Position: Production Team Lead
Location: Initially supporting operations in Leduc and project activities in Strathmore, Alberta, transitioning to a full-time site-based role in Strathmore upon facility start-up.
Reporting to: Operations Leadership
Employment Type: Full-Time
About Phytokana Ingredients Inc.
Phytokana is an independent Alberta-based innovator, processor, developer, and distributor of conventional and organic plant-based protein and co-products for the food and beverage industry. We are building a plant protein innovation hub in Strathmore, Alberta. Our processing facility will sustainably source novel pulse crops to produce high-purity protein concentrates and co-products using low-emissions dry fractionation technology.
Role Overview
The Production Team Lead will be one of the first operational team members supporting the development, construction, commissioning, start-up, and long-term operation of Phytokana's Strathmore processing facility.
This is a transitional role. During the project and construction phases, the Production Team Lead will provide hands-on operational and project support, including operation of pilot equipment, coordination of product samples and materials, review of engineering deliverables, procurement support, construction coordination, and preparation for commissioning and start-up.
As the facility moves into operation, the role will transition into shift-based production leadership. The Production Team Lead will supervise production team members and lead the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of grain receiving, milling, air classification, material handling, packaging, warehousing, and shipping activities.
This position is suited to a hands-on leader who is comfortable working across office, pilot-plant, construction, control-room, warehouse, and outdoor environments. The successful candidate will operate equipment, perform physical work, solve operating problems, support equipment maintenance, and lead others by example.
Key Responsibilities
Project, Construction and Start-Up Support
· Operate and support pilot-scale processing equipment at the Leduc pilot facility.
· Plan and execute pilot production runs in coordination with engineering, product development, quality, and commercial teams.
· Coordinate product samples, raw materials, packaging materials, and sample shipments.
· Maintain records of pilot runs, equipment settings, operating observations, production results, and material movements.
· Review equipment layouts, operating procedures, process descriptions, equipment manuals, and other engineering deliverables from an operator's perspective.
· Provide practical input into equipment access, cleanability, maintainability, material flow, control interfaces, and safe operating practices.
· Support equipment procurement, vendor coordination, factory testing, installation, construction, and commissioning activities.
· Assist with development of standard operating procedures, work instructions, inspection checklists, maintenance routines, training materials, and start-up plans.
· Help establish production, sanitation, housekeeping, food safety, maintenance, warehouse, and material-control practices before start-up.
· Participate in equipment testing, commissioning, troubleshooting, and production ramp-up.
· Help recruit, onboard, and train production team members as the operating organization is established.
Production Leadership
· Lead production activities during an assigned shift and supervise production team members.
· Assign work, communicate shift priorities, monitor performance, and ensure effective shift handovers.
· Coordinate production activities to safely meet the production schedule, product specifications, quality requirements, and shipping commitments.
· Provide hands-on support throughout the facility and lead by example.
· Support employee training, coaching, performance feedback, and development.
· Escalate production, quality, safety, staffing, and maintenance concerns to operations leadership.
· Coordinate activities with maintenance, quality, logistics, engineering, and management personnel.
· Promote a positive, accountable, collaborative, and safety-focused work environment.
Process and Equipment Operations
· Operate, monitor, inspect, start, stop, and adjust automated and manually operated processing equipment.
· Monitor the facility through control-room interfaces, local operator stations, alarms, trends, instrumentation, and field inspections.
· Perform grain receiving and unloading activities, including inspection, sampling, weighing, conveying, bin assignment, and inventory movement.
· Operate milling, air-classification, pneumatic-conveying, dust-collection, material-handling, and associated support systems.
· Operate packaging equipment, including filling, weighing, sealing, labelling, palletizing, wrapping, and finished-product movement.
· Support warehouse operations, including receipt and storage of raw materials and packaging supplies.
· Load and unload trucks and coordinate inbound and outbound material movements.
· Monitor process conditions and product quality, make approved operating adjustments, and respond appropriately to alarms and process deviations.
· Complete production records, checklists, inventory transactions, downtime records, and shift reports.
· Support production trials, process optimization, and continuous-improvement activities.
Equipment Care and Maintenance
· Perform routine operator inspections and basic preventive-maintenance activities.
· Identify equipment wear, abnormal vibration, heat, noise, leakage, plugging, or other signs of developing equipment problems.
· Perform minor adjustments, cleaning, lubrication, component replacement, and basic troubleshooting within the role's training and authorization.
· Coordinate with maintenance personnel and contractors for repairs and planned maintenance.
· Support equipment isolation, lockout, testing, and return-to-service activities.
· Maintain clean and orderly equipment, production areas, warehouses, outdoor work areas, and control rooms.
· Participate in maintenance planning and help improve equipment reliability and availability.
