Pressroom Department Manager

About This Role

Manage all aspects of pressroom operations for a food packaging manufacturer, ensuring safety, quality, service, and cost objectives are met. Lead and develop pressroom personnel and drive continuous improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and manage pressroom personnel, including hiring, onboarding, training, and performance management in partnership with HR and Plant Operations Manager
• Manage department staffing levels, schedules, overtime, time-off approvals, and timecard accuracy to ensure adequate coverage and labor cost control
• Conduct regular performance conversations, administer corrective actions, and ensure adherence to company policies and procedures
• Ensure all employees are trained in and follow GMP, Food Safety, Quality, HACCP, and Safety practices
• Maintain strong floor presence to motivate teams, remove obstacles, and drive culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Identify, develop, and mentor talent within the department, building succession plans and promoting internal growth
• Measure and analyze key production and operating data (OEE, waste, throughput, downtime, labor efficiency) to achieve forecast and budget targets
• Lead productivity improvement meetings with technical leads and supervisors and ensure follow-through on action items
• Reduce waste by communicating expectations, implementing improvement processes, and tracking variances to targets
• Review production run estimates and job tickets for printing and die-cutting to ensure proper equipment assignment, material availability, and realistic run speeds
• Ensure production of safe, compliant, and high-quality products that meet customer specifications and regulatory requirements
• Partner with the Quality Manager on quality improvement initiatives, corrective and preventive actions, and customer complaint response
• Prepare staff and documentation for customer audits, HACCP audits, municipal and regulatory inspections, and plant tours
• Conduct and document regular internal audits to verify compliance and drive corrective actions
• Collaborate with Engineering, Maintenance, and suppliers to plan and execute equipment layout changes, installations, and start-ups
• Optimize press and die-cut equipment performance, reliability, and changeover times
• Ensure all projects are implemented safely, cost-effectively, and on schedule
• Actively participate in plant Leadership Team meetings, fostering strong relationships with peer managers to optimize plant-wide performance and cross-departmental coordination
• Ensure product safety, legality, quality, and regulatory compliance for all products produced and shipped from the pressroom
• Uphold and model all company policies related to safety, quality, product safety and legality, security, environmental, and regulatory compliance

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Technical discipline, or Business Management/Operations (or equivalent)
• 10+ years of manufacturing leadership experience
• 7+ years of flexographic printing experience in packaging or related industry
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Excellent leadership, communication, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, a Technical discipline, or Business Management/Operations (or equivalent combination of education and experience)
• Minimum 10 years of manufacturing leadership experience, preferably in a high-volume, continuous or batch production environment; Minimum 7 years of flexographic printing experience in a packaging or related industry

Nice to Have

• Experience operating or managing Uteco Onyx CI Flexo Press equipment
• Demonstrated Registration And Color-matching Experience
• Experience in large-scale operations (150+ employees)
• Track record of measurable results in safety, productivity, waste reduction, and product quality improvement
• Experience with BRC, SQF, HACCP, and/or Six Sigma methodologies
• Experience with maintenance management systems (e.g., E-Maintenance)
• Experience with ERP systems (e.g., SAP)

Skills

* Required skills

Benefits