Rubber Mixing Production Supervisor

Description

Department:?

Compounding / Mixing?

Reports to:?

Mixing Manager with dotted line to Director of Operations.?

Direct Reports:?mixing operators,?mixing leads,?mixing process techs,?weighment team, material handlers.?

FLSA Status:?

Exempt (Salaried)?

Shift:?all shifts?as needed.?

The Rubber Mixing Production Supervisor leads the day‑to‑day operation of the compounding department, ensuring that every batch is mixed to specification, on schedule, and with full traceability. This is a hands‑on leadership role on the floor, not an office position. The supervisor is accountable for the output, quality, safety, and development of the mixing team.

This individual will lead in department scheduling, this role owns the systematization of the department: building and maintaining the written work instructions that define how the job is done, training operators against those standards, and holding the team accountable to them.

The goal is a mixing operation that produces consistent compound regardless of who is running the equipment, where knowledge lives in documented procedures rather than in any single person's head.

• Own the training and qualification of all mixing team members, TSE, and weigh/batch personnel; ensure no operator runs equipment or handles a process step independently in which they have not been trained and signed off on.
• Build and maintain a skills matrix for the department that tracks each operator's qualified tasks, cross‑training status, and gaps.
• Design and run structured onboarding for new operators, including a defined ramp from observation to supervised operation to independent qualification.
• Conduct ongoing, hands‑on training when procedures change, new compounds are introduced, or recurring errors signal a knowledge gap.
• Cross‑train operators across mixing, weighment, and batching so the department is not single‑point‑dependent and can flex with absences and demand.
• Identify high‑potential operators and develop them toward lead and relief‑supervisor capability.

• Create, maintain, and continuously improve written work instructions, standard operating procedures, and batch/process cards for every mixing operation — internal mixer (Banbury/intermeshing), TSE, weigh‑up, and material staging.
• Translate compound formulations and engineering specs into clear, repeatable, floor‑level instructions an operator can follow without ambiguity.
• Document mixing parameters (load order, ram pressure, rotor speed, dump temperature, mix time, TSE set‑ups) so that batches are reproducible across shifts and operators.
• Establish and document setup, changeover, and cleanout procedures to prevent cross‑contamination between compounds — especially for NSF‑certified and color‑sensitive materials.
• Keep procedures current: own the revision process so instructions reflect actual best practice, not an outdated version, and ensure operators are working from the controlled, current document.
• Capture tribal knowledge from experienced operators and convert it into standardized written procedure.

• Hold operators accountable to the documented work instructions, quality standards, safety rules, and housekeeping expectations — consistently and fairly.
• Set clear daily expectations for output, quality, and conduct, and follow up; address misses directly and promptly rather than letting them recur.
• Own the department's results: batch quality, scrap/rework rate, schedule attainment, and adherence to procedure are the position’s responsibility, not just the operators. Expectation is that trend charts or like tools will be used for documentation.
• Conduct performance conversations, document issues, and partner with HR on coaching, corrective action, and recognition.
• Verify adherence — audit that the written procedures are actually being followed on the floor, not just signed and filed.
• Reinforce a culture where following the documented process is the standard and deviations are surfaced, not hidden.

• Run the mixing schedule to meet downstream demand (extrusion,…