What will you do? We are looking for a LEAN process-minded people leader with experience in ensuring the production facility functions at peak efficiency with proper communications and interfaces. You will develop and guide the manufacturing leadership production team of the facility while ensuring delivery of high-quality trucks which are in compliance with applicable customer, business, and regulatory requirements.

The selected individual will be a progressive thinker and able to lead across departments, will be capable of managing numerous complex priorities with sound decision-making, will communicate effectively with diverse constituents, and will deliver results.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct manufacturing leaders via thought leadership to achieve corporate initiatives and strategies, ensure high-quality output, and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Help develop and the lead the execution of the operational strategy for both short-term, mid-term and long-term performance through effective PDCA (Plan Do Check Act) deployment using daily management systems, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and lineside reviews; Develop structure for Gemba walks.
• Provide overall production leadership of the plant operations, ensuring root cause problem solving. control of abnormalities to stabilize variations in production volume and manage the impact of product variation to production.
• Lead production readiness for takt change, and new product and feature launches by milestone and gated management methodologies. Identify and evaluate fundamental issues for functional areas through assessment of intangible variables and ensure reflection on activities to strengthen to organization’s learning.
• Use continuous improvement and project activities to teach, train and develop plant personnel to lead/coach/train/mentor the site & business improvement resources to transform mindset, mechanisms, and behaviours of production staff.
• Ensure quality standards to meet and exceed customer expectations. Drive reduction of in-process quality defects. Oversee, identify, and manage customer quality issues and collaborate with internal teams on root cause analysis. quality, safety, and regulatory compliance relating to the production facility. Support Quality Assurance system development with Engineering, Procurement and Supplier Development groups.
• Collaborate and influence manufacturing/production planning with other support functions (Capacity and Capability Planning) for short- and long-range planning needs.
• Foster and maintain strong relationships with employees and management. Establish mechanisms to ensure high levels of collaboration across the organization.
• Develop succession plans to ensure bench strength for anticipation of attrition and company growth. Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of manufacturing team and take appropriate actions to ensure long-term health, productivity, and a high-performance culture. Identify needs for outside assistance and support.
• Establish annual budget and resource plan for the manufacturing operations. Monitor and perform within forecasted plan. Identify, communicate, and drive implementation of capital investments and improvement projects.
• Prepare reports using facts and data by tracking key performance indicators that drive change and provide visibility to the manufacturing and leadership teams. Monitor routinely with active data analysis to target and drive results.
• Continually assess and benchmark operational processes with those of other LEAN product and service providers and leading organizations outside the industry to promote the highest levels of effectiveness and efficiency.

Required Skills

• LEAN proficiency, process-oriented, data-driven mindset for decision making and driving quality into the product, whether manufactured in-house or through contract manufacturing partners and suppliers.
• Proficiency in Microsoft applications to mine data and to create presentations and reports documents and information in a high frequency virtual environment.
• Capability to leverage and flex diverse resources, respond quickly, understand the impact of changes and decisions, facilitate agreement, and focus on customer needs.
• Ability to lead and motivate others by articulating and implementing a LEAN vision for manufacturing. Ability to build, develop and retain a high-performing team through assessment, recruiting, coaching, and developing others.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and achieve results in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Ability to assess and feedback gaps in safety conditions and the capability to develop safety systems to prevent Stop 6 injuries and near misses.
• Able to work in a diverse a multi-cultural environment.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years in a manufacturing leadership position in a growing company with a complex manufacturing environment. Essential assembly line manufacturing with 30 a day in the heavy truck space. Prefer extensive knowledge of assembly line and heavy-duty trucks.
• Minimum direct reporting structure of 3-5 and 300 indirect reports
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required in an Engineering or related technical degree.
• Lean Six Sigma yellow or black belt certification preferred.
• Proven experience designing and setting up a new product production line essential.
• Product and/or plant launch project management experience.
• Manufacturing quality control and assembly defect prevention
• Demonstrated ERP/MRP/PLM experience.
• Excellent at interfacing and collaborating with business and operations leaders as well as front-line employees. Must have outstanding interpersonal, influence and communication skills, both verbal and written.
• High degree of personal accountability and integrity.
• Ability and willingness to provide hands-on support if/when necessary.

Who are we? Autocar is the only American truck manufacturer focused on trucks for severe-duty vocational applications. But above all, Autocar is focused on our customers: Our trucks are custom built to help our customers to be more successful and to achieve their challenging objectives.

Autocar’s hundreds of customers include every national fleet, regional fleets, retail transportation companies, distribution and logistics companies, specialty construction contractors, and major municipalities ties such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, and Charlotte, and many of the largest retailers and freight handlers in North America.

As the industry's technology and innovation leader, Autocar has forged strong partnerships with the leading suppliers in the business, including, Allison, Cummins, ArvinMeritor, Hendrickson among others, and has delivered more natural gas vehicles than all of our competitors combined.

Autocar is the oldest motor vehicle manufacturer in the United States and built America's first truck, in 1899. A proudly American-owned company, Autocar is headquartered in Hagerstown, Indiana and is affiliated with GVW Group, based in Highland Park, Illinois.