About MiLa

MìLà is a Chinese food company. Our teams work tirelessly to enhance delicious products that we all enjoy at home! While MìLà is a Chinese food brand, it’s really a celebration of the power of food to bring us together, share our stories, and discover new flavors and cultures.

Our mission is to build something that feels authentically and uniquely true to our roots as a Chinese-American-founded brand. Something we can own, but that’s also meant to be shared. One of the things we love about Chinese food is that it’s traditionally served family-style—shared with everyone gathered at the table. MìLà is a Chinese food brand, but it’s really a celebration of the power of food to bring us together, share our stories, and discover new flavors and cultures. 

Core Values

Explore our core values here: https://eatmila.com/pages/careers

Role Summary

MiLa is seeking a hands-on, tech-savvy Production Manager to lead daily production execution, schedule delivery, frontline leadership, and operational discipline in a fast-growing food manufacturing environment.

This role owns safe, efficient, on-time production while partnering with FSQA, Materials, Maintenance, Sanitation, Planning, R&D, and Supply Chain. MiLa needs a flexible, data-driven leader who can use ERP/MRP systems, production data, and floor-level discipline to support fast scale-ups, new product launches, production trials, and process changes.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead daily production across lines, shifts, and production areas.
• Execute the production schedule safely, efficiently, and to quality standards.
• Ensure lines are labor-ready, material-ready, equipment-ready, sanitation-ready, and quality-ready.
• Use ERP/MRP systems to support production scheduling, material readiness, labor planning, production reporting, and issue escalation.
• Own production KPIs: safety, quality, output, schedule attainment, labor efficiency, yield, downtime, waste, rework, and first-pass quality.
• Support rapid scale-ups, new product introductions, production trials, process testing, and equipment start-ups.
• Use production data to identify losses, prioritize actions, and improve performance.
• Partner with Materials, FSQA, Maintenance, Sanitation, Planning, and R&D to remove barriers to execution.
• Ensure accurate production reporting for output, downtime, labor, material usage, scrap, rework, and losses.
• Build standard work for start-ups, changeovers, staffing, production checks, downtime tracking, trials, and end-of-shift closeout.
• Coach and develop supervisors, leads, and frontline employees.
• Maintain strong GMP, safety, 5S, housekeeping, and food safety discipline.
• Build a culture of safety, quality, urgency, accountability, flexibility, technology adoption, and teamwork.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of production, manufacturing, or operations leadership experience.
• 3+ years leading supervisors, leads, or frontline production teams.
• Experience in food, CPG, manufacturing, or high-volume production.
• Strong hands-on experience using ERP/MRP systems to support production scheduling, material availability, production reporting, inventory consumption, and operational decision-making.
• Tech-savvy leader with ability to use production data, dashboards, spreadsheets, ERP/MRP systems, and digital tools to manage performance.
• Experience in fast-changing environments with scale-ups, product trials, shifting priorities, or new product launches.
• Strong knowledge of production scheduling, labor planning, line performance, downtime, yield, waste, and throughput.
• Ability to use data to solve problems and improve performance.
• Strong knowledge of GMPs, food safety, sanitation, safety, and quality standards.
• Strong communication, coaching, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Ability to work on the production floor in refrigerated/frozen environments.
• Flexible availability to support multiple shifts, weekends, trials, start-ups, and urgent production needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Operations, Business, Engineering, Food Science, Supply Chain, or related field.
• Experience in frozen food, meat/poultry, dumplings, prepared meals, USDA/FDA-regulated food manufacturing, or CPG.
• Experience with forming, cooking, freezing, packaging, or high-speed food production lines.
• Experience with ERP/MRP platforms, production dashboards, labor tracking, downtime tracking, digital production boards, or manufacturing execution systems.
• Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, Kaizen, 5S, or continuous improvement experience.
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

Success Measures

• Schedule delivered safely, consistently, and efficiently.
• Lines start on time with labor, materials, equipment, sanitation, and QA readiness confirmed.
• ERP/MRP usage improves production readiness, material coordination, and reporting accuracy.
• Output, labor efficiency, schedule attainment, and first-pass quality improve.
• Downtime, waste, rework, scrap, and production losses are reduced.
• Scale-ups, trials, and new products are executed with fewer disruptions.
• Production decisions are data-driven.
• Supervisors and leads become stronger frontline leaders.
• Production floor operates with discipline, urgency, ownership, technology adoption, and teamwork.

Work Environment

• 100% on-site at our facility in Sumner, WA 
• Requires regular production floor presence. 
• Must be comfortable working around raw meat/poultry, dough, sauces, frozen products, sanitation chemicals, equipment, and cold environments. 
• Must be available to support audits, inspections, urgent quality issues, multiple shifts, and occasional weekend or off-shift needs.

Why Should You Join Us?

• Comprehensive health coverage including medical, dental, and vision insurance. MiLa covers 75% of employee premiums & 25% of dependent premiums
• Optional Extra Protection for Life & AD&D (with guarantee issue amounts at time of hire), Hospital, and Short Term Disability
• Invest in your Future - 401(k) plan to help with your long-term financial security

See other openings at MiLa here: https://eatmila.com/pages/careers