Operations Manager

Role & responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

1. Production & Process Management

• Plan, schedule, and direct daily processing and milling operations across all shifts to meet volume, quality, and delivery targets.
• Oversee unit operations specific to spices: pre-cleaning, destoning, grading, drying/roasting, cryogenic/hammer milling, sifting, blending, and automated packaging.
• Monitor volatile oil (VO) retention, moisture control, particle size distribution (mesh analysis), and color values (ASTA) during processing.
• Optimize Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) while minimizing yield loss, spillage, and dust generation.

2. Quality, Food Safety & Statutory Compliance

• Enforce rigorous compliance with FSSAI, Spices Board of India, USFDA, BRCGS, and ISO 22000/HACCP standards.
• Supervise allergen control, cross-contamination prevention, foreign material detection (metal detectors, rare-earth magnets, X-ray inspection), and pest management.
• Partner closely with the Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) laboratory to ensure raw materials and finished goods meet chemical, physical, and microbiological specifications (pesticide residues, aflatoxins, salmonella, E. coli).
• Lead audits and compliance inspections conducted by export clients and regulatory bodies.

3. Plant Maintenance & Engineering

• Coordinate preventive, predictive, and breakdown maintenance for critical machinery (pulverizers, pin mills, blenders, form-fill-seal packaging machines, dust extraction and HVAC/dehumidification systems).
• Drive root cause analysis (RCA) for downtime events and implement permanent corrective actions.
• Oversee steam sterilization, ethylene oxide (EtO), or irradiation coordination if post-harvest microbial reduction treatments are handled in-house or via third parties.

4. Supply Chain, Inventory & Cost Control

• Collaborate with raw material procurement teams regarding seasonal crop arrivals (e.g., Guntur/Prakasam chilli harvest windows) and storage parameters.
• Manage in-process (WIP) and finished goods inventory in line with warehouse FIFO/FEFO protocols to avoid degradation of heat, color, and aroma.
• Drive operational cost-reduction initiatives via energy efficiency, packaging yield improvement, and scrap reduction.

5. Workforce Leadership & EH&S

• Direct and mentor shift supervisors, line operators, maintenance technicians, and contract labor.
• Uphold strict Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) standards, emphasizing PPE compliance (respiratory masks, eye protection) given the high-pungency, airborne dust nature of spice handling.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement utilizing Lean, 5S, and Kaizen methodologies.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Education: B.Tech/B.E. in Food Technology, Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering. (Postgraduate diploma/MBA in Operations or Supply Chain Management is a plus).
• Experience: 8 to 15 years of manufacturing operations experience, with at least 4 to 6 years in a core spice processing or seasoning plant.
• Regional Industry Knowledge: Solid understanding of Andhra Pradesh spice varieties, seasonal procurement dynamics, and local processing nuances (particularly red chilli processing and powdering).
• Technical Expertise: Demonstrated expertise in size-reduction systems (micro-pulverizers, hammer mills), spice cleaning lines, and food export compliance.
• Certifications: Lead Auditor / Internal Auditor in HACCP, ISO 22000, or BRCGS is strongly preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Technical Knowledge: Deep understanding of moisture balancing, aflatoxin control, microbiology, and hygiene zoning (cleanroom/low-care vs. high-care zones).
• Leadership: Strong shop-floor leadership with the ability to manage contract labor and technical teams.
• Communication: Fluency in Telugu (essential for local workforce coordination) and proficiency in English (for corporate reporting, audits, and documentation).
• Problem-Solving: Strong analytical capability with experience in structured problem-solving (CAPA, 5-Why).