Production Shift Lead

PepsiCo

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.

This role will support the safe, efficient, and compliant execution of manufacturing operations during the assigned shift by overseeing production activities and driving performance across Safety, Quality, Service, Cost, and People priorities. The position will lead shift-based frontline teams, coordinate cross-functional operations, support continuous improvement initiatives, and ensure the effective delivery of production plans while maintaining high standards of food safety, EHS compliance, employee engagement, and operational excellence.

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 in a fast-paced production environment.
• Strong people leadership skills, including performance management, coaching, employee engagement, and talent development.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive execution across Production, Quality, Maintenance, Planning, Warehouse, and EHS functions.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with experience managing operational priorities and responding effectively to escalations.
• 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.
• Fluent in English, both written and verbal.