Operations Manager

Operations ManagerGrowing manufacture near Freehold, NJ area is seeking an Operations Manager to lead the site's fast-paced production team and champion continuous improvement efforts. As the Operations Manager, you will excel in coaching and mentoring a team of direct and indirect reports, holding others accountable and fostering a servant leadership culture across a multi-shift operation. You will report to the Site Manager and will have the following responsibilities:Operational Leadership & Execution: Directs 24/7 fast-paced, manufacturing operations to meet key targets for safety, quality, throughput, reliability, and cost. Manages daily operational priorities, staffing, equipment allocation, and materials while maintaining real-time performance monitoring to swiftly address and recover from line deviations, downtime, or service disruptions.Operational Excellence & Lean Manufacturing: Designs and deploys the site's continuous improvement strategy using Lean and Six Sigma methodologies (including Daily Management, 5S, TPS, SMED, Kaizen, and standard work). Uses loss-analysis tools to eliminate chronic losses in downtime, changeovers, labor, and OEE, while establishing visual controls, audits, and leader standard work to ensure long-term result sustainment.Team Leadership, Coaching & Talent Development: Builds high-performing operating teams by establishing clear daily accountability, coaching supervisors and team leads, and overseeing hiring, onboarding, and qualification programs. Leads performance management, structured training, and succession planning to expand site capability across all manufacturing roles.Cross-Functional Collaboration & New Product Industrialization: Partners closely with maintenance, engineering, quality, planning, and logistics to eliminate recurring equipment failures, support preventive/autonomous maintenance, and streamline site-wide objectives. Actively leads industrialization efforts, including new product launches, equipment installations, validations, and process commissioning.Financial Management & Strategic Planning: Manages departmental budgets, labor planning, and operating expenses to maximize cost efficiency. Evaluates capacity constraints, recommends strategic capital investments, and serves as a key advisor to site leadership on annual operating goals, capability improvements, and long-term facility growth.The company is seeking a candidate who enjoys spending up to 50% of their day on the manufacturing floor, leading a safety oriented culture. Qualified candidates should be passionate about continuous improvement and able to champion Six Sigma and Lean initiatives. Candidates should lead by example, be able to build rapport with their team, be strategic, and have excellent communication skills. The benefits package includes a strong bonus potential, stock options, 401K match, profit sharing, vacation, paid holidays, HSA contribution and three tier medical, dental and vision day one of employment!Requirements for the Operations Manager:Bachelor's degree, ideally in a technical fieldAt least seven years of similar operations manufacturing management experienceExperience overseeing production in pharmaceutical, personal care, food or beverage manufacturing environmentsFDA regulated environmentsPrevious experience leading direct and indirect reports with at least 100 total reportsRoot cause analysis and corrective action experienceExperience overseeing 24/7 operationsExperience championing continuous improvement efforts, ideally with at least a Six Sigma Green Belt CertificationBudget managementERP experienceMicrosoft Office skills, including Word and Excel