Production Director, Signage

KM Printing, LLC•Owings Mills, MD

5d•$75,000 - $110,000

About The Position

The Production Director leads all signage manufacturing operations, including fabrication, wide-format printing, finishing, assembly, production quality, and installation. The role is accountable for meeting customer commitments, maximizing production capacity, controlling costs, and achieving departmental financial objectives. This is a high-accountability leadership role requiring operational expertise, financial discipline, and a growth mindset. The Director builds a high-performing team, establishes clear expectations, improves productivity, eliminates bottlenecks, and ensures the department can scale efficiently as Strategic Factory grows. The objective is to deliver exceptional quality, flawless execution, and profitable growth through