Heat Treat Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership and direction for plant operations, including production, quality, maintenance, engineering, and logistics.
• Develop and execute strategies to improve safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and profitability.
• Oversee daily heat treat operations, ensuring customer requirements, production schedules, and quality standards are consistently met.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives utilizing Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and other operational excellence methodologies.
• Establish and maintain key performance indicators (KPIs) related to safety, quality, throughput, scrap, downtime, and profitability.
• Lead workforce planning, employee development, succession planning, and performance management initiatives.
• Partner with customers to address technical requirements, quality concerns, process improvements, and new business opportunities.
• Ensure compliance with all industry, customer, environmental, and safety regulations.
• Manage capital expenditure projects, equipment upgrades, and facility improvements.
• Collaborate with engineering and quality teams to optimize heat treat processes and metallurgical performance.
• Review financial performance, budgets, labor utilization, and operational costs to achieve business objectives.
• Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, safety, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Metallurgical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of manufacturing leadership experience within a metal processing, heat treat, forging, casting, machining, or related industrial environment.
• 5+ years of experience in a senior leadership role with full P&L responsibility.
• Strong knowledge of metallurgy, heat treatment processes, material properties, and thermal processing equipment.
• Experience with processes such as carburizing, induction hardening, annealing, normalizing, tempering, vacuum heat treating, or related thermal treatment operations.
• Proven ability to lead large manufacturing teams and drive operational improvements.
• Strong understanding of quality systems, customer specifications, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Excellent leadership, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Degree or advanced training in Metallurgy or Materials Science.
• Experience serving automotive, aerospace, defense, heavy industrial, or metal manufacturing customers.
• Lean Manufacturing and/or Six Sigma certification.
• Experience with NADCAP, CQI-9, ISO 9001, IATF 16949, or similar quality systems.
• Demonstrated success leading multi-shift manufacturing operations.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets, forecasting, and capital investments.