Area Manager

Fairbanks Scales•Meridian, MS

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Area Manager owns the day-to-day safety, quality, and production performance of one or more areas in our heavy-capacity truck scale manufacturing facility, leading through Team Leads rather than direct supervision of production staff. This is a floor-first leadership role: the Area Manager is expected to be physically present in their area for the large majority of the shift, coaching Team Leads in real time and is personally accountable for three outcomes - nobody gets hurt, the product is right the first time, and the area produces at the rate the business needs.

Requirements

Associate's or Bachelor's degree in a technical, industrial, or operations-related field preferred. High school diploma or GED with equivalent experience required.
Minimum 5-7 years of manufacturing experience required, including at least 2-3 years in a leadership role (Team Lead, Supervisor, or equivalent) within a heavy fabrication, structural steel, or heavy equipment environment.
Demonstrated ability to read and apply structural fabrication drawings, weld symbols, and quality/tolerance specifications relevant to the area.
Working knowledge of safety leadership practices, including near-miss/safety observation programs and OSHA fundamentals.
Strong floor presence and visibility - seen as someone who is out with the team, not primarily behind a desk.
Ability to read production, quality, and safety data and translate it into specific, prioritized action, rather than relying on instinct or the most recent complaint.
Effective coach - able to develop a Team Lead's judgment over time rather than simply making every decision for them, and comfortable giving direct, specific feedback to people who may have more tenure or technical experience than the Area Manager themselves.
Sound judgment balancing safety, quality, cost, and schedule under real time pressure.
Clear, direct communicator who is comfortable delivering both good news and bad news transparently to the team.

Nice To Haves

Experience specific to truck scales, weighing systems, or other legal-for-trade/NTEP-certified equipment manufacturing.
Prior experience operating in, or transitioning a team into, an Engaged Manufacturing or similarly employee-empowered operating model.
Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma exposure, with hands-on experience leading kaizen events or structured root-cause problem-solving.
Experience developing frontline leaders (Team Leads/Supervisors) through a structured program rather than informal on-the-job learning alone.

Responsibilities

Own the safety performance of the assigned area(s) - recordable incident rate, near-miss reporting, and leading indicators - and personally model safe behavior (PPE compliance, housekeeping, non-punitive risk reporting) every shift.
Coach Team Leads to run root-cause-focused safety conversations and incident investigations, ensuring corrective actions are implemented and verified, not just documented; partner with EHS/Safety leadership on training, PPE audits, and OSHA/regulatory compliance.
Own first-pass yield and rework/scrap rate for the assigned area(s), tracking trend over time rather than point-in-time snapshots.
Ensure Team Leads and team members understand the specifications relevant to the area (e.g., structural weld specs per AWS D1.1, machining tolerances, load cell calibration accuracy), and lead or sponsor root-cause problem-solving (5-Why, fishbone) on recurring quality issues.
Hold the line on quality standards under schedule pressure - coaching Team Leads to do the same and escalating tradeoffs transparently; partner with the Quality Manager/QC on inspection results, customer quality escapes, and corrective action follow-through.
Own arc-on %/machine utilization, downtime by root cause, and on-time completion of scheduled work for the assigned area(s), using downtime and root-cause data to prioritize the highest-impact fixes.
Balance daily production priorities against material availability, staffing, and equipment condition, adjusting proactively; drive standard work and cycle-time discipline to close the gap between best-case and typical performance.
Identify and lead (or sponsor) productivity improvement initiatives - layout, changeover time, tooling/fixture upgrades - with a clear efficiency or cost case.
Coach Team Leads daily through direct floor observation (huddles, OJT sessions, root-cause exercises), providing same-day feedback, and delegating real decision authority within clearly defined boundaries.
Actively participate in the Team Lead Development Program - nominating candidates, running trial periods, and signing off on phase checkpoints - and build a pipeline of future Team Leads.
Hold Team Leads accountable to both their output/quality/safety metrics and to the coaching and delegation behaviors expected of the role.
Directly lead Team Leads within the assigned area(s), who in turn lead production team members - spending the large majority of each shift physically present on the floor rather than managing remotely.