Manufacturing Shift Manager (Day Shift)

About Lyka: Lyka was founded in 2018, inspired by a dog named Lyka, who suffered from chronic health issues despite being on premium kibble. Together with a team of experts, they built Lyka with the belief that better food can radically improve a pet’s healthspan and quality of life. Lyka’s meals are vet-formulated and gently cooked from real food ingredients, delivered via a flexible subscription model. Lyka meals have driven remarkable improvements for tens of thousands of customers, supporting gut health, reducing intolerances, improving energy and mobility, and even promoting hair growth.

What began as home-cooked meals has since scaled into one of Australia’s fastest-growing consumer companies, transforming pet health nationwide. Lyka operates from two offices, Sydney (HQ) and Melbourne, with three state-of-the-art food production facilities and a growing national footprint.

About the role: Lyka makes fresh, human-grade pet food that’s changing how Australians feed their dogs. Our Dandenong South manufacturing facility is where that promise gets made real, every single shift. We’re looking for a Manufacturing Shift Manager to own day shift operations across our high-speed production lines, leading a team of frontline leaders and operators who care about quality.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, automated FMCG environment and wants real ownership over safety, quality, delivery, and people outcomes.

What you’ll do:

• You’ll be the standard-bearer for safety on your shift, running GEMBA walks and workplace inspections, closing out actions on time, and building a culture where Lyka’s Golden SHEQ Rules are second nature.
• You’ll manage SOP, QA and QC documentation, audit operator performance, and ensure FSSC, HACCP and GMP standards hold firm across every process.
• You’ll own your Achievement to Plan and Achievement to Schedule numbers, coordinating across teams so product moves out the door on time and to spec.
• You’ll directly lead and develop frontline leaders and operators, coordinating with alternate shifts to ensure smooth handovers.
• You’ll drive LEAN thinking into daily operations, facilitate root cause analysis forums, and push corrective and preventative actions.

You’ve spent at least three years leading teams in an automated food processing or FMCG environment, managing a large workforce across multiple high-speed lines without losing sight of quality or safety. HACCP, GMP and FSSC 22000 are familiar to you, ideally having worked within an FSSC-certified site. You have a track record of implementing LEAN methodologies effectively.

You’re a natural coach who gets the best out of frontline teams, comfortable running root cause analysis forums and troubleshooting basic machine issues. Strong operational IT skills and sharp attention to detail are essential.

A bachelor’s degree in manufacturing, engineering or a related field is a plus, though practical experience is valued more.

Growth and Development: Lyka is growing quickly, offering opportunities to experience different challenges and acquire more responsibilities as our facility and team expand. We provide an annual L&D budget for personal development.

Work for a sustainability-focused company: We care about the health of our dogs and our planet. We’re proud to be Australia’s only carbon-negative and plastic-negative pet wellness company.

We are committed to building inclusive and diverse teams. Lyka is an equal-opportunity employer devoted to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion. We celebrate diversity and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.