Area Manager

Fairbanks Scales•Meridian, MS

22d•Onsite

About The Position

The Area Manager owns day-to-day safety, quality, and production performance for one or more areas in a heavy-capacity truck scale manufacturing facility. The role leads through Team Leads rather than directly supervising production staff and is expected to spend the large majority of each shift physically present on the factory floor, coaching Team Leads in real time. The Area Manager is accountable for preventing injuries, ensuring products are right the first time, and producing work at the rate the business needs. The position oversees area safety results, quality and rework performance, machine utilization, downtime, and on-time work completion. It partners with EHS/Safety leadership and Quality/QC, uses data and root-cause methods to address problems, and leads or sponsors productivity improvements. The Area Manager coaches and holds Team Leads accountable for both operational outcomes and their leadership behaviors, while helping develop a pipeline of future Team Leads. Work is primarily on-site throughout a factory and grounds, with a minority of time spent in an office. The environment includes heavy steel fabrication, welding, machining, material handling equipment, elevated noise and heat, and outdoor loading/shipping areas subject to seasonal weather. The job requires wearing applicable PPE and includes extensive standing and walking, occasional lifting or moving of materials up to 50 pounds, and other frequent physical activities. Regular attendance is essential.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED with equivalent experience required.
Minimum 5–7 years of manufacturing experience, including at least 2–3 years in a leadership role such as Team Lead or Supervisor, in heavy fabrication, structural steel, or heavy equipment.
Ability to read and apply structural fabrication drawings, weld symbols, and relevant quality/tolerance specifications.
Working knowledge of safety leadership practices, including near-miss/safety observation programs and OSHA fundamentals.
Ability to read production, quality, and safety data and translate it into specific, prioritized action.
Ability to coach Team Leads by developing their judgment, provide direct and specific feedback, and delegate decision-making appropriately.
Sound judgment balancing safety, quality, cost, and schedule under time pressure.
Clear, direct communication skills, including communicating good and bad news transparently.
Ability to meet the role's physical demands, including constant standing and walking, occasional lifting or moving materials up to 50 pounds, and wearing required PPE.
Regular attendance.

Nice To Haves

Associate's or Bachelor's degree in a technical, industrial, or operations-related field.
Experience with truck scales, weighing systems, or other legal-for-trade/NTEP-certified equipment manufacturing.
Experience operating in, or transitioning a team into, an Engaged Manufacturing or similarly employee-empowered operating model.
Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma exposure, including hands-on experience leading kaizen events or structured root-cause problem-solving.
Experience developing frontline leaders through a structured program.

Responsibilities

Own assigned area safety performance, including recordable incidents, near-miss reporting, and leading indicators, and model safe behavior each shift.
Coach Team Leads in root-cause-focused safety conversations and incident investigations; ensure corrective actions are implemented and verified; partner with EHS/Safety leadership on training, PPE audits, and OSHA/regulatory compliance.
Own first-pass yield and rework/scrap rates for assigned areas and track trends over time.
Ensure Team Leads and team members understand applicable specifications, and lead or sponsor root-cause problem-solving for recurring quality issues.
Maintain quality standards under schedule pressure, coach Team Leads to do the same, escalate tradeoffs transparently, and partner with the Quality Manager/QC on inspection results, customer quality escapes, and corrective-action follow-through.
Own arc-on percentage/machine utilization, downtime by root cause, and on-time completion of scheduled work; use data to prioritize high-impact fixes.
Balance production priorities with material availability, staffing, and equipment condition; drive standard work and cycle-time discipline.
Identify and lead or sponsor productivity improvements involving layout, changeover time, tooling, or fixtures, with a clear efficiency or cost case.
Coach Team Leads daily through floor observation, huddles, on-the-job training, and root-cause exercises; provide same-day feedback and delegate decision authority within defined boundaries.
Participate in the Team Lead Development Program by nominating candidates, running trial periods, signing off on phase checkpoints, and building a pipeline of future Team Leads.
Hold Team Leads accountable for operational metrics and for the coaching and delegation behaviors expected of their role.
Directly lead Team Leads in assigned areas, who in turn lead production team members, while spending the large majority of each shift physically on the floor.