Sanitation Manager

Sanitation ManagerDate: Apr 24, 2026Location: Irving, TX, US, 00000Company: GRUMAGeneral Summary: Responsible for developing, directing, and standardizing sanitation programs across manufacturing plants to ensure compliance with FDA, AIB, GFSI, customer, and internal food safety standards while aligning with the OEM of the equipment design. Provides technical leadership in sanitation excellence, microbiological and chemical risk reduction, and product contamination prevention. Partners closely with Quality Assurance, Plant Leadership, and Safety to validate sanitation programs, conduct audits, train personnel, and drive continuous improvement across the Mission Foods USA facilities.Essential Functions:Sanitation Program Development & Standardization: Ensures plants cleaning practices comply with Mission Foods established standards. Oversees and supervises the development and implementation of equipment cleaning procedures in accordance with OEM recommendations and Company requirements. Assists in the development, implementation, and maintenance of sanitation programs, including SSOPs, MSS, and sanitation preventive controls related to routine cleaning (us, allergen, gluten-free, and daily sanitation activities. Supports standardization of sanitation practices and best practices across all Mission Foods manufacturing facilities.Food Safety, Regulatory & Audit Compliance: Ensures Sanitation Practices comply with FDA, AIB, SQF, customer, and internal food safety requirements. Conducts plant audits to identify sanitation, GMP, environmental, and regulatory risks and provides corrective and preventive recommendations. Supports plants in preparation for third party, regulatory, and customer inspections through documentation and facility audits. Performs pre operational inspections prior to release of equipment to Quality Assurance. Partners with Procurement to approve, scope, and evaluate sanitation service vendors to ensure they meet food safety, regulatory, and operational requirements.Training & Leadership Development: Conducts hands on, virtual, and group training on sanitation procedures, equipment, chemicals, and safety requirements. Responsible for ensuring annual training/retraining on sanitation procedures for all Mission Sanitation personnel. Identifies training needs and supports the development of supervisors, managers, and plant sanitation teams.Chemical, Equipment & Validation Oversight: Coordinate the Sanitation teams and work with Quality Assurance to validate and verify sanitation effectiveness using microbiological, allergen, and chemical testing methods. Evaluates and recommends sanitation chemicals, ensuring compliance with food safety, employee safety, OSHA, environmental, and regulatory requirements. Ensures all chemicals are approved for use, properly labeled, and supported by current SDS documentation. Evaluates cleaning tools, sanitation equipment, and new equipment installations from a sanitation and hygienic design perspective. Suggest ideas for continuous improvement and changes in work instructions, job descriptions and training needs.Pest Control and Environmental Programs: Oversees and supports pest control programs to ensure adherence to company standards and regulatory requirements. Participates in selection, evaluation, and performance management of pest control providers and escalates supplier issues as needed.Continuous Improvement and Performance Monitoring: Monitors sanitation KPIs, trends, and performance metrics to proactively identify and mitigate risks. Participates in LEAN, Kaizen, and continuous improvement initiatives to improve efficiency while maintaining food safety. Suggests and supports improvements to work instructions, training materials, job descriptions, and sanitation processes.Operations Support & Communication: Acts as interim Sanitation Manager when a facility lacks sanitation leadership. Assists with investigation and resolution of sanitation deviations, environmental issues, and consumer complaints. Communicates sanitation risks, deviations, and priorities clearly to plant leadership, Quality, Maintenance, Safety, and corporate stakeholders. Supports sanitation budget development and monitors compliance.Safety & Work Environment: Works closely with Safety teams to ensure safe working conditions and OSHA compliance. Works safely at all times, adhering to company safety policies and procedures. Must be flexible to work various shifts, weekends, holidays, overnight sanitation, and extensive travel as required.Qualifications and Education Requirements:Education: Chemical Engineer, BA in Food Science, Quality, Business, or related field preferred.Experience: 5 years of applicable Sanitation Management experience in a food manufacturing environment.Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:AIB Food Safety Training Knowledge of chemicals used to clean and sanitize manufacturing plant. Knowledge of HAZMAT Pest control knowledge preferred. Management and leadership experience Experience with regulatory inspectors (AIB, OSHA, Military, Health Dept., EPA. City and County Inspectors) Bilingual English/Spanish PreferredGruma Corporation and its affiliates, including but not limited to Azteca Milling, L.P., are committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.