Sharples Production Manager

Position: Production Manager

Company: Sharples, a DFC Manufacturing Group Company

Location: North Attleboro, MA

Employment Type: Full-time, Exempt

Department: Operations Leadership

Workplace Type: On-site

Compensation: $85,000–$100,000 base salary range, with eligibility for an annual bonus

Sharples, a DFC Manufacturing Group company, is seeking a hands-on Production Manager to lead the daily operations of our manufacturing facility in North Attleboro, MA.

This is a critical operations leadership role responsible for keeping production moving, schedules aligned, teams staffed and trained, equipment running, and customer commitments on track. The right person will bring structure, accountability, and rhythm to the plant floor, helping the operation run proactively instead of reactively.

If you take pride in building a manufacturing environment where the team knows the plan, issues are addressed quickly, and production goals are consistently met, we want to connect with you.

As Production Manager, you will oversee daily production activity and partner closely with plant leadership, supervisors, leads, Customer Service, Purchasing, Maintenance, Quality, and HR.

Key responsibilities include:

• Oversee daily production operations across departments such as die-making, die-cutting, laser, rule bending, assembly, press, bindery, finishing, and related manufacturing operations.
• Develop, communicate, and adjust the production schedule based on customer commitments, staffing, equipment capacity, and changing priorities.
• Lead daily production meetings with supervisors, leads, and Customer Service to align on priorities, exceptions, and customer deadlines.
• Drive on-time delivery, throughput, quality, safety, labor utilization, and production efficiency.
• Identify bottlenecks and make staffing, equipment, or workflow adjustments to keep production moving.
• Build capacity planning and utilization models that translate the order book into realistic short-term schedules and long-term outlooks.
• Create, track, and report production KPIs, including throughput, on-time delivery, scrap, downtime, safety, and labor utilization.
• Supervise Production Supervisors, Leads, and operator teams, including hiring, training, coaching, performance management, and corrective action in partnership with HR.
• Manage labor planning, timecards, attendance, overtime, and shift coverage.
• Drive cross-training across operator roles to improve workforce flexibility and reduce single points of failure.
• Own machine availability and preventive maintenance discipline in partnership with Maintenance.
• Partner with Purchasing to ensure materials and consumables are available when scheduled.
• Support quality standards, review non-conformance issues, and implement corrective actions to reduce errors and rework.
• Communicate daily plant activity, exceptions, and improvement initiatives to plant leadership.
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• High school diploma or equivalent.
• 7+ years of operations or production management experience.
• At least 5 years of direct supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing production in a corrugated packaging, folding carton, die-making, print finishing, or related manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of production processes such as die-making, die-cutting, laser cutting, rule bending, press, bindery, finishing, or related operations.
• Experience with ERP systems, order-entry systems, production scheduling, and capacity planning.
• Ability to lead teams, manage priorities, solve problems, and hold accountability in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel for scheduling, reporting, and KPI tracking.

• Associate's degree, technical training, or bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Manufacturing, Business, Graphic Arts Technology, or a related field.
• 10+ years of production or operations management experience.
• Familiarity with CAD software such as ArtiosCAD, Cimex, AutoCAD, Impact, Laserpoint, Interact, or equivalent.
• Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, OSHA, ISO 9000, or forklift certification.

The ideal candidate is a working production leader who is visible on the plant floor and close to the operation. You understand the equipment, know the operators, build strong supervisors and leads, and can balance customer commitments with real production capacity.

You will be successful in this role if you:

• Lead from the floor, not just from an office.
• Create structure in a fast-moving production environment.
• Communicate clearly with supervisors, operators, Customer Service, Maintenance, Purchasing, and leadership.
• Know when to add overtime, adjust staffing, escalate issues, or push back on unrealistic commitments.
• Develop people and build bench strength across the plant.
• Use data, KPIs, and daily operating rhythm to improve safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance.
• Bring a team-first, flexible, and entrepreneurial mindset to continuous improvement.

This role offers a base salary range of $85,000–$100,000, based on experience, skills, qualifications, and internal equity. The position is also eligible for an annual performance bonus.

DFC Manufacturing Group offers a competitive benefits package, including health, dental, and vision coverage, retirement savings, paid time off, and additional company-sponsored benefits.

This role is on-site at the Sharples facility in North Attleboro, MA. The Production Manager will split time between office-based responsibilities such as scheduling, reporting, and capacity planning, and substantial daily presence on the production floor.

The production environment includes moving machinery, moderate-to-high noise levels, and incidental exposure to inks, solvents, substrate dust, adhesives, and related materials. Required PPE includes safety glasses, closed-toe footwear, and hearing protection when on the production floor. Hours may extend beyond the standard schedule during peak production periods.

Pre-employment physical examination and drug screening may be required.

• DFC Manufacturing Group and Sharples are equal opportunity employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.