McWane Ductile Ohio - Operations Trainee
About The Position
Operations Trainee is an entry-level position designed to develop future leaders in manufacturing operations. This role provides hands-on experience in production processes, quality control, safety, maintenance coordination, and continuous improvement initiatives. Trainees will rotate through key departments to gain a comprehensive understanding of plant operations by blending technical learning with early-stage leadership experience, preparing candidates to step into supervisory roles by developing decision-making ability, team coordination and oversight, and accountability for production performance. The successful candidate will serve as backup/relief for frontline leadership roles (e.g., shift supervisor, team lead), providing assistance with shift coverage during absences, vacations, or high-demand periods. The candidate will be exposed to onboarding and training of new employees, participation in team performance discussions and problem-solving efforts, and develop leadership skills through hands-on team interaction and accountability.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, or other related fields.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in a manufacturing maintenance environment a plus.
Responsibilities
- Assist in daily production activities to meet efficiency, quality, and safety targets.
- Monitor operations and escalate issues or deviations.
- Support production scheduling and workflow coordination.
- Learn and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Participate in Lean / Six Sigma / continuous improvement initiatives.
- Identify inefficiencies and recommend solutions.
- Assist with tracking KPIs (OEE, downtime, scrap, throughput).
- Coordinate with maintenance on equipment issues.
- Assist in basic troubleshooting and preventive maintenance activities.
- Support equipment installations and process changes.
- Follow and enforce quality standards.
- Assist with root cause analysis and corrective actions.
- Ensure compliance with regulatory and company requirements.
- Promote and model safe behaviors on the shop floor.
- Participate in EHS audits and hazard identification.
- Ensure team adherence to EHS policies and requirements.
- Work cross-functionally with engineering, maintenance, quality, and operations.
- Participate in meetings, training, and project teams.
- Communicate effectively across all levels of the organization.
- Provide indirect supervision to production employees by guiding workflow and task prioritization, reinforcing safety, quality, and production standards, and supporting team communication and coordination.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
