Production Shift Lead

Overview

At PepsiCo, you’ll discover a place where our mission is to create smiles around the world. With a portfolio of more than 500 beloved brands including, Pepsi, Doritos and Lipton Ice Tea, our work touches millions of people every day. At the heart of the company is a team of thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers who collaborate to innovate and turn ideas into action. Driven by innovation and a focus on creating joyful moments through food and drinks, our decisions are guided by consumer centricity, creating opportunities for our associates to do meaningful work and make a lasting impact in the communities we serve. Whatever your role, you’ll be part of a global community that values your ideas and empowers you to make an impact, on your career and on the world around you.

The role is responsible for end-to-end shift leadership, driving operational performance across Safety, Quality, Service, Cost, and People, while coordinating cross-functional teams to achieve business objectives. The Production Shift Lead provides direct leadership to frontline employees through performance management, capability development, employee engagement, and talent growth. This position is accountable for manufacturing performance, food safety, EHS compliance, operational decision-making, and continuous improvement initiatives, ensuring effective execution of plant priorities in the absence of site functional leaders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate all manufacturing activities during the assigned shift to ensure the safe, efficient and compliant execution of production plans while delivering targets across Safety, Quality, Service, Cost and People.

• Assume direct leadership responsibility for all shift-based Frontline Employees (FLEs), including workforce deployment, performance management, coaching, capability development, engagement and succession planning.

• Serve as the senior operational leader during the shift, making timely operational decisions and ensuring effective coordination between Production, Quality, Maintenance, Warehouse, Planning and EHS functions.

• Drive shift performance through daily management systems, KPI reviews, QCDM processes and structured problem-solving activities to achieve operational excellence targets.

• Ensure full compliance with PepsiCo Food Safety, Quality, GMP, FSSC, AIB, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety standards, taking immediate action to mitigate operational risks.

• Lead continuous improvement, productivity, waste reduction and cost optimization initiatives, ensuring effective implementation of Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence programs.

• Monitor production plan attainment, equipment performance and resource utilization, ensuring optimal manufacturing efficiency and timely delivery of customer demand.

• Lead frontline communication processes including shift handovers, team meetings, performance reviews and employee feedback discussions to drive alignment and engagement.

• Develop organizational capability by identifying skill gaps, supporting training execution and strengthening technical and leadership competencies across frontline teams.

• Maintain end-to-end accountability for plant operations during evenings, nights, weekends and periods when site functional leaders are not present, ensuring business continuity and escalation management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Proven experience leading manufacturing operations and frontline teams within a fast-paced production environment.

• Strong people leadership capabilities with demonstrated experience in performance management, coaching, employee engagement and talent development.

• Ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams, driving alignment and execution across Production, Quality, Maintenance, Warehouse, Planning and EHS functions.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret operational data, identify root causes and implement sustainable corrective actions.

• Solid knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence and Daily Management Systems.

• Strong understanding of Food Safety, Quality, GMP, FSSC, AIB, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety requirements within a manufacturing environment.

• Demonstrated ability to make sound operational decisions under pressure, manage competing priorities and effectively respond to escalations.

• Excellent communication, stakeholder management and presentation skills with the ability to influence at multiple organizational levels.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic manufacturing environment while maintaining a strong focus on business results and people development.

• Experience leading shift-based operations with accountability for operational performance, workforce management and business continuity.

• Fluent in English, both written and verbal.