Plant Operations Manager

The Plant Manager / Operations Manager is responsible for leading all day-to-day operations in a complex, engineered-to-order manufacturing facility. This role oversees production, safety, quality, scheduling, maintenance, and workforce leadership, ensuring the plant meets output, cost, and delivery targets while maintaining the highest safety and quality standards. The ideal candidate is an experienced manufacturing leader with a strong engineering foundation and a proven ability to manage large teams in a heavy industrial, build-to-spec environment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or similar required).
• 10 years of experience in heavy industrial, engineered-to-order manufacturing.
• Proven success managing large production teams (100–300 employees).
• Strong understanding of high-volume industrial equipment, mechanical systems, and process operations.
• Demonstrated experience improving throughput, reducing waste, and driving performance metrics.
• Strong background in Lean manufacturing, 5S, or Six Sigma methodologies.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and decision-making skills.
• Experience managing safety-intensive environments with heavy equipment and high-complexity workflows.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Direct all plant operations including production, workforce management, scheduling, and workflow optimization.
• Ensure consistent execution of daily, weekly, and monthly production goals.
• Oversee equipment reliability, preventive maintenance programs, and downtime reduction initiatives.
• Manage capacity planning, resource allocation, and operational forecasting.

Safety & Compliance

• Champion a strong safety culture and ensure full compliance with OSHA and internal safety requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement in safety performance, incident reduction, and risk mitigation.

Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure adherence to strict quality standards for engineered-to-order products.
• Lead continuous improvement, Lean, and 5S initiatives to reduce waste and increase throughput.
• Maintain robust quality control processes, root-cause analysis, and corrective action systems.

People Leadership

• Manage and develop a large hourly and salaried workforce, including supervisors, leads, and technical staff.
• Drive accountability, performance management, training, and employee engagement.
• Support a culture of teamwork, problem-solving, and operational discipline.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with engineering, logistics, procurement, and project management teams to align production with customer and project requirements.
• Coordinate with leadership on production schedules, capacity constraints, and strategic planning.

Financial & Strategic Management

• Oversee plant budgeting, cost control, labor planning, and operational KPI tracking.
• Lead initiatives to increase efficiency, reduce scrap, and improve profitability.
• Support capital projects, facility improvements, and equipment upgrades.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MBA or Engineering Master’s) a plus.
• Experience with automation, industrial controls, batching/mixing systems, or large-scale equipment.
• Track record of leading cultural change and operational transformation.