PRODUCTION LINE MANAGER

Elite Corporate Solutions is seeking an experienced Production Line Manager to oversee daily manufacturing operations and support the delivery of high-quality electro-optical and defense hardware. This opportunity will focus on managing production teams, maintaining quality and process standards, driving continuous improvement, and ensuring production schedules are met efficiently and consistently.

Responsibilities:
Production Planning & Execution

• Own the daily and weekly production schedule; sequence work orders to meet customer delivery commitments and contract milestones.
• Translate the master production schedule into actionable floor assignments, staffing, and station loading.
• Monitor real-time output against plan; identify bottlenecks, reallocate resources, and escalate delivery risk early.
• Coordinate with Planning, Supply Chain, and Engineering so materials, tooling, work instructions, and drawings are ready before a job hits the floor.
• Manage WIP, cycle times, and throughput to balance efficiency against delivery priorities.
• Provide direct, visible leadership on the floor — set the pace, remove obstacles, hold the team to standard.
• Supervise, coach, and develop operators/assemblers.
• Maintain a clean, ESD- and FOD-controlled environment appropriate to precision optical and electronic assembly.

Continuous Improvement & Process Control

• Drive measurable improvement in throughput, yield, scrap/rework, labor efficiency, and on-time delivery.
• Optimize floor layout, workstation design, and material flow for precision assembly and test.
• Standardize and document processes; keep work instructions current as products and methods evolve.

Reporting & Metrics

• Track and report output, yield, scrap/rework, efficiency, and safety; communicate status to leadership.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive manufacturing experience, including 3+ years leading and supervising production teams.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Industrial Technology, or a related field — or an equivalent combination of education and hands-on manufacturing leadership experience.

Required Skills

• Proven track record running a production floor to schedule, quality, and cost targets in a regulated or precision manufacturing environment.
• Working knowledge of a quality management system (AS9100 or ISO 9001) and disciplined documentation and traceability practices.
• Familiarity with Lean / continuous-improvement methods — 5S, standard work, Kaizen, structured root-cause problem solving.
• Proficiency with ERP/MES systems; ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, BOMs, and work instructions.
• Strong floor-level leadership: decisive and calm under schedule pressure, leads from the floor rather than the office.
• Data-driven problem solver with attention to detail and process discipline.
• Clear communicator who can align operators, engineers, and executives.
• Uncompromising on safety, quality, and compliance.

Preferred

• Experience in defense, aerospace, electro-optics, precision optics, or electronics assembly.
• Hands-on exposure to ITAR/EAR-controlled programs and FAR/DFARS-governed contracts.
• Lean / Six Sigma certification (Green or Black Belt).
• Experience scaling production from low-rate initial production (LRIP) to full-rate production.
• Familiarity with ESD/FOD control, cleanroom or controlled-environment assembly, and precision test/calibration.