The Production Manager will report and partner with the General Mananger of the Union City Division. This role leads day-to-day production operations, including Production Supervisors and hourly production employees, to achieve goals for safety, service, quality, productivity, and cost. This role plans labor and production needs, develops frontline leaders, responds to customer and operational priorities, and partners closely with the General Manager and other departments to continuously improve manufacturing performance. The Production Manager also understands how production decisions impact equipment utilization, pricing, profit margins, customer commitments, and overall business performance.
The Production Manager Will Be Responsible for the Following:
- Lead production operations to achieve key performance goals, including on-time delivery, productivity, cost of quality, and overall operational performance.
- Champion workplace safety, incident reporting, and a strong safety culture.
- Lead, coach, and develop Production Supervisors and hourly production employees.
- Partner with supervisors on performance appraisals, wage adjustments, employee development, and performance expectations.
- Oversee training for new and existing production employees.
- Plan labor and production schedules based on customer requirements, facility capabilities, staffing needs, and business priorities.
- Adjust staffing and resources as needed to meet customer demand while supporting employee engagement and budget expectations.
- Determine appropriate actions when production schedules or customer commitments are at risk.
- Approve production process changes within the scope of the position.
- Partner with Sales and Customer Care to support order fulfillment and timely resolution of customer concerns.
- Ensure required production quality standards are consistently maintained.
- Maintain accurate production records and ensure required information is reviewed.
- Understand the relationship between production decisions, equipment capabilities, pricing, profit margins, and business performance.
- Maintain a clean, organized, and operationally effective facility.
- Perform other related duties as needed.
What to Expect in This Role
This is a hands-on leadership role in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. You will balance people leadership with daily production demands, customer priorities, safety, quality, and business performance.
You can expect to:
- Spend significant time working directly with supervisors and production teams.
- Make decisions and adjust resources as production needs and customer priorities change.
- Monitor operational performance and use data to identify opportunities or concerns.
- Coach and develop supervisors while holding teams accountable for results.
- Partner across Operations, Sales, Customer Care, and other functions to solve problems and meet customer commitments.
- Address production issues quickly while considering safety, quality, cost, employees, and customer impact.
- Lead continuous improvement efforts and look for practical ways to improve efficiency and productivity.
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for a leader who can deliver results through people, not simply manage the production schedule. The successful Production Manager builds accountability, develops supervisors, solves problems practically, and creates strong partnerships across the business.
Successful candidates will demonstrate:
- Leadership and team development:Sets clear expectations, coaches effectively, and helps supervisors and employees grow.
- Safety leadership: Keeps safety at the forefront of operational decisions and reinforces personal accountability for safe work practices.
- Accountability: Takes ownership of production performance and follows through on commitments.
- Operational decision-making: Assesses information, understands priorities, and makes timely decisions when conditions change.
- Problem-solving: Identifies root issues and develops practical solutions that support sustainable results.
- Collaboration: Builds productive relationships across production, Sales, Customer Care, and other internal partners.
- Communication: Provides clear direction, listens effectively, and keeps employees and stakeholders informed.
- Business mindset: Understands how decisions involving labor, quality, productivity, equipment, and customer commitments affect overall business performance.
- Organization and prioritization: Effectively manages people, schedules, resources, and competing operational demands.
- Continuous improvement: Uses data and process knowledge to identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, efficiency, and productivity.
- Adaptability: Responds effectively when schedules, customer needs, staffing, or operating conditions change.
- Employee engagement: Creates an environment where employees understand expectations, contribute ideas, and are encouraged to perform at their best.
- Attention to detail: Recognizes potential issues before they become larger operational or customer problems.
Experience and Education
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business Management, or a related field,or 7-10 years of relevant management experience.
- 3-5 years of experience supervising others.
- Lean manufacturing experience preferred.
- ISO certification experience preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate teams toward production goals.
- Strong organizational, problem-solving, and time-management skills.
- Ability to analyze production data and processes to improve efficiency and productivity.