Airline Catering - Production Manager

About Us

Abby’s Catering has delivered exceptional culinary and hospitality experiences since 1980. Our clients include private, corporate, and commercial aviation passengers traveling through Houston, as well as corporate offices and private events throughout the region. Abby’s is trusted by high-profile travelers including industry leaders, government officials, and international guests who expect the highest standards of quality, safety, and service.

Role Overview

The Production Manager is responsible for leading, managing, and holding accountable for the daily food production operations. This is a role for a dynamic leader with a true entrepreneurial spirit. We are looking for a self-sufficient executor, someone who doesn't wait to be told what to do, but instead assesses the landscape, lays out a strategy, and gets to work. This high-impact role oversees cold food preparation, meal assembly, and tray set-up while ensuring absolute compliance with rigorous food safety standards and customer specifications. The Production Manager is a key driver of operational efficiency, cost control, and team development, ensuring that our "Gold Standard" quality is delivered on time, every time.

The ideal candidate is a cultural champion who naturally lives out our Company Core values "CATCH": Customer driven, Accountability, Team worker, Competitiveness, Honesty.

Key Responsibilities & KPIs

Food Safety & Quality Assurance

• Compliance & CCPs: Ensure strict adherence to all food safety regulations and Critical Control Points (CCPs).
• Quality Audits: Maintain a score of greater than 90% on MEDINA quality audits and greater than 95% on all internal food safety and quality audits.
• Chef Tables: Achieve and maintain a rating of greater than 95% on Chef Tables, reflecting our Gold Standard of execution.
• Kitchen Ready Times: Guarantee that all production, and consequently flights, meet scheduled kitchen ready times without exception to ensure on-time flight departures.

Financial & Operational Control

• Cost Management: Manage food and labor costs strictly to the established budget.
• Overtime Control: Maintain overtime at less than 5% through proactive scheduling and productivity management.
• Waste Control: Serve as an active player in the "Wastegate" initiative, maintaining a maximum waste threshold of 1%.
• Inventory & WIP: Oversee food inventories, manage Work-In-Progress (WIP) control, and strictly eliminate overproduction.
• Technology: Champion and actively utilize the new Aero Chef ERP system for production tracking and inventory management.
• Production Optimization: Lead production streamlining, throughput analysis, and continuous improvement initiatives to maximize kitchen output and reduce bottlenecks.

Leadership, Management & Accountability

• EOS Framework & Communication: Lead weekly Level 10 (L-10) meetings for the production team to solve issues and track "Rocks" and KPIs. Actively participate as a key stakeholder in the weekly Operations L-10 meeting.
• Team Development & Performance: Strategically staff the department to ensure all team members align with both company culture and their specific job functions (Right Person, Right Seat).
• Coaching & Development: Select, coach, and actively develop supervisors and shift leads.
• Employee Engagement: Conduct regular 1:1 meetings, complete objective performance evaluations, and maintain thorough employee documentation.
• Personnel Decisions: Empowered to hire, train, and execute employee separations when necessary to maintain standards.

Required

 Proven experience in high-volume food production management (airline catering or large-scale food service highly preferred).

• Demonstrated experience with ERP systems (experience with AeroChef is a major plus).
• Strong understanding of food safety management systems, HACCP, and CCPs.
• Excellent analytical skills regarding labor metrics, food yield, and throughput.
• Proven track record of building and developing high-performing supervisory teams.
• HACCP Certification required. 
• Food Protection Manager Certification required (ServSafe or equivalent). 
• Strong knowledge of food safety, sanitation, and regulatory compliance standards. 
• Experience managing high-volume food production environments.
• Ability to coordinate production with warehouse inventory and supply flow. 
• Strong leadership, organizational, and analytical skills. 
• Excellent attention to detail and time management. 
• Bilingual (English/Spanish is a must)

Preferred

• Airline catering industry experience.
• Experience with aviation catering production or large-scale food manufacturing. 

Work Environment

• Fast-paced aviation catering production facility. 
• Regular work in refrigerated environments (approximately 41°F). 
• Ability to stand, walk, and move throughout production areas for extended periods. 
• Schedule may include early mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays.