Site Operations Manager, Wrap Installation
Slate Auto · Ontario, CA
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Production
- Base pay
- $106k–$159k
- Experience asked
- 5+ years
- Industry
- Automotive
- Posted
- Today
The role in 30 seconds
A management production role at Slate Auto (automotive) in Ontario, CA. Hire, onboard and lead installers, leads, wash and QC staff through each hiring wave.
- They ask for
- 5+ years
- Tools it names
- Lean, Root cause, EHS / safety
- Base pay
- $106k–$159k
- Day to day
- some off-shift / weekend coverage
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of November 9, 2026
Production Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $131k–$180k. This one lists $106k–$159k.
Median of the low and high ends of 66 live postings that list pay, out of 151 production engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 150 other live production postings in California.
- Base pay
- About 11% below similar roles
- Experience asked
- Typical (5+ years)
Typical $122k–$175k, from 54 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ New product launch 38%
- ✓ Lean 32%
- ✓ Root cause 30%
- Automation 25%
- Team leadership 23%
- Python 22%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Production team at Slate Auto
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- How does off-shift and weekend coverage work?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
Site Operations Manager, Wrap Installation at Slate Auto in other locations
Slate Auto lists this title in 2 places. Pick the plant you can get to.
Full description from Slate AutoAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
About slate
At Slate, we’re building safe, reliable vehicles that people can afford, personalize and love—and doing it here in the USA as part of our commitment to reindustrialization. The spirit of DIY and customization runs throughout every element of a Slate, because people should have control over how their trucks look, feel, and represent them.
Location: Ontario, California- on-site
| who we are looking for
The Site Operations Manager runs Slate's wrap installation line in Ontario, CA turning every truck that arrives into a wrapped, inspected, customer-ready vehicle on time, to standard and on budget.
You own the site end to end: people, safety, throughput, quality, cost and the relationship with our host partner. You build the team from the ground up, run it day to day, and report results weekly to the Head of Wrap Installation Field Operations.
This is a hands-on leadership role on the floor, inside a partner's facility, during a fast production ramp.
| WHAT YOU GET TO DO
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Run the line
- •Run daily production to the Takt plan across all lanes and shifts, using Slate standard work instructions.
- •Lead daily huddles, shift handoffs and the site huddle board.
- •Own truck flow through the building with the host partner: moves, key control, staging and post-wrap parking.
Build and lead the team
- •Hire, onboard and lead installers, leads, wash and QC staff through each hiring wave.
- •Run the installer qualification path: trainee, installer, lead.
- •Own scheduling, attendance, overtime and retention.
- •Comply with state wages and hour rules, including meal and rest breaks.
Quality
- •Hold every truck to Slate wrap standards with QC photos and a Pass, Minor or Major record at release.
- •Drive first-pass yield up and rework down using root-cause and corrective action.
- •Feed defect and process findings back to the SOPs and to the Louisville design and print center.
Material flow
- •Receive, stage and track wrap kits from Louisville, matched to VIN.
- •Keep film inventory accurate and stored to spec.
- •Coordinate reprints for damaged or misprinted panels before they stop the line.
Cost
- •Own the site labor budget, overtime and labor cost per vehicle.
- •Track vinyl yield and scrap, consumables and tool spend.
Safety
- •Run the site safety program: incident reporting and OSHA recordkeeping, PPE, and training.
- •Control wrap-specific hazards: heat guns, IPA and adhesion promoter, work above 4 ft on platforms, and ergonomics.
- •Follow the host facility's EHS rules and qualify anyone who moves vehicles.
Vehicle care and the partner
- •Document vehicle condition at arrival and release, and own damage claims with the delivery partner.
- •Be Slate's day-to-day contact for the host partner on facilities, access, schedules and issues.
| WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TEAM
- •5+ years in production, automotive, upfitting, collision or field service operations, including 3+ years leading hourly teams of 20+ (50+ preferred).
- •A track record running a line or shop to a standard: throughput, quality, safety and labor cost.
- •Experience hiring and training frontline teams at speed, ideally during a launch or ramp.
- •Working knowledge of OSHA and site safety programs.
- •Working knowledge of state wage and hour rules for hourly teams, or willingness to be trained before start (required for California sites).
- •Comfortable with daily data: scorecards, spreadsheets and digital QC records.
- •Able to work on the floor for full shifts, including off-shift and weekend coverage during ramp.
| Preferred
- +Vehicle wrap, paint protection film, tint or graphics installation experience.
- +Lean or standard-work practice: Takt, daily management, root cause.
- +Experience operating inside a partner or customer facility.
- +Bilingual English and Spanish.