Plant Manager

Plant Manager – Advanced Chemicals Position Overview

At Materion, everyone is included, respected and offered opportunity to grow. Join us! The Plant Manager leads all manufacturing operations at our Milwaukee, WI advanced chemical facility. This hands-on operational leader is responsible for safety, environmental stewardship, production, quality, efficiency, cost, and talent development. The role drives continuous improvement, standardizes and streamlines processes, and builds a culture that embraces change, develops people, and maintains a resilient, never-quit mindset to deliver exceptional performance.

We are a global provider of high-performance materials and advanced chemical solutions serving customers in semiconductor, aerospace, defense, photonics, and industrial technology markets. The organization combines deep technical expertise with a strong focus on quality, innovation, and operational excellence. The Milwaukee facility supports customers with specialized chemical processing capabilities and tightly controlled production environments. The operation emphasizes precision, consistency, and reliability to enable production of critical materials used in demanding applications.

Teams across research, engineering, production, and quality work together to deliver high-purity products while continuously improving safety, sustainability, and efficiency. Every employee plays a role in maintaining disciplined, streamlined processes that meet evolving customer needs and support long-term business growth.

• Provide day-to-day and strategic leadership to achieve or exceed targets for safety, quality, delivery, productivity, efficiency, and cost.
• Champion a best-in-class safety culture and lead all Environmental, Health & Safety initiatives.
• Maintain a strong, hands-on presence on the manufacturing floor to promote engagement, accountability, and disciplined operations.
• Lead efforts to standardize, simplify, and streamline processes for consistent and sustainable operational performance.
• Manage full P&L responsibilities, including budgeting, cost control, capital planning, and financial goal achievement.
• Build, develop, and coach a high-performing team; strengthen talent pipelines and support succession planning.
• Drive continuous improvement using Lean, Six Sigma, and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Foster a growth-oriented business mindset aligned with customer needs and strategic expansion opportunities.
• Serve as a leader of change adoption, promoting agility and innovation across the organization.
• Model resilience and a never-quit approach to overcoming operational and organizational challenges.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, environmental regulations, and labor laws.
• Represent the facility externally, including community engagement when required.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent is required.
• 5+ years of plant leadership experience in a multi-shift, highly technical manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success leading teams and influencing cross-functional stakeholders.
• Minimum 3 years of P&L responsibility, including operating and capital budget ownership.
• Strong understanding of OSHA, environmental, and labor regulations.
• Knowledge of business and management principles, including budgeting, strategic planning, and resource allocation.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or equivalent continuous improvement experience.
• Proven ability to lead multiple projects simultaneously with discipline and urgency.
• Strong analytical, critical-thinking, communication, and leadership skills.
• Strong technical background with the ability to understand chemical processes, equipment, safety systems, and root-cause analysis.
• Familiarity with high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) production environments, including managing frequent changeovers, process variation, and variable demand.

• Experience as a Tier 1 supplier to the semiconductor industry.
• Experience in advanced chemicals, advanced materials, or similar high-purity manufacturing environments.

Export compliance eligibility for access to U.S. controlled technology,…