Beverage Manager - Filling Operations

POM Wonderful is a leading grower and producer of fresh pomegranates and pomegranate-based products in the United States, renowned for their iconic double-bubble bottle and commitment to quality and health. Rooted in California's Central Valley with over 9,000 acres of pomegranate orchards, POM Wonderful controls every step of their product journey from growth and harvest to packaging and marketing. They offer a range of products including 100% pomegranate juices, pomegranate arils, blended juices, and teas. As part of The Wonderful Company, a fast-growing private enterprise with $6 billion in revenue and 10,000 employees worldwide, POM Wonderful is dedicated to health-focused innovation and corporate social responsibility, investing significantly in sustainability, community development, and education initiatives. Their strong family of brands also includes leading products like Wonderful Pistachios, Wonderful Halos mandarins, FIJI Water, and Justin Wine. The company prides itself on fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace with abundant opportunities for career advancement and employee growth.

The Beverage Operations Manager role at POM Wonderful is a vital leadership position responsible for managing day-to-day manufacturing operations for cold-fill juice and tea production lines. This position plays a critical role in overseeing a new filling line's startup and ramp-up, presenting an exciting opportunity for an operations leader with a passion for continuous improvement and team development. Reporting on the first shift with flexibility when necessary, the successful candidate will oversee safety, quality, service, cost management, and team engagement while applying Lean manufacturing and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) principles to ensure highly reliable and scalable production operations. Salary for this position ranges between $130,000 and $160,000, with a 10% bonus potential, based on skills and experience.

Key responsibilities include leading production activities to meet targets for safety, quality, cost, delivery, and efficiency while owning production performance metrics such as overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), throughput, downtime, waste, and labor efficiency. The manager will collaborate closely with quality, maintenance, engineering, and supply chain teams to guarantee consistent execution and swift resolution of issues. This role emphasizes building and coaching strong teams of supervisors, technicians, and operators while promoting a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement. Embracing Lean manufacturing and TPM tools is critical, including standard work, visual management, problem-solving, kaizen, 5S, and autonomous and planned maintenance practices.

A significant focus will be supporting the design, installation, commissioning, and startup of a new filling line. Developing operating standards, staffing models, training plans, and ramp-up strategies are essential to managing risks and ensuring a smooth transition to sustainable operations. The position demands continuous improvement oversight, identifying initiatives to reduce costs, increase capacity, and improve quality by leveraging data-driven decision making and structured problem-solving methods.

Ideal candidates will have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, operations management, or related fields with at least five years of leadership experience in manufacturing, preferably within beverage, food, or consumer packaged goods industries. Prior experience with Lean manufacturing and TPM practices is required, alongside proven leadership skills to foster engaged, accountable teams. Preferred qualifications include direct experience with cold-fill beverage operations, new line installation and startup, reducing downtime, improving equipment reliability, and knowledge of food safety and quality systems such as HACCP and GMPs.

POM Wonderful emphasizes employee wellness and career development, offering comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, 401(k) plans with matching, virtual health resources, fitness and wellness programs, career advancement pathways, learning and development resources, mentorship, and a strong commitment to social responsibility. This role offers exciting opportunities for those seeking to grow as operations leaders within a dynamic, health-conscious company that values innovation, teamwork, and community impact.