General Manager

Position Summary

The General Manager is responsible for leading all aspects of a custom manufacturing business with approximately $5 million in annual revenue and 20 employees. This position oversees customer service, engineering, sales, project scheduling, and floor operations, with accountability for business performance, profitability, quality, and on-time delivery.

The ideal candidate brings a strong background in both operations and sales and is comfortable providing hands-on leadership in a small business. This individual must be able to grow customer relationships while managing the day-to-day demands of a job shop, where projects vary in scope, complexity, and production requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Business Leadership and Financial Performance

• Lead the entire operation and establish clear priorities, responsibilities, and performance expectations.
• Manage revenue, operating costs, project margins, and overall profitability.
• Develop and execute plans to grow sales, improve productivity, and strengthen customer satisfaction.
• Review business performance regularly and take action to address gaps.
• Coordinate staffing, equipment, and spending decisions with ownership.

Custom Project Management and Scheduling

• Oversee custom projects from initial inquiry and quotation through engineering, production, and delivery.
• Confirm project scope, specifications, material requirements, labor estimates, and delivery expectations before releasing work to production.
• Develop and maintain production schedules based on available capacity, material availability, project complexity, and customer commitments.
• Coordinate customer service, engineering, purchasing, and production to ensure jobs are ready for the floor.
• Resolve scheduling conflicts, production bottlenecks, and project changes.
• Track actual project costs against estimates and use results to improve future quoting and execution.
• Ensure changes to project scope, pricing, and delivery dates are documented and communicated.

Sales and Customer Relationships

• Lead sales activities, develop new business opportunities, and maintain relationships with existing customers.
• Oversee quotations and pricing to ensure work is competitive, achievable, and profitable.
• Work with customers to understand their needs and develop practical solutions for custom projects.
• Balance sales commitments with engineering and production capacity.
• Resolve customer concerns and ensure timely, accurate communication throughout each project.

Operations and Floor Leadership

• Direct daily floor operations with a focus on safety, quality, productivity, and on-time completion.
• Maintain a visible presence on the shop floor and support employees in solving problems.
• Establish consistent processes for job handoffs, work instructions, quality checks, and production reporting.
• Oversee material availability, inventory, equipment maintenance, and vendor coordination.
• Reduce rework, waste, downtime, and unnecessary costs.
• Ensure completed work meets customer specifications and company quality standards.

Team Management

• Lead and develop employees across customer service, engineering, sales, and production.
• Manage staffing, hiring, training, performance reviews, and accountability.
• Cross-train employees to improve flexibility and support changing workloads.
• Build a culture of teamwork, clear communication, ownership, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in both manufacturing operations and sales or business development.
• Experience managing a custom manufacturing business, fabrication operation, or job shop.
• Proven ability to manage multiple custom projects and schedule work with competing priorities.
• Experience leading employees across office and production functions.
• Strong understanding of estimating, job costing, pricing, production capacity, and financial performance.
• Ability to read and interpret drawings, specifications, and production requirements.
• Strong customer communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency with business systems, spreadsheets, and production scheduling tools.
• A degree in business, operations, engineering, or a related field is preferred; equivalent practical experience will be considered.

Leadership Expectations

This role requires a practical, decisive leader who can move comfortably between customer discussions, financial reviews, project planning, and the shop floor. The General Manager must anticipate problems, follow through on commitments, and hold the team accountable while providing the support needed to succeed.

Measures of Success

• Revenue growth and profitability.
• On-time project completion and delivery.
• Project margins compared with quoted estimates.
• Production quality and reduced rework.
• Customer satisfaction and repeat business.
• Employee safety, productivity, development, and retention.