Production Manager

Description

Position Summary

The Production Manager is responsible for leading day-to-day manufacturing operations and driving improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and employee engagement. This role will lead production teams, establish and maintain daily management systems, support build planning and inventory execution, and drive Lean manufacturing initiatives across the operation.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on manufacturing leader with strong experience in Lean, 5S, production metrics, continuous improvement, workforce planning, and production execution within a regulated or quality-focused manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead daily manufacturing operations to achieve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity objectives.
• Manage, coach, and develop production supervisors, leads, and manufacturing employees.
• Establish and maintain daily and hour-by-hour production management boards to provide visibility to output, staffing, constraints, downtime, quality issues, and schedule attainment.
• Develop, track, and report key manufacturing metrics including:
• Safety
• Quality
• Schedule attainment
• Labor efficiency
• Productivity
• Yield
• Scrap
• Inventory performance
• Manufacturing throughput
• Lead daily production meetings and drive timely escalation and resolution of manufacturing issues.
• Develop and execute production build plans based on customer demand, available capacity, staffing, inventory, and material availability.
• Partner with Supply Chain to maintain appropriate raw material, work-in-process, and finished goods inventory levels.
• Provide leadership and oversight for inventory activities and transactions supporting manufacturing operations.
• Utilize ERP systems to support production planning, inventory control, material movement, work orders, and manufacturing transactions.
• Drive Lean manufacturing principles and continuous improvement throughout the production organization.
• Lead and participate in Kaizen events focused on productivity, waste reduction, quality improvement, material flow, and manufacturing efficiency.
• Implement and sustain 5S standards throughout production and warehouse areas.
• Evaluate and optimize manufacturing line layouts, workstation design, material flow, and operator movement.
• Identify capacity constraints, production bottlenecks, and opportunities to improve line balance and overall throughput.
• Lead Value Improvement Projects (VIP) and other cost-reduction/productivity initiatives.
• Utilize data, Pareto analysis, root cause analysis, and other problem-solving tools to identify and address manufacturing performance gaps.
• Partner closely with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, R&D, and other functional teams to support production needs, process improvements, and new product introductions.
• Support equipment, process, and facility changes required to improve manufacturing capability and capacity.
• Ensure production activities are performed in accordance with established procedures, quality requirements, and applicable regulatory standards.
• Promote a culture of accountability, teamwork, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Business, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, or a related field preferred.
• 3-5 years of supervisory or leadership experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading manufacturing teams and achieving production performance objectives.
• Strong knowledge of Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement principles.
• Experience implementing and sustaining 5S.
• Experience leading or participating in Kaizen events and structured improvement activities.
• Demonstrated experience using production metrics and visual management systems to drive performance.
• Experience with production planning, capacity planning, labor planning, and schedule execution.
• Working knowledge of ERP systems and manufacturing transactions.
• Experience with inventory management, material flow, and warehouse processes.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and other cross-functional teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Medical device, regulated manufacturing, or other highly controlled manufacturing experience preferred.
• Experience with manufacturing KPI dashboards and hour-by-hour production management systems.
• Experience with manufacturing line design, line balancing, and facility/layout optimization.
• Experience leading cost reduction, Value Improvement Projects, or similar productivity initiatives.
• Experience supporting new product introduction and manufacturing scale-up.