Production Manager
25 Jul 2025
Carol Stream, IL, USA
About the job
We’re Tovala, a food-tech company reinventing home cooking to save consumers time. Through an innovative combination of hardware, software, and fresh food delivery, we make it incredibly simple for anyone to prepare and enjoy delicious, home-cooked meals without sacrificing time to do whatever matters to them. Through our superior technology, product experience and food quality, we have separated Tovala from the busy pack of other meal delivery businesses. In the process, we’ve amassed a loyal, rapidly growing following and our retention, product engagement and customer NPS are all best-in-class. We’ve raised over $100mm from great investors like Left Lane Capital, Origin Ventures, Y Combinator and Comcast Ventures and have invested strongly in building a unique culture that fosters growth, personal development and camaraderie.
Position Summary:
In this role, you will oversee food production and operations in our production facility. You would be responsible for ensuring food quality and safety as well as efficient utilization of our staff, equipment, and other resources to streamline our food production processes.
Location: Carol Stream, IL
How you will spend your time at Tovala:
- Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.
- Lead, plan, organize and control the operations of the shift.
- Monitor performance of production equipment and machinery in collaboration with food production and engineering teams; communicate equipment malfunction to engineering team.
- Develop and maintain performance standards for all aspects of food production.
- Train, develop and coach production leads and employees.
- Ensure quality, safety and good manufacturing processes (GMPs) are followed.
- Comply with FDA, USDA, SQF, OSHA and HACCP standards.
- Lead interactions with local, state, federal and third-party inspectors.
- Monitor, manage and improve employee productivity and provide constructive feedback, coaching, and progressive discipline as needed.
- Review and maintain time & attendance records.
- Prepare and submit performance reports.
- Ensure adherence to legal and company policies and procedures and undertake disciplinary actions when appropriate.
- Identify and resolve employee, customer, and/or supplier concerns.
- Directly supervises 1-4 employees.
- Supervises 20+ employees through subordinate supervisors.
- Plans, assigns, and approves work.
- Coordinates schedules for employees
- Hires and discharges employees.
- Report any food safety and quality problems to personnel with authority to initiate action.
- Follow and uphold procedures outlined in the Food Safety Plan and the Food Quality Plan and any other programs that support the SQF system and other 3rd party programs/audits.
- Responsible for taking necessary action on all food safety and quality problems reported or observed.
- Ensure a trained designee is appointed to cover for absences or vacancies.
- Note: The first two months of this role, you will be working various shifts to learn all aspects of our food production cycle.
About you:
- A self-starter with effective leadership, interpersonal, and verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to excel in a fast-paced work environment with a growing start-up company.
- Ability to work off-shifts (evening, weekend) as needed.
- Comfortable with Microsoft Word and Excel; willing to learn new online tools and communication channels.
Requirements:
- 3-5 years of experience in food production.
- A minimum of 2 years of supervisory experience.
- Experienced with and capable of demonstrating strong understanding of OSHA, HACCP and related food safety protocol.
- Fluent in English and strong Spanish language skills is desired
Physical Demands:
- Sitting Standing and/or walking.
- Bending and/or kneeling.
- Occasionally lifting up to 50 lbs.
- Vision for machine or computer operations.
- Tasting.
- Majority of time will be spent in a refrigerated environment, with occasional time spent in freezer, and time in non-temperature controlled warehouse.
Work Environment:
- Production: Space can be crowded with manufacturing equipment. Must remain aware of Forklift traffic. Noisy; some areas can be dusty. May encounter extremes in temperatures.
- Administrative: Individual workspace, desk, and computer. May not be temperature controlled, could have loud background noises. May include entering a production facility and walking on uneven, slippery surfaces and encountering forklift traffic.
Compensation / Benefits
- Tovala uses market data, geography, and placement of internal employees to determine salary.
- Additionally, we offer all employees real ownership in the company in the form of a competitive equity package.
- Flexible paid time off (with a minimum of 15 days off you HAVE to take).
- Comprehensive healthcare coverage we really invest in401k with match.
- Free Tovala Smart Oven and discounted Tovala meals.
- Paid holidays and our winter holiday office shutdown where the offices and facilities close for a week around Christmas and New Years.
- Various other perks - recognition programs, continued learning stipend, casual dress code, in-office coffee, snacks and drinks, and Tovala swag.
The values we hold dear
Put the team first
We put what is best for the broader team ahead of what is best for ourselves or our immediate department.
Get s#!t done (well)
We celebrate people at all levels for delivering high impact work that expands the bounds of what we’re able to do.
Connect the dots
We engage with curiosity to learn how our work impacts others so that we can problem-solve holistically and work collaboratively.
Be Direct
We share our perspective openly and directly, even when it feels difficult to do so.
Embrace the obstacles
We rise to meet challenges with a sense of urgency, resolve, and optimism.
Champion the customer
We consider and prioritize our customer in all of our decisions
At Tovala we‘re committed to building a workplace that represents a variety of backgrounds, skills, and perspectives and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Everyone is welcome here!
