Operations Manager

Lozier Corporation • Joplin, MO

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Operations Manager is a strategic and hands-on leader responsible for overseeing end-to-end manufacturing operations across multiple production areas. This role ensures that production teams consistently meet or exceed performance metrics in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and morale (SQDCM) while driving a culture of operational excellence, accountability, and innovation. The Operations Manager serves as a key liaison between plant leadership and production execution to guide, develop, and mentor cross-functional teams to align daily operations with long-term business objectives. This role leverages manufacturing technologies and continuous improvement methodologies to enhance productivity, reduce waste, and sustain competitive advantage in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor degree in business, finance, engineering, manufacturing, operations management, or another related field is preferred.
• Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in engineering, maintenance, manufacturing, operations, or equivalent experience, if degreed.
• Minimum of 12 years of progressive experience in manufacturing, operations, or equivalent experience, if non-degreed.
• At least 3 years of experience in a multi-team or area leadership capacity is required.
• Proficient PC skills (Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook).
• Exceptional leadership, analytical, and change management skills.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Proven success leading cross-functional teams in high-volume, fast-paced production environments utilizing safety, quality, delivery, cost, and morale (SQDCM) models.
• Analytical/quantitative problem resolution.
• Ability to recognize waste and/or losses and identify solutions to reduce or minimize losses through recognition, utilization and prioritization of resources.
• Ability to work as a team across all functionalities of the business.
• Demonstrated understanding of production planning, scheduling, and execution, including capacity planning.
• Ability to drive continuous improvement.
• Must demonstrate adaptability and responsiveness to off-schedule requests or emergencies in support of business-critical functions.
• Must maintain a valid driver’s license.
• Ability to navigate manufacturing environments, including frequent floor presence, walking, standing, and collaboration with shift teams.
• Occasional time spent working a flexible schedule depending on production needs.
• Ability to travel as necessary.
• Successful completion of pre-hire drug screen and post offer background screen is required to obtain employment.
• Continued employment remains on an “at-will” basis.

Nice To Haves

• Strong knowledge of quality systems, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement methodologies (Six Sigma, Lean, APQP, FMEA, PPAP).
• Expertise in Lean Manufacturing, OEE, SCADA, MES systems, and performance metrics (SQDCM, KPI dashboards).
• Working knowledge of industrial manufacturing processes related to metal stamping including welders, brake presses, roll formers, punch presses, paint lines, lasers, CNC equipment and dies.
• Bilingual skills.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate leadership by championing Lozier’s Mission, Vision, and Values and living the Lozier Leadership Model.
• Direct and support managers and supervisors in achieving daily and long-range performance targets for safety, quality, delivery, cost, and morale (SQDCM).
• Translate plant-level objectives into actionable plans aligned with operational key performance indicators (KPIs) and strategic growth initiatives.
• Foster a high-performance culture grounded in continuous improvement, employee development, and team accountability.
• Oversee workforce planning, shift scheduling, and resource allocation to ensure optimal equipment and labor utilization across all departments.
• Champion lean manufacturing initiatives, including 5S, Kaizen events, and waste reduction efforts to enhance throughput and reduce operational costs.
• Monitor and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) by addressing root causes of downtime, inefficiencies, and scrap.
• Ensure integration and effective use of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing execution systems (MES), and other digital platforms for real-time production monitoring, reporting, and decision-making.
• Lead readiness and adoption of automated systems, including automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), to improve logistics, inventory management, and material flow.
• Drive adherence to safety policies and regulatory standards while cultivating a zero-incident safety culture.
• Support execution of advanced product quality planning (APQP) processes to maintain product and process integrity from prototype through full production.
• Ensure training, audits, and documentation meet internal and external quality expectations (ISO 9001, PPAP, FMEA, SPC, etc.).
• Partner with multidisciplinary teams to troubleshoot issues, deploy solutions, and streamline workflows.
• Support capital investment projects, plant expansions, or retooling efforts, ensuring alignment with production capacity and business needs.
• Demonstrate regular attendance and timeliness in reporting to work, meetings, and completing assignments.
• Ability to work and interact well with others.
• Lead strategic and budgetary planning sessions along with associated plan execution, including leading and lagging metric definition, alignment, and deployment.
• May participate in collective bargaining process.

Benefits

• Company bonus potential.
• PTO (Paid Time Off) plus paid holidays.
• Competitive benefits package (Eligible for medical, dental, and vision benefits on the first day of employment).
• 401(k) with Employer Match.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Educational Assistance Program.
• Career Development Programs.
• Casual dress.
• Relocation benefits available, (as applicable).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager