Manufacturing Operations Manager

Manufacturing Operations Manager — Precision Manufacturing

Location: Houston-area, Texas | On-site

Reports to: Owner/CEO

Employment type: Full-time

Compensation: Annual salary, depending on experience, plus a 10% target performance incentive with upside to 15%

Lone Star Downhole Products is hiring a hands-on Manufacturing Operations Manager to take ownership of daily manufacturing execution and help lead the company through its next stage of growth.

We are a vertically integrated manufacturer with CNC machining, elastomer molding, welding/fabrication, assembly, inspection, inventory, and shipping operations across a two-building campus. Our work includes close-tolerance downhole components, MWD parts and assemblies, bearing components, rubber centralizers, specialty repairs, high-volume defense contracts, and other engineered products.

We operate approximately 15 CNC machines and routinely work with demanding materials and processes, including beryllium copper, Nitronic-50, 17-4 stainless steel, Tough

Met3, titanium, Inconel, 8620, gun drilling, heat treatment, coating, EDM, and grinding.

This is not a desk-only plant-management role. The right person will be visible on the floor, technically credible with machinists, decisive when priorities conflict, disciplined with follow-through, and comfortable leading in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial company.

Own the reliable execution of manufacturing operations from released order through completed shipment - without requiring the Owner/CEO to serve as the daily dispatcher, expediter, and problem solver.

• The production schedule and daily priorities across machining, molding, fabrication, assembly, outside processing, inspection coordination, and shipping.
• Clear status, next action, accountable owner, and credible completion date for every active order.
• Schedule attainment, on-time delivery, throughput, labor and machine utilization, and operational follow-through.
• Early identification and resolution of material, programming, tooling, equipment, labor, quality, or vendor constraints.
• Daily production meetings focused on commitments, constraints, owners, dates, and verified completion.
• Make-versus-buy recommendations and operational coordination with outside manufacturers and processors.
• Vendor accountability for committed dates, quality, responsiveness, and communication.
• Clear responsibilities, decision rights, and performance standards for leads and production personnel.
• Standardized processes, setup knowledge, program control, tooling readiness, and production documentation.
• Corrective action on recurring scrap, rework, late delivery, downtime, and execution failures.
• Capacity and staffing recommendations supported by measurable operational and financial logic.

You will not be expected to personally program every part. You must, however, understand precision CNC manufacturing well enough to evaluate setup strategy, tooling, work holding, cycle time, machine selection, manufacturability, and production risk. You must be able to challenge weak technical assumptions, support machinists and programmers, and earn credibility on the floor.

• Set clear expectations and follow through consistently.
• Coach and develop leads, machinists, molders, fabricators, and production-support employees.
• Address performance problems promptly, directly, fairly, and with documentation when appropriate.
• Recognize strong performance and build development paths for high-potential employees.
• Create an environment where problems are surfaced early, commitments are visible, and completion is verified.
• Recommend hiring, training, reassignment, promotion, discipline, or termination when necessary.

Within approved policies and spending limits, this role will have authority to:

• Establish and revise production priorities.
• Assign manufacturing resources.
• Direct production personnel and leads.
• Approve routine overtime.
• Execute approved make-versus-buy decisions.
• Select from approved suppliers and
  ** escalate
  * * vendor failures.
• Stop or redirect work for safety, quality, material, or technical concerns.
• Require accurate, timely production reporting.

Major capital expenditures, major unbudgeted commitments, customer pricing, and defined strategic matters remain subject to Owner/CEO approval.

• 8+ years of progressive experience in precision manufacturing.
• 5+ years leading people, schedules, quality, and delivery in a manufacturing…