Job Description
Position Title: Night Shift Production Lead
Industry: Animal Feed Manufacturing
Company: Lyssy & Eckel, Inc.
Reports To: Plant Manager
Location: Poth, TX Mill
Employment Type: Full-Time, Hourly
Shift: Night Shift
Who We Are
At Lyssy & Eckel, our mission is to support the success of farmers, ranchers, hunters, and livestock exhibitors by providing dependable, high-quality, all-natural feeds and agricultural products built on integrity, experience, and proven nutrition.
Established in 1945, Lyssy & Eckel is a third-generation, family-owned company with deep roots in the agriculture industry. We combine decades of experience, professional nutritional oversight, and a wide range of quality ingredients to create feed solutions that support animal health, performance, and gut integrity.
Every employee plays an important role in our commitment to craftsmanship, safety, and service. Whether working in manufacturing, formulation, or directly with customers, our team takes pride in delivering the right feed, every time, for every customer and their animals.
What We Offer
- Competitive hourly pay with opportunities to increase earnings through overtime.
- Ample weekly overtime opportunities
- Health, dental, vision, and other company-sponsored benefits for qualifying employees.
- 401(k) with company matching opportunities for qualifying employees.
- Paid time off for qualifying employees.
- Stable, year-round employment with a well-established, family-owned company that has served the agriculture industry for generations.
- Hands-on training and development to build valuable experience in feed manufacturing, production, equipment operation, and overall mill operations.
- Opportunities to grow your skills and take on additional responsibility as you gain experience.
- A team-oriented work environment where safety, quality, reliability, and getting the job done right matter.
- Work that makes a real impact by supporting farmers, ranchers, livestock producers, and agricultural communities.
Position Summary
Lyssy & Eckel is seeking a dependable, safety-minded Night Shift Production Lead to help manage overnight production at the Poth feed mill. The primary purpose of this position is to run scheduled production during the night shift, increasing overall mill capacity and freeing up the day shift for custom-mix production and other priority orders.
This is a hands-on working lead position. The Night Shift Production Lead will operate production equipment while helping direct the night-shift crew, maintain safe and productive work practices, respond to minor operating and maintenance problems, and make sound production decisions when conditions change during the night.
The successful candidate must be comfortable leading without formal supervisory authority, holding coworkers accountable to established expectations, communicating problems clearly, and using independent judgment when management is not immediately available.
1. Night-Shift Production
- Monitor production equipment and processes to ensure batches are completed safely, correctly, and efficiently.
- Run multiple scheduled batches of feed production throughout the night.
- Follow production schedules, formulas, sequencing requirements, and operating procedures.
- Help maximize overnight production so the day shift has additional capacity for custom-mix orders and other production priorities.
- Verify production activities are completed according to company quality and feed-safety expectations.
- Maintain awareness of ingredient availability, finished-product storage capacity, equipment status, and upcoming production needs.
2. Crew Leadership & Accountability
- Serve as the primary working lead for employees assigned to the night shift.
- Assign and coordinate work so employees understand their responsibilities throughout the shift.
- Monitor employees to ensure they are working safely, remaining productive, and following established operating procedures.
- Set the example for attendance, work ethic, safety, housekeeping, and equipment care.
- Provide direction and correction when employees are not meeting expectations.
- Lead through communication, consistency, credibility, and example rather than relying solely on formal authority.
- Escalate significant employee performance, conduct, or safety concerns to management for follow-up.
3. Production Decision-Making & Problem Solving
- Use critical thinking and sound judgment when normal production plans cannot continue.
- Determine appropriate alternative production to run when finished-product storage bins become full, required raw materials are unavailable, equipment becomes unavailable, or scheduled production cannot continue for another operational reason.
- Consider available ingredients, storage capacity, equipment availability, production priorities, and operating limitations before changing production.
- Avoid unnecessary downtime by identifying productive work that can safely continue when the original schedule is interrupted.
- Contact management when a production decision exceeds the lead's authority or presents a significant quality, safety, or operational risk.
4. Minor Troubleshooting & Downtime Response
- Respond promptly when production equipment shuts down or begins operating abnormally.
- Troubleshoot minor mechanical or operational problems within the employee's training and authorization.
- Attempt appropriate minor repairs when they can be performed safely.
- Reset breakers, controls, or other minor shutdown conditions when trained and authorized to do so.
- Clear minor jams or operating interruptions using established procedures.
- Recognize when a problem requires maintenance personnel or management involvement rather than continued troubleshooting.
- Never bypass guards, safety devices, electrical protections, lockout/tagout requirements, or other safety controls in order to maintain production.
5. Downtime & Maintenance Reporting
- Document equipment downtime and production interruptions occurring during the night shift.
