Plant Manager

Operational Leadership

Lead the facility’s overall manufacturing performance, with direct accountability for production execution and throughput.

Maintain a strong, visible presence on the manufacturing floor.

Ensure production priorities are clearly communicated and effectively executed.

Identify and remove constraints involving labor, equipment, materials, tooling, quality, engineering, or scheduling.

Drive improvements in throughput, schedule attainment, productivity, equipment utilization, lead time, and on-time delivery.

Develop and lead recovery plans when production or delivery performance falls behind expectations.

Reduce reliance on expediting, excessive overtime, and short-term workarounds by addressing root causes.

Functional Leadership

Lead, coach, and develop the managers responsible for Quality and Engineering, Maintenance, and Scheduling and Purchasing.

Establish plant-level priorities and ensure departmental activities support overall business needs.

Work directly with functional managers to define actions, ownership, timelines, and expected results.

Hold managers accountable for departmental performance, employee development, and execution of improvement plans.

Support functional managers without unnecessarily taking over their day-to-day responsibilities.

Ensure departments work together effectively to resolve issues and achieve plant objectives.

Continuous Improvement

Lead cross-functional improvement efforts focused on safety, quality, delivery, cost, and throughput.

Use performance data and structured problem-solving to identify and address operational issues.

Ensure improvement activities have clear owners, deadlines, and measurable outcomes.

Remove barriers that prevent managers and employees from completing priority improvement work.

Verify that solutions are incorporated into standard work, procedures, training, or maintenance plans.

Follow up to ensure improvements produce sustainable results.

People and Culture

Build a culture of accountability, teamwork, urgency, and continuous improvement.

Set clear expectations for plant leaders and employees.

Develop the plant’s leadership team and strengthen succession planning for critical roles.

Partner with Human Resources on staffing, training, retention, performance management, and employee relations.

Promote a safe, respectful workplace where employees are encouraged to identify problems and recommend solutions.

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

At least 10 years of progressive manufacturing experience, including significant leadership responsibility.

At least 5 years of experience leading manufacturing operations, multiple plant functions, or an entire facility.

Experience leading through functional managers in areas such as Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Scheduling, or Purchasing.

Demonstrated success improving throughput, productivity, quality, cost, and on-time delivery.

Experience in machining, metalworking, engineered products, or precision manufacturing.

Strong knowledge of Lean manufacturing, root-cause analysis, and continuous-improvement practices.

Experience using ERP/MRP systems and manufacturing performance data.

Strong communication, business judgment, and people-leadership skills.

Experience in a high-mix, low-volume precision-machining environment.

Working knowledge of CNC mill and lathe operations.

Experience in a make-to-order or engineered-to-order environment.

Familiarity with ISO-based quality management systems.

Lean, Six Sigma, or similar continuous-improvement certification.

Experience leading a facility through growth, operational improvement, or organizational change.

Leadership Profile

Safety performance

Production throughput

Schedule attainment

On-time delivery

Labor productivity

Equipment uptime