Production Manager

Job Roles and Responsibilities:

Production Leadership:

• Own daily production operations across fabrication, welding, electrical, controls and automation integration, mechanical assembly, and final testing.

• Lead daily shift planning, work assignments, production meetings, and floor coordination.

• Drive on-time completion and shipment against the master production schedule.

• Identify and remove production roadblocks in real time.

• Maintain production standards for quality, safety, schedule, and throughput.

People and Team Leadership:

• Lead, manage, and develop supervisors, leads, fabricators, welders, electricians, assemblers, and automation technicians.

• Assign work based on employee skills and production requirements.

• Establish clear expectations and hold employees accountable to production standards.

• Mentor, train, and develop manufacturing talent.

• Build a culture focused on ownership, craftsmanship, safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Scheduling and Throughput:

• Execute master production schedules and capacity plans.

• Ensure materials are available at each production station.

• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Procurement to maintain material readiness.

• Anticipate production bottlenecks and balance workloads across the factory floor.

• Track and improve KPIs related to safety, quality, delivery, throughput, scrap, and rework.

Quality and Build Standards:

• Ensure units are manufactured according to specifications, drawings, and established standards.

• Partner with QA and QC teams on inspection plans, first article inspections, nonconformance, and corrective actions.

• Enforce standard work, visual management, and process discipline.

• Conduct root cause analysis and implement corrective actions to eliminate defects and reduce rework.

Continuous Improvement:

• Apply Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to improve production flow and throughput.

• Reduce scrap, rework, downtime, and production inefficiencies.

• Implement standard work, 5S, and visual management throughout the production floor.

• Partner with Engineering on design for manufacture and assembly initiatives.

• Support implementation of engineering changes and ECOs.

• Improve facility layout, tooling, fixturing, and manufacturing processes.

Safety and Compliance:

• Champion a safety-first culture throughout the production floor.

• Enforce LOTO, machine safety, PPE, and safe work practices.

• Ensure compliance with applicable EHS regulations and standards.

• Maintain a clean, organized, and safe manufacturing environment.

• Systems and Reporting:

• Maintain ERP and MRP discipline across the production floor.

• Ensure accurate work orders, BOMs, routings, and build records.

• Use production data including OEE, downtime, and throughput to identify performance gaps.

• Prepare production performance reports and communicate floor status to operations leadership.

• Monitor labor, floor-level costs, and resource utilization.

Qualifications and Certifications:

• 7+ years of progressive manufacturing or production leadership experience.

• Experience in engineered products, process equipment, industrial equipment, or build-to-order manufacturing environments preferred.

• Proven experience managing factory-floor operations and hands-on production teams.

• Demonstrated ability to meet production schedule, quality, safety, and throughput targets.

• Hands-on knowledge of fabrication, welding, machining, electrical assembly, and mechanical assembly.

• Working knowledge of industrial automation and controls environments including PLC and SCADA.

• Understanding of automated system construction and integration.

• Strong knowledge of ERP and MRP systems, including work orders, BOMs, routings, and production records.

• Experience using data and KPIs to manage production performance.

• Demonstrated experience with Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt preferred.

• Knowledge of ISO 9001 practices, inspection processes, and first article inspection.

• Strong EHS knowledge and experience developing a safety-focused production culture.

• Excellent leadership, communication, and team-building skills.

• Ability to lead effectively and credibly on the manufacturing floor.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, or related field preferred, or equivalent hands-on experience.

• Experience with water, wastewater, or process treatment equipment preferred.

• Experience scaling manufacturing operations in a high-growth environment preferred.

• Familiarity with MES and SCADA data for OEE and downtime analysis preferred.

• Experience with fabrication and weld shop operations preferred.

• Comfortable using modern digital and AI tools for production planning, reporting, and floor management.

Benefits:

• Opportunity to lead manufacturing operations within a high-growth industrial technology environment.

• Hands-on leadership role with responsibility for production, quality, safety, and throughput.

• Opportunity to build and develop multidisciplinary manufacturing teams.

• Opportunity to implement Lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Exposure to advanced water and wastewater treatment equipment manufacturing.

• Opportunity to support manufacturing scale-up and operational growth.

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