- Record maintenance failures, recurring equipment problems, unusual noises, alarms, electrical trips, jams, or other conditions requiring follow-up.
- Include sufficient detail for maintenance and leadership to understand what occurred and what actions were taken.
- Identify equipment that should be inspected or repaired during the following day shift.
- Complete all required production, downtime, maintenance, safety, and shift reports accurately.
- Ensure leadership has a clear record of significant overnight events for review the following morning.
6. Shift Communication & Handoff
- Provide an accurate handoff to day-shift leadership regarding production completed, production still outstanding, raw-material shortages, full or unavailable storage bins, equipment downtime, temporary repairs or troubleshooting performed, maintenance needs, employee or safety concerns, and other unusual events from the shift.
- Clearly communicate any condition that could affect the next shift's production schedule.
- Ensure written reports are completed before leaving the facility.
7. Safety, Housekeeping & Feed Quality
- Maintain safe work practices throughout the night shift and reinforce those expectations with the crew.
- Follow all company requirements involving lockout/tagout, machine guarding, confined spaces, fall protection, ladders, PPE, mobile equipment, electrical safety, and other applicable hazards.
- Immediately stop work when conditions present an unacceptable safety risk.
- Maintain clean and orderly production and work areas throughout the shift.
- Ensure spills, obstructions, tools, materials, and other hazards are addressed promptly.
- Follow established feed-safety, quality, sequencing, and contamination-prevention requirements.
- Immediately report significant safety, quality, or equipment concerns to management.
Experience
- Previous experience in feed manufacturing, grain handling, manufacturing, production, or a related industrial environment strongly preferred.
- Previous experience operating feed-mill or similar production equipment preferred.
- Prior lead, trainer, senior-operator, or crew-lead experience preferred but not required.
- Mechanical aptitude and experience troubleshooting production equipment strongly preferred.
- Bilingual in Spanish and English preferred
Technical & Operational Skills
- Ability to understand and follow production schedules and batch requirements.
- Ability to recognize abnormal equipment operation and troubleshoot basic problems.
- Comfortable performing minor equipment troubleshooting within training and authorization.
- Ability to safely reset minor electrical or equipment shutdown conditions when appropriate.
- Ability to accurately complete production, downtime, maintenance, and shift reports.
- Ability to evaluate production limitations and determine reasonable alternative production options.
Core Competencies
Leadership Without Authority: Able to influence coworkers, set expectations, and maintain accountability while working alongside the crew.
Critical Thinking: Able to evaluate changing production conditions and make sound operational decisions.
Dependability: Consistent attendance and ability to take ownership of the night shift.
Safety Leadership: Willing to intervene when unsafe behavior or conditions are observed.
Mechanical Aptitude: Comfortable troubleshooting basic equipment and operating problems.
Communication: Able to clearly document and communicate issues to maintenance and management.
Initiative: Looks for productive next steps rather than allowing avoidable downtime.
Judgment: Understands when to troubleshoot independently and when a problem must be escalated.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Safe operation of the mill throughout the night shift.
- Consistent completion of scheduled overnight production.
- Reduction of production workload carried into the day shift.
- Productive use of available equipment, ingredients, and storage capacity.
- Effective direction and accountability of the night-shift crew.
- Accurate documentation of downtime and maintenance needs.
- Appropriate response to minor equipment interruptions.
- Clear and complete morning shift handoffs.
- Compliance with feed-safety, housekeeping, and company safety requirements.
Work Environment & Physical Requirements
- This position works primarily inside and around an active animal-feed manufacturing facility during nighttime hours.
- Stand and walk for extended periods.
- Frequently climb stairs and ladders.
- Work around elevated equipment and multiple levels of the mill.
- Bend, stoop, reach, push, pull, and perform other physical production tasks.
- Lift and move materials or equipment as required by the position.
- Work in areas that may be dusty, noisy, hot, cold, or affected by outside temperatures.
- Safely work around conveyors, motors, machinery, mobile equipment, electrical equipment, and other industrial hazards.
- Remain alert and capable of making sound decisions throughout the night shift.
Why This Role Matters
The Night Shift Production Lead plays an important role in increasing the overall capacity and efficiency of the Poth mill. By completing planned production overnight, keeping the night crew productive, responding appropriately to equipment problems, and making sound decisions when production conditions change, this position allows the day shift to focus more heavily on custom-mix production and other priority work.
A successful Night Shift Production Lead leaves the mill safe, organized, documented, and ready for the next shift.
Pay: $20.00 - $24.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k) 5% Match
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Opportunities for advancement
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Experience:
- Manufacturing: 3 years (Preferred)
- Supervising: 1 year (Preferred)
- Mechanical troubleshooting: 1 year (Preferred)
Language:
- English and Spanish (Preferred)
Shift availability:
Work Location: In person
