Senior Manager, Operations Training

Senior Manager, Operations Training

Simpson Strong-Tie is a leader in engineered structural connectors, software, and solutions for the building industry. We maintain a reputation as a trusted manufacturer, partner, and corporate citizen committed to our customers and employees.

Our founder, Barc Simpson established 9 Principles of Business we live out as company values and have made Simpson Strong-Tie an inspiring place to work since 1956. Our team of talented people are dedicated to our shared mission: to provide solutions that help people design and build safer, stronger structures.

Learn about our company culture directly from our team.

The Senior Manager, Operations Training is responsible for building and leading a world-class manufacturing training strategy that develops workforce capability, accelerates employee readiness, and drives operational performance across our North American manufacturing network.

This role will partner closely with manufacturing leaders, branch training teams, HR, and Learning & Organizational Development to design and scale training systems that support production onboarding, on-the-job training (OJT), technical skills development, certification programs, safety training, and workforce readiness initiatives.

The ideal candidate brings deep experience leading training and workforce development within manufacturing environments and has successfully built scalable programs that improve safety, quality, productivity, and employee performance across multiple locations.

Reporting to the Director, Learning & Organizational Development, this role serves as a key partner to Manufacturing leadership and a member of the Training Center of Excellence (COE).

What You'll Be Doing

Operations Training Strategy & Leadership (25%)

• Develop and execute an enterprise operations training strategy aligned with manufacturing priorities and business objectives.
• Partner with operations leaders to assess workforce capability needs and identify critical skill gaps.
• Establish training standards, governance, and scalable frameworks that drive consistency across manufacturing sites.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to manufacturing leadership on workforce capability and training initiatives.

Production Onboarding & On-the-Job Training (25%)

• Design and scale production onboarding programs that improve employee readiness and accelerate time-to-productivity.
• Lead the development and implementation of enterprise OJT frameworks, qualification processes, and certification standards.
• Establish consistent expectations for training delivery, documentation, evaluation, and compliance across locations.
• Support workforce readiness strategies aligned with safety, quality, and operational goals.

Technical Skills & Capability Development (20%)

• Develop and manage enterprise skills matrices, proficiency standards, and certification requirements.
• Partner with manufacturing leaders to identify technical, operational, quality, and safety training needs.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of technical and operational training curricula.
• Build role-based learning paths and workforce development programs that support employee growth and business performance.

Trainer Development & Quality Assurance (10%)

• Define trainer qualification standards and certification requirements.
• Strengthen trainer capability through coaching, development programs, and standardized tools.
• Establish quality assurance processes to ensure consistent and effective training delivery.
• Support knowledge sharing and continuous improvement across training teams.

Branch Partnership & Field Enablement (10%)

• Partner closely with branch leadership and local training resources to drive alignment and adoption of enterprise initiatives.
• Gather feedback from sites to identify opportunities for improvement and scalability.
• Balance enterprise standards with local operational needs.

Training Operations & Measurement (10%)

• Lead the planning and execution of key operations training initiatives.
• Leverage learning technologies and training systems to support delivery and measurement.
• Define success metrics and evaluate outcomes tied to safety, quality, productivity, retention, and time-to-proficiency.
• Use data and insights to continuously improve training effectiveness and business impact.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree required.

Experience

• 810+ years of progressive experience leading manufacturing training, workforce development, technical training, or learning functions within manufacturing environments required.
• Experience supporting production operations, plant workforces, and frontline manufacturing employees is required.
• Proven experience designing, implementing, and scaling enterprise On-the-Job Training (OJT) programs across multiple manufacturing sites required.
• Demonstrated experience developing skills matrices, operator qualification programs, certification frameworks, and workforce readiness initiatives.
• Experience standardizing training processes, certification programs, and workforce development practices across multiple plants, branches, or manufacturing facilities.
• Proven success partnering with manufacturing and operations leaders to align workforce capability programs with business priorities.
• Experience leading through influence in matrixed organizations.
• Experience utilizing LMS platforms, learning technologies, data, and reporting to measure training effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.

Preferred Industry Experience

Experience in one or more of the following industries is strongly preferred:

• Manufacturing
• Building Products
• Industrial Products
• Automotive
• Metals/Fabrication
• Consumer Products Manufacturing
• Distribution & Manufacturing Operations

Skills & Capabilities

• Deep understanding of manufacturing operations, production environments, and workforce capability development.
• Expertise in OJT systems, certification programs, skills matrices, and employee development within manufacturing settings.
• Strong strategic thinking combined with hands-on execution.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Ability to build alignment across multiple locations and functions.
• Strong coaching and capability-building experience.
• Knowledge of adult learning principles and technical training methodologies.
• Data-driven approach with a focus on measurable business results.
• Continuous improvement mindset with an emphasis on standardization, scalability, and operational excellence.

Travel Required

Domestic and international travel up to 40%.

Work Status & Location

This full-time, exempt position is ideally located at one of our U.S. branch locations (McKinney, TX; Riverside, CA; Stockton, CA; Gallatin, TN; or Columbus, OH).

Relocation

Relocation assistance is not available.

Pay

$123,700 $210,300 / year

Essential Functions

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here 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.

Physical Requirements While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, talk, and hear, and sometimes walk and stand. While performing the duties of this job, the employee may occasionally push or lift up to 25 lbs.

Work Environment This job operates in a professional office environment where standard office equipment such as computers, phones, printers/scanners, etc. are frequently used.

Rewards at Simpson Strong-Tie

We recognize and reward employees with a carefully designed and comprehensive rewards package, including competitive compensation, quarterly bonuses or commission and first-rate benefits. May exclude some positions, such as seasonal jobs.

• Quarterly Bonuses/Commission: You will be eligible for either a bonus or commission, paid on a quarterly basis. We believe all employees affect customers, sales and revenue directly or indirectly and should be rewarded by sharing the company profits.
• Benefits: We provide a wide range of benefits for eligible full-time employees including: medical, dental, vision, retirement contributions, employee stock purchase and bonus plans, pay for holidays, vacation, sick days, funerals and jury duty, years of service awards, employee discounts, employee referral bonuses, charitable contribution matching, education reimbursement and more. View benefit plan details here:

In keeping with our values and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our