General Manager, Assembly Operations

Job Description

Job Description

At Paslin we are all about engineering excellence, innovation and vertical manufacturing competence. Our commitment to quality and excellence is evident in every project we undertake. Our team is passionate about automation powered by innovation!

If you’re looking for a place where you can make a real impact, work with awesome people, and grow your career, you’ve come to the right spot. Paslin is seeking a General Manager of Assembly Operations.  The General Manager of Assembly Operations provides overall leadership for an assembly operation, building multi-product lines from a highly complex bill of materials (BOM) with a very large part count and multiple configurations. This position has full profit-and-loss accountability and is the primary face of the business to the customer. The General Manager builds organizational capability, drives operational excellence, and ensures sustainable, profitable growth by utilizing their experience with lean manufacturing systems and tools to drive the business. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the full P&L for the business unit, including revenue, margin, operating expenses, working capital, and profitability
• Build and deliver the annual operating plan (AOP) and measure the business performance against that plan
• Drive material cost, labor productivity and overhead reduction while protecting quality and delivery
• Ensure BOM accuracy across product-line and configuration by using ERP system and Data Lake analysis tools to drive purchasing, kitting, spare parts and production floor operations
• Lead a formalized engineering change process covering review, cost and schedule impact, effectivity dates and disposition of affected inventory and WIP
• Manage project-specific variations and customer change orders to drive effective cost and schedule controls
• Build, develop and hold accountable a leadership team across operations, quality, supply chain and program management
• Conduct regular reviews of BOM to identify variances in direct material costs, identify source of costs and present solutions to reduce overall BOM costs
• Develop and execute long-range business strategies that strengthen the core operation, expand market opportunities, and support sustainable growth.
• Lead the strategic diversification plan, including evaluation of new products, markets, customers, channels, and capabilities.
• Provide executive oversight of major customer and internal programs, ensuring clear scope, accountability, resource alignment, risk management, timely execution, and achievement of financial and operational commitments.
• Establish and deliver annual operating targets focused on People, Safety, Quality, Output and Cost
• Assess the current state lean system and lead it from its newly formed status to a mature, stable and sustainable lean system
• Develop and maintain standardized work, work policies and procedures, and other lean tools to drive standardization throughout the business unit
• Use the documented standardized work as a baseline for training and continuous improvement
• Implement skills matrices in conjunction with the standardized work to cross-train and build a flexible workforce
• Build a culture of continuous improvement 
• Implement, enhance and sustain a 5S program to manage workplace organization throughout the facility
• Set clear expectations for standard work adherence, quality and productivity
• Hold leaders and operators accountable fairly and consistently, recognizing performance and addressing gaps
• Build and manage strong customer relationships, serve as an executive escalation point, understand evolving customer needs
• Lead commercial negotiations (together with the EVP of Sales)
• Analyze and translate customer schedules into executable build plans that focus on level, uninterrupted production schedules for the business unit
• Run customer business reviews as needed, including Quarterly Business Review (QBR)
• Own inventory accuracy, inventory turns and availability for a very large part population building multiple products with varying configurations
• Sustain and improve current material receiving, warehouse and supermarkets and point-of-use storage necessary to support production operations, spare parts and other operations as necessary
• Drive cycle counting activities to drive inventory accuracy to eliminate part shortages and excess inventory
• Work with program management and purchasing team to document and eliminate obsolete and low-volume parts with engineering change process
• Partner with suppliers on lead-time, lot size, delivery frequency and vendor managed inventory

Candidate Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related field required
• 10–15 years of progressive leadership experience, preferably in assembly operations or related environment with heavy lean manufacturing experience
• Documented track record of working in organizations with lean systems that required hands-on leadership to improve and stabilize with measurable results in cost reduction, inventory improvements, standardized work development, etc.
• Experience in leading sophisticated engineering change management systems
• Strong working knowledge of ERP systems, Microsoft AX preferred
• Working knowledge of Data Lake and Power BI, and a basic understanding of AI functionality
• Demonstrated success leading a business unit with full profit-and-loss responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience managing operations with complex, multi-level BOMs that include thousands of active part numbers and multiple configurations
• Must be able to understand basic accounting standards (P&L, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows)
• Customer-facing executive experience including commercial negotiation, pricing and change-order management
• The ideal candidate brings a strong history as a hands-on operator and lean practitioner with experience growing a newer formed lean manufacturing system into a stable, repeatable and predictable system that guides operations. BOM and engineering change management are a core principle and not an afterthought.

Details about the role:

Work location: Pontiac, MI

Expected hours of work:  This position is for regular, full-time work and may require coming in early, working late, or working on weekends to meet the needs of the business. Hours of work are flexible around core business hours of 6:00am -4:30pm

Direct Reports: Provides direct leadership and supervision to a team of managers. Responsible for managing their performance, development, and day-to-day activities. Accountable for accurate timekeeping, payroll documentation and attendance tracking for assigned team members.

Travel:  This position requires regular local travel between company sites. The employee must possess a valid driver’s license and maintain an acceptable driving record. Must be able to travel by automobile and commercial airline as required within USA, China, Canada and Mexico.

Physical Demands:  This role is performed primarily in a professional office setting within a manufacturing site. Requires extended periods of sitting and working at a computer for up to two hours between breaks. Frequent use of standard office equipment including PC/Laptop, computer mouse and keyboard. Visual and mental focus is needed for reviewing detailed information. The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

What’s in It for You:

• Competitive pay and great benefits. Paslin offers a wide range of benefits including Paid Time Off, Paid Holidays, 401k Match, Medical, Dental, Vision, Accident, and Life Insurance.
• A chance to improve your skills and your career. Paslin believes in investing in people and offers a variety of development programs with excellent opportunities for individual growth through training, tuition reimbursement, and career advancement.
• A supportive, collaborative team and a fun, engaging work environment. Check out our company page on LinkedIn to learn more about our values and see how we give back to our community.

Paslin is an Equal Opportunity Employer: It is our policy to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, sex (including pregnancy and conditions related to pregnancy), color, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, weight, height, religion, age, physical or mental disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, AIDS, HIV, misdemeanor arrest record (not resulting in a conviction), military veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal law. Paslin utilizes a consumer reporting agency to obtain consumer reports as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.