Production Manager

Trillium Professional is now seeking a Production Manager for direct hire in San Jose, CA area.

The Production Manager is a hands-on, transformational shop-floor leader accountable for driving manufacturing velocity, operational discipline, and flow across high-mix crating, wood fabrication, and packaging assembly operations. Reporting directly to the Site Manager, this role serves as the central operational driver on the manufacturing floor. The Production Manager spearheads the strategic transition from traditional batch-and-queue manufacturing to a Lean Single-Piece Flow paradigm by instituting rigorous Visual Management, Hour-by-Hour takt enforcement, mathematical capacity discipline, and standard work.

The position requires strong bilingual leadership (English & Spanish) to coach frontline teams, eliminate operational waste, and instill a daily culture of continuous improvement. Compensation range: $105,000–$125,000 base salary, depending on experience

• Lean Single-Piece Flow Transformation & Shop-Floor Pacing
  • Batch-to-Flow Transition:
    Lead the physical and cultural transformation from batch processing to continuous single-piece flow, cellular layouts, and balanced assembly lines across multi-step fabrication and packaging cells.
  • Takt Time & Hour-by-Hour Pacing:
    Transition the manufacturing floor away from trailing, subjective percentage-of-completion metrics to an active Hour-by-Hour (HxH) pitch framework aligned strictly with customer takt time.
  • Pull Systems & WIP Control:
    Establish visual kanban systems, strict work-in-process (WIP) caps, and decoupled raw-processing staging to eliminate material clutter, shorten lead times, and optimize throughput velocity.
  • Fabrication Decoupling:
    Operationalize the strategy to separate raw component cutting and piece-part machining from final assembly lines, ensuring smooth kit presentation and zero assembly starvation.
• Visual Management & Shop-Floor Governance
  • Tiered Management Loops:
    Implement and audit Tier 1 (frontline) and Tier 2 (departmental) Visual Management boards (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Morale), conducting structured stand-up audits every shift.
  • Andon & Rapid Escalation:
    Establish strict Andon protocols to detect cycle lag, material shortages, or quality deviations immediately, driving instant floor-level containment and resolution.
  • Standard Work & 5S Discipline:
    Institutionalize 5S visual workplace controls, standard work instructions, and layered process audits to sustain housekeeping, tooling discipline, and repeatability.
• Production Execution, Capacity & Floor Operations
  • Schedule Attainment & FOTD:
    Ensure 100% adherence to daily master schedules, maximizing First-Time On-Time Delivery (FOTD) and protecting customer shipping commitments.
  • Mathematical Staffing:
    Dynamically balance headcount and equipment utilization using standard Lean capacity and labor equations, mathematically justifying any overtime or staffing adjustments before escalation.
  • OEE & Equipment Optimization:
    Monitor and optimize Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) across automated saws, CNC wood processing equipment, nailing systems, and assembly jigs.
  • ERP & Data Integrity:
    Leverage Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (Infor M3 preferred) to analyze production routings, close work orders promptly, track scrap, and drive data-backed floor management.
• Continuous Improvement & Cost Ownership
  • Root-Cause Problem Solving:
    Lead cross-functional teams in structured problem-solving (A3, 5-Whys, Fishbone diagrams, Kaizen) to eliminate recurring bottlenecks and scrap.
  • Setup Reduction (SMED):
    Apply Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) techniques to minimize changeover times on saws, automated cells, and assembly fixtures, expanding daily operating…