Production Manager

Position Title: Production Manager

Reports to: U.S. Operations Manager

Location: Mokena, IL or Richton Park, IL (Division Manufacturing Sites)

Team Led: 2nd- and 3rd-shift Production Supervisors, plus Team Leads, Setup Technicians, Material Handlers, and production operators

The Opportunity

Our client is a division of a Fortune 500 diversified industrial manufacturer with roughly $14B in global revenue, operations in 57 countries, and a portfolio of more than 16,000 active patents. Within that global enterprise, this division is a focused, ~$160M automotive business serving major OEMs across North America, engineering and manufacturing housing units, vehicle doors, capless fuel systems, and electric vehicle (EV) charge ports.

The division operates multiple manufacturing locations across the U.S. and Mexico. This role is based at either of the division's Mokena, IL or Richton Park, IL facilities, running injection molding and assembly operations across all three shifts. As the business modernizes its operations and pursues renewed growth, it needs a hands-on Production Manager who can own the floor, drive performance, and build the next generation of shop-floor leadership.

Own the floor. Own the numbers. Build the team.

This is not a back-office role — it's a highly visible, hands-on leadership position at the center of daily plant performance. You'll be the primary link between shifts, the first point of contact when something goes wrong, and the person accountable for turning safety, quality, delivery, and cost targets into daily reality. If you want a role where your decisions show up on the floor and in the P&L the same day, keep reading.

Why This Role Is Different

• High-visibility ownership — full P&L accountability for assigned cost centers, not just a supporting role in someone else's numbers

• Backed by Fortune 500 scale — the resources, tooling, and career runway of a global industrial leader, with the pace and accountability of plant-floor leadership

• Broad scope, real authority — hiring, disciplinary, and spending authority within approved limits, plus direct management of Production Supervisors, Team Leads, and Setup Technicians

• A proven leadership pipeline — production leadership roles within this organization are a recognized path into plant management and multi-site operations leadership

• Immediate impact — from shift handoffs to changeover performance to conversion cost, the opportunities to make a visible difference start on day one

What You'll Own

Daily Operations Leadership

• Execute daily production operations across all three shifts to meet safety, quality, delivery, productivity, cost, and customer requirements

• Serve as the primary point of contact for the assigned location, including off-shift, weekend, and holiday operational escalations

• Maintain high visibility and an active leadership presence on the shop floor

• Serve as the primary link between shifts and functions, ensuring consistent priorities, effective shift handoffs, clear ownership, timely escalation, and follow-through on operational issues

• Directly lead first-shift production operations and manage the second- and third-shift Production Supervisors

Team & Talent Leadership

• Lead, coach, and hold accountable Production Supervisors, Team Leads, Setup Technicians, Material Handlers, and production operators — a true leader of leaders on the floor

• Hold hiring, disciplinary, and spending authority within approved limits

• Develop Production Supervisors, Team Leads, and operators through clear expectations, coaching, performance feedback, and succession planning

• Build bench strength on the floor as the organization brings along the next generation of manufacturing talent

Financial & Cost Ownership

• Own full P&L accountability for the financial performance of assigned cost centers and their contribution to the plant's overall financial performance

• Control and improve conversion costs, including:

  • Direct and indirect labor

  • Overtime

  • Scrap

  • Premium freight

  • Variable inventory costs

  • External sorting

• Directly manage production schedules, labor allocation, staffing levels, overtime, and resource priorities; maintain a forward-looking production and labor plan to reduce shortage-driven scheduling and avoidable overtime

Quality, Process & Continuous Improvement

• Identify and resolve immediate operational issues that could affect production, quality, staffing, cost, or delivery

• Partner with Quality and Engineering to resolve production quality concerns, establish clear acceptance standards, contain questionable product, and ensure formal disposition before production or shipment continues

• Ensure process changes, automation modifications, production startups, and restarts are properly evaluated, validated, documented, and communicated across all shifts

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that increase efficiency, reduce waste, improve quality, strengthen standard work, and reinforce operational discipline and accountability

• Set priorities and partner with other leaders to hold technical and other resources accountable for resolving downtime, cycle-time losses, process instability, quality concerns, changeover issues, and other production constraints

Safety, Performance & Representation

• Own safety performance and culture; ensure compliance with safety requirements, quality standards, work instructions, company policies, and applicable regulations

• Review daily performance metrics, identify gaps, establish corrective actions, assign clear ownership and due dates, and escalate significant risks

• Partner with Quality, Materials, Maintenance, Engineering, and Human Resources to address operational constraints and ensure timely resolution

• Represent the plant to customers, auditors, and corporate leadership as required

What Success Looks Like in Year One

• Safety, quality, delivery, and cost targets are consistently met across all three shifts

• Shift handoffs are smooth, priorities are consistent, and escalations are resolved quickly and closed out

• Conversion costs — labor, overtime, scrap, premium freight, and external sorting — trend down as standard work and accountability take hold

• Production Supervisors and Team Leads are developing, with a visible bench for the next level of leadership

• The production and labor plan is stable enough to meaningfully reduce shortage-driven scheduling and last-minute changes

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in operations, engineering, business, or a related field preferred

• Five or more years of manufacturing leadership experience, including direct supervision of front-line leaders, P&L ownership, and multi-shift operations

• Experience directly leading production and production-support functions in a lean manufacturing environment

• Experience managing production schedules, labor, overtime, cost centers, and operational performance

• Working knowledge of lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, quality systems, standard work, and production metrics

• Strong problem-solving, communication, leadership, and employee-accountability skills

• Ability to interpret operational and financial data and convert findings into clear actions

• Automotive, injection molding, automated assembly, or other high-volume manufacturing experience preferred

Leadership Capabilities We're Looking For

• Operational & Shift Leadership

• Accountability & Execution Discipline

• People Development & Team Building

• Continuous Improvement & Results Orientation

• Communication & Cross-Functional Partnership

Why You'll Want to Stay

This division offers what's rare in plant-floor leadership today: the backing and stability of a Fortune 500 diversified industrial manufacturer, paired with the pace and visibility of a hands-on production leadership role. Production leadership roles within this organization are a recognized pipeline into plant management and multi-site operations leadership — and with clear ownership over safety, quality, delivery, and cost, the opportunities to make your mark start on day one.