Production Manager

About the role

The Production Manager is accountable for all production output, quality, labor efficiency, and cost performance at a ramping wire harness manufacturing facility. This role manages Area Leads and production operators through startup, ramp-up, and full-capacity operations while ensuring production targets, quality standards, and operational KPIs are consistently achieved.

The Production Manager owns production scheduling as well as the capacity and headcount planning models maintained in Excel to support labor forecasting, production scalability, and operational readiness. This position plays a critical leadership role in establishing manufacturing discipline, driving continuous improvement, and supporting rapid operational growth in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

This role reports directly to the Plant Manager and partners closely with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Warehouse, and HR to support safe, efficient, and scalable manufacturing operations.

Essential Functions

• Lead daily production operations across assigned manufacturing lines and shifts
• Drive attainment of production schedules, labor efficiency, throughput, and scrap reduction targets
• Monitor KPIs including safety, productivity, downtime, first-pass yield, OEE, labor utilization, and on-time delivery
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, company safety procedures, and manufacturing best practices
• Supervise, coach, and develop production supervisors and hourly manufacturing employees
• Partner with Quality to improve first-pass yield, reduce defects, and implement corrective actions
• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Warehouse teams to maintain uninterrupted material flow to production
• Support implementation of lean manufacturing, 5S, Kaizen, and continuous improvement initiatives
• Assist with hiring, onboarding, training, shift structuring, and workforce planning for manufacturing operations
• Collaborate with Engineering during new product introduction (NPI), process improvements, and line setup
• Ensure accurate production reporting and ERP/SAP transaction compliance
• Participate in capacity planning and support manufacturing scale-up activities
• Maintain production documentation, SOPs, work instructions, and labor standards
• Support inventory accuracy and reduction of manufacturing waste
• Drive accountability and performance management within the production team

Qualifications: Required

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing, Operations, Engineering, Business, or related field preferred; equivalent combination of education and 10+ years of relevant manufacturing leadership experience may be considered in lieu of a degree
• 7+ years of manufacturing or production leadership experience
• 3+ years managing supervisors and/or large hourly production teams
• Experience in high-volume manufacturing environments
• Strong understanding of production scheduling, labor planning, and manufacturing KPIs
• Experience in wire harness, automotive, or electrical component manufacturing
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems; SAP experience strongly preferred.
• Strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated ability to coach and develop frontline leaders
• Ability to lead in a fast-paced, rapidly changing manufacturing environment
• Prior plant launch or ramp-up experience

Preferred

• Experience in wire harness, electrical, automotive, solar, or industrial manufacturing
• Experience working with overseas sister plants (China specifically a plus)
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma certification
• Startup or manufacturing ramp-up experience
• Multi-shift manufacturing leadership experience

Physical Requirements/Work Environment: *

• Ability to work in a manufacturing environment with exposure to machinery, moving equipment, noise, and varying temperatures
• Ability to stand and walk on the production floor for extended periods throughout the workday
• Ability to occasionally lift and move items up to 25 pounds
• Ability to bend, reach, stoop, and navigate throughout the manufacturing facility
• Must be able to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE) while on the production floor
• Ability to support flexible work hours as needed to support production schedules and operational demands
• Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S.

Additional information

The Company will not sponsor or take over sponsorship of any employment visa, including without limitation, H-1B, O-1, E-3, TN status, or I-485 job portability or similar immigration processes.