Manufacturing Manager

Join Norman Filter Company
, a family-owned and operated manufacturer specializing in high-quality filtration products and engineered solutions for demanding aerospace, defense, industrial, and subsea applications. Our products support critical applications ranging from subsea systems to space flight, where precision, quality, and reliability matter.

Norman Filter has played an instrumental role in the design and development of filtration solutions supporting government and commercial space launch programs. With the space industry projected for significant growth over the next 5–7 years, this Manufacturing Manager will have the opportunity to be a key contributor as Norman Filter expands its manufacturing capacity to support that growth.

We're looking for a hands-on Manufacturing Manager to lead a team of skilled machining and fabrication employees at our Bridgeview facility. We're looking for someone who brings strong CNC machining knowledge, enjoys being on the production floor, and has an owner/builder/improver mentality
. The right person won't simply maintain what's already in place, they'll develop people, solve problems, challenge processes when needed, and continuously look for ways to make the operation better.

As Manufacturing Manager, you'll take ownership of day-to-day machining and fabrication operations while balancing people leadership, production performance, quality, and continuous improvement.

• Lead, coach, and develop skilled machining and fabrication employees.
• Maintain a strong culture of safety, quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Spend meaningful time on the production floor working directly with employees, identifying challenges, and removing barriers.
• Participate in daily and weekly production scheduling, providing input on capacity, feasibility, priorities, and workflow.
• Drive performance toward established On-Time Delivery (OTD) and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) goals.
• Assign work and priorities while ensuring employees have the resources and direction needed to succeed.
• Partner with machinists, programmers, engineering, and quality to improve CNC programming, setups, tooling, scheduling, and process capability.
• Troubleshoot machining and production challenges and implement sustainable, long-term solutions.
• Support new-product manufacturability and advanced manufacturing initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to improve standard work, processes, technology, and overall manufacturing efficiency.
• Develop employees through coaching, training, clear expectations, and accountability.
• Ensure machining and fabrication operations maintain high quality standards and comply with AS9100 Rev. D requirements.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical manufacturing knowledge with hands-on people leadership. You should be comfortable leading experienced machinists while still being technically knowledgeable enough to understand their challenges, ask the right questions, and help drive solutions.

• 5+ years of CNC machining, programming, or precision manufacturing experience.
• Previous leadership or management experience overseeing machinists, programmers, technicians, or other skilled manufacturing employees.
• Strong working knowledge of CNC machining processes, setups, tooling, and programming fundamentals.
• Experience with production scheduling, capacity planning, workflow, and prioritization.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, blueprints, and GD&T requirements.
• Experience working within a formal Quality Management System (QMS).
• Demonstrated ability to lead from the production floor, troubleshoot challenges, coach employees, and drive accountability.
• Experience leading continuous improvement, process improvement, and/or organizational change.
• Strong communication, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Associate degree in a manufacturing-related field or a minimum of 5 years of relevant machining experience.

• Experience with in a low-volume, high-mix precision machining environment, particularly with tight-tolerance components and smaller production runs.
• Aerospace, defense, or another highly regulated precision manufacturing background.
• Experience with AS9100 and/or ISO 9001.
• Hands-on experience with Mazatrol and G-Code.
• Experience with Maz Cam Geo Path and/or ESPRIT is a plus.
• Experience using manufacturing metrics such as OTD and OEE to identify and drive operational improvements.
• Experience collaborating with engineering, quality, planning, programming, and operations.

We recognize that great manufacturing leaders can come from different career paths.
Experienced machinists, CNC programmers, technicians, or engineers who have progressed into leadership are encouraged to apply.

• $95,000–$120,000 annual salary
• Year-end bonus eligibility
• 4-day workweek — Monday through Thursday
• Medical, dental, and…