Plant Operations Manager

Growing manufacturer is seeking a Plant Operations Manager to lead manufacturing performance within a highly automated, 24/7 production environment.

This is a newly created leadership position reporting directly to the Vice President of Manufacturing. The role will lead Production Supervisors and approximately 120 production employees while driving a culture built around Lean Manufacturing, visual management, accountability, and continuous improvement.

This is an excellent opportunity for a progressive manufacturing leader who enjoys being close to the operation, developing frontline leadership, and using data and Lean methodologies to produce measurable improvements.

• Newly created position with significant visibility across the organization
• Direct reporting relationship to the VP of Manufacturing
• Opportunity to influence how Lean and continuous improvement are executed throughout production
• Modern manufacturing environment with significant investment in equipment, automation, and technology
• Lead an established supervisory organization within a 24/7 operation
• Career progression into broader plant and manufacturing leadership opportunities

• Provide leadership, coaching, and accountability to Production Supervisors across a multi-shift manufacturing operation
• Establish and maintain a strong visual factory environment, giving employees and leaders clear visibility into performance, priorities, problems, and corrective actions
• Drive measurable improvements in safety, quality, productivity, OEE, scrap, downtime, labor utilization, and manufacturing efficiency
• Use Pareto analysis, 5 Whys, Root Cause Analysis, Kaizen, TPM, and other Lean methodologies to identify recurring issues and implement sustainable corrective actions
• Translate manufacturing data into actionable priorities rather than simply reporting KPIs
• Develop structured problem-solving and continuous improvement capabilities throughout the production leadership team
• Partner with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Planning, and Supply Chain to eliminate manufacturing constraints and improve overall performance
• Strengthen shift-to-shift communication, standard work, accountability, and execution
• Develop Production Supervisors and identify opportunities to strengthen the manufacturing leadership pipeline
• Promote a highly engaged culture centered on safety, teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement

• 7+ years of progressive manufacturing experience with demonstrated advancement into increasing levels of leadership responsibility
• Experience directly managing Production Supervisors or other frontline manufacturing leaders
• Proven success leading manufacturing operations in a high-volume, multi-shift environment
• Strong hands-on knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and structured continuous improvement
• Demonstrated examples of improving manufacturing performance through Lean tools and data analysis
• Experience with visual management/visual factory, Pareto charts, 5 Whys, Root Cause Analysis, corrective actions, and KPI management
• Ability to identify manufacturing problems, determine root causes, implement countermeasures, and sustain improvements
• Bachelor's degree preferred; equivalent manufacturing leadership experience will be considered

• Lean, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement certification
• Experience implementing or strengthening a Lean manufacturing culture
• Knowledge of TPM, Kaizen, Standard Work, Gemba, OEE, Theory of Constraints, or similar methodologies
• Experience in plastics, extrusion, packaging, automotive, food manufacturing, converting, chemicals, or other high-volume/continuous-process manufacturing environments
• Career history demonstrating stability, increasing responsibility, and leadership progression

This position is focused on manufacturing operations and operational excellence rather than financial ownership of the facility. Full plant P&L responsibility is not required.

Candidates currently working as Production Managers, Manufacturing Managers, Operations Managers, Plant Operations Managers, Assistant Plant Managers, or Plant Managers whose…