Extrusion Supervisor / Head of Extrusion – Foam Extrusion & Hot-Plate Press Welding

Extrusion Supervisor / Head of Extrusion – Foam Extrusion & Hot-Plate Press Welding

We are seeking a hands-on leader to supervise our foam extrusion and hot-plate welding operation.

This working-supervisor role combines direct floor involvement with employee development, production execution, technical reporting, training, and continuous improvement in a 24/7 manufacturing environment.

Reporting directly to the Production Manager, this position will manage daily departmental execution, often work alongside the team on the production floor, and partner with the Manufacturing & Process Engineer on technical process matters.

Schedule & Commitment

Candidates must be willing to:

• Work approximately 50-60 hours per week during department stabilization.
• Be available for weekends, holidays, and after-hours calls as needed.
• Attend critical 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. shift handoffs during the training phase.
• Cover day, night, or overnight 12-hour shifts during staffing shortages, PTO, or absences.
• Support a continuous 24/7 operation of four teams who work rotating 2-2-3, 12-hour schedules (approx. 12-20 employees).

What You’ll Do

Leadership & Production

• Supervise foam extrusion and hot-plate welding operations across four rotating teams.
• Work alongside employees to support line operation, training, troubleshooting, and production needs.
• Coach, train, evaluate, and develop employees through KPI reviews, performance evaluations, feedback, corrective action, and development planning.
• Maintain and evaluate the departmental Skills Matrix to identify competency gaps, guide cross-training, and ensure adequate skill coverage.
• Establish, monitor, and support individual and departmental KPIs.
• Coordinate labor schedules, PTO coverage, resource allocation, and operator support.
• Prioritize work orders, communicate risks, and develop contingency plans to minimize disruptions.
• Conduct daily safety talks, Gemba walks, team meetings, and shift handoffs.
• Ensure accurate team completion of OEE reports, production metrics, quality documentation, machine readings, and shift communication logs per shift.
• Safely operate a forklift to organize, stage, move, and transfer raw materials and departmental inventory, including handoffs between departments as needed.
• Fill in for operators when operational needs require.

Process, Quality & Improvement

• Ensure approved recipes, work instructions, SOPs, and operating procedures are followed.
• Monitor line performance, identify bottlenecks, support root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions to improve productivity, efficiency, and quality.
• Coordinate with Maintenance, Engineering, and Quality to improve equipment reliability, process performance, and product quality.
• Partner with the Manufacturing & Process Engineer, who maintains technical authority over recipes, specialty systems, process settings, testing, equipment, and process-related mechanical systems for extrusion and hot-plate welding.
• Participate in quality lab testing, material evaluations, process trials, and investigations involving product or process deviations.
• Use QT9 to document material quality, support deviations, and ensure nonconforming material is properly identified, segregated, documented, and dispositioned.
• Support the implementation of new equipment, automation, and manufacturing technologies by coordinating operator readiness, standardized procedures, and hands-on training.
• Support Lean Manufacturing, 5S, Six Sigma, waste reduction, process optimization, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Inventory, Reporting & Training

• Maintain inventory accuracy through daily counts, weekly verification, monthly physical inventories, and raw-material reconciliation in alignment with the procurement team.
• Use SAP ECC 6.0 and MRP principles to manage high-volume inventory transactions, raw-material movements, usage, MIGO receipts, cycle counts, reconciliation, and inventory accuracy.
• Monitor material requirements and communicate shortages or inventory risks that could affect production.
• Order approved departmental consumables and tooling.
• Build daily, weekly, and monthly reports using advanced Microsoft Excel.
• Develop and conduct hands-on equipment, process, safety, quality, and cross-training.
• Support onboarding, employee qualification, training modules, SOPs, standardized work, and best practices.
• Investigate safety incidents, near misses, and hazards in coordination with EHS and Production Management.
• Understand the safe operation of cyclopentane, CO₂, and nitrogen systems, including regulator checks, approved working pressures, alarm response, and emergency shutoff procedures.
• Maintain accurate Power BI dashboards, KPIs, OEE data/ reports, production metrics, machine readings, and shift records; checked and updated daily.

Qualifications

Strongly Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in Polymer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field; equivalent experience will be considered.
• Plastics or foam extrusion leadership experience.
• Experience in a continuous 24/7 manufacturing environment.
• Bilingual English and Spanish communication skills strongly preferred.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel reporting and data-analysis skills.
• Strong Power BI dashboard and reporting experience.
• Working knowledge of SAP ECC 6.0, MIGO transactions, ERP/MRP systems, and quality-management software (QT9).
• Strong mechanical and technical aptitude with the ability to learn polymer science, foam extrusion, resins, raw materials, recipes, process settings, specialty systems, and hot-plate welding equipment.
• Strong data-analysis, inventory-control, organization, delegation, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to travel internationally for process training for up to two weeks.
• Five or more years of production, construction, or manufacturing experience, including at least three years leading teams.

Additional Qualifications

• Forklift experience.
• Experience with quality documentation, material deviations, and nonconforming-material processes.
• Experience developing training materials, SOPs, standardized work, and employee-development programs.
• Strong leadership, coaching, communication, and team-building skills.
• OSHA 30 certification is a plus.
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, 5S, TPM, or related continuous-improvement experience is desirable.

Why Join Us?

Make a direct impact on safety, quality, productivity, and employee development while helping strengthen a technically advanced extrusion operation. You will work closely with Production Management, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, and EHS while developing a skilled and accountable team.

Pay: $80,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k) 6% Match
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Relocation assistance
• Vision insurance

Experience:

• Manufacturing engineering: 3 years (Required)
• Leadership: 3 years (Required)
• Plastics extrusion: 3 years (Required)

Language:

• Spanish (Preferred)
• English (Required)

Shift availability:

• Day Shift (Required)
• Night Shift (Required)
• Overnight Shift (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Colfax, NC 27235 (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $80,000 - $90,000