Manufacturing Plant Operations Manager

Industrial Metal Products Manufacturing | South Houston, TX

We are seeking a high-impact Operations Manager to join a growing industrial metal products manufacturer serving a diverse global customer base. This position is designed as a succession role for an upcoming Plant Manager retirement and offers a clear path to leading a 500+ employee manufacturing operation.

The ideal candidate is a proven manufacturing leader with experience as a Plant Manager, General Manager, Operations Manager, or Senior Production Leader within a large-scale fabricated metals, heavy industrial, steel products, pressure vessel, structural metals, industrial equipment, or engineered products manufacturing environment. This individual will play a key leadership role in driving operational excellence, developing future leaders, and supporting the continued expansion of a highly successful manufacturing facility.

As Operations Manager, you will oversee day-to-day operations across multiple manufacturing departments while partnering closely with executive leadership to prepare for future plant leadership responsibilities.

You will lead a workforce of 250+ employees across multiple production lines and manufacturing disciplines, ensuring world-class performance in safety, quality, delivery, productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability.

Manufacturing Operations Leadership

• Direct daily operations across fabrication, welding, machining, forming, assembly, finishing, and material handling departments.
• Lead multiple production lines serving domestic and international customers with varying product requirements and production schedules.
• Drive operational performance through effective workforce planning, scheduling, labor utilization, and capacity management.
• Ensure achievement of production, safety, quality, cost, and delivery objectives while supporting overall plant profitability.
• Partner with Sales, Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Maintenance, and Customer Service teams to meet customer commitments and business goals.
• Establish accountability through KPI management, daily production reviews, tier meetings, and visual management systems.

Strategic Plant Leadership

• Serve as a key member of the plant leadership team and primary successor to the Plant Manager position.
• Support strategic initiatives related to facility expansion, capacity growth, workforce development, and operational scalability.
• Assist in annual operating plans, capital investments, staffing plans, and long-range manufacturing strategies.
• Develop and execute plans to improve throughput, operational efficiency, asset utilization, and customer responsiveness.

Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Champion Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement initiatives throughout the operation.
• Lead Kaizen events, Value Stream Mapping activities, 5S programs, Standard Work implementation, and waste reduction initiatives.
• Drive measurable improvements in throughput, OEE, labor productivity, quality performance, inventory management, and cost reduction.
• Utilize operational data to identify bottlenecks and implement sustainable process improvements.
• Foster a culture of accountability, problem-solving, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.
• Lead, coach, and develop supervisors, managers, and production leaders across multiple departments.
• Build leadership bench strength and succession plans throughout the organization.
• Promote a high-performance culture focused on safety, accountability, teamwork, and employee engagement.
• Recruit, retain, and develop skilled manufacturing talent in a competitive labor market.
• Drive employee development, cross‑training, performance management, and leadership growth initiatives.

Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Maintain a world‑class safety culture with a strong focus on proactive risk reduction and employee engagement.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, environmental regulations, quality standards, and customer requirements.
• Lead root cause investigations and corrective actions related to safety incidents, quality issues, downtime, and customer concerns.
• Partner with Quality and Engineering teams to…