may be influenced by a variety of factors including skills, qualifications, experience, and internal equity. In addition, this position is also eligible to earn a performance-based incentive compensation. Kerry offers a competitive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, paid time off, a 401(k) plan with employee and company contribution opportunities, Employee Share Plan, Life, disability, and accident insurance, and tuition reimbursement. This job posting is anticipated to expire on 11/09/2026.

 

We may use artificial intelligence tools to support the review and assessment of applications and assist with scheduling interviews. We do not use AI to make decisions during the interview process. All candidate assessments and hiring decisions are made by our recruitment and leadership teams.