Safety, Food Safety and Quality
· Follow and enforce all health and safety requirements, safe-work procedures, permits, and lockout practices.
· Participate in hazard assessments, inspections, incident investigations, toolbox meetings, and corrective actions.
· Follow and support HACCP, GMP, sanitation, allergen-control, traceability, sampling, and product-release requirements.
· Identify and respond to food-safety, product-quality, contamination, housekeeping, and dust-control concerns.
· Ensure required production, quality, maintenance, and safety records are complete and accurate.
· Support a strong culture of operational discipline, cleanliness, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Qualifications
· Five or more years of relevant experience in food manufacturing, grain processing, seed cleaning, flour milling, feed milling, dry-material processing, packaging, bulk-material handling, or a similar industrial environment.
· Previous experience leading, supervising, or coordinating employees during production operations is preferred.
· Experience operating automated production equipment, control systems, human-machine interfaces, instrumentation, conveyors, mills, packaging equipment, or bulk-material systems.
· Mechanical aptitude and practical equipment-troubleshooting ability.
· Experience with grain receiving, milling, pneumatic conveying, air classification, packaging, warehousing, or shipping would be an asset.
· Experience working within HACCP, GMP, food-safety, quality, or regulated manufacturing systems would be an asset.
· Experience supporting equipment installation, commissioning, facility start-up, or construction projects would be an asset.
· High-school diploma or equivalent required.
· Post-secondary education in process operations, power engineering, millwrighting, industrial mechanics, agriculture, food processing, or a related field would be an asset.
· Valid driver's licence and the ability to travel between Leduc and Strathmore during the project phase.
· Forklift, first aid, confined-space, fall-protection, or other industrial training would be an asset.
Attributes and Competencies
· Hands-on leader who is willing to work alongside the production team.
· Strong commitment to workplace safety, food safety, product quality, and operational discipline.
· Comfortable working in a developing organization where responsibilities and priorities may evolve.
· Able to move between detailed hands-on work and broader team-coordination responsibilities.
· Strong mechanical aptitude and practical problem-solving skills.
· Able to understand process flow, automated equipment, instrumentation, alarms, and operating procedures.
· Organized and capable of maintaining accurate production and inventory records.
· Clear communicator who can provide instructions, coordinate work, and complete effective shift handovers.
· Able to remain calm and make sound decisions during equipment problems or changing operating conditions.
· Self-directed, dependable, adaptable, and willing to take ownership.
· Interested in helping establish operating practices and build a production team from the ground up.
Work Environment
Project and Construction Phase
· Work will be divided between the pilot facility in Leduc, project offices, vendor or contractor locations, and the construction site in Strathmore.
· Regular travel between Leduc and Strathmore will be required.
· Work will include a combination of office activities, pilot-plant operations, engineering and equipment reviews, construction coordination, material handling, and site activities.
· The work schedule may vary based on pilot runs, vendor activities, construction requirements, and commissioning schedules.
Commissioning and Start-Up Phase
· The position will become increasingly based at the Strathmore facility.
· Extended hours, irregular schedules, and weekend work may occasionally be required during installation, commissioning, start-up, and production ramp-up.
Operating Phase
· The role will be based at the Strathmore processing facility.
· The Production Team Lead will work a rotating or fixed shift schedule that may include days, nights, weekends, and statutory holidays.
· The final shift structure will be established before facility start-up.
Physical and Working Requirements
· Ability to work in control-room, production, warehouse, construction-site, and outdoor environments.
· Ability to stand and walk for extended periods.
· Ability to climb stairs and ladders and work at different elevations.
· Ability to bend, crouch, reach, push, pull, and perform routine physical work.
· Ability to safely lift and carry materials typically encountered in production and packaging operations.
· Ability to wear required personal protective equipment.
· Comfortable working around operating machinery, dust, noise, temperature variation, trucks, mobile equipment, and industrial cleaning activities.
· Able to work safely in cold or hot outdoor conditions when supporting grain receiving, shipping, and site operations.
Why Join Phytokana?
· Join the operations team early and help shape how a new Canadian plant-protein facility will operate.
· Gain hands-on exposure to pilot production, construction, commissioning, start-up, and full-scale manufacturing.
· Help build operating procedures, systems, and workplace culture from the ground up.
· Work with modern automated processing, packaging, and material-handling technology.
· Take on a leadership position with meaningful responsibility for people, equipment, safety, quality, and production performance.
What We Offer
Phytokana provides a total rewards program that may include competitive base compensation, annual incentive opportunities, group health benefits, and the opportunity to participate in long-term incentive programs.
Pay: $25.00-$35.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- Paid time off
Application question(s):
- Are you legally entitled to work in Canada
Experience:
- Food processing: 1 year (preferred)
Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)
Willingness to travel:
Work Location: In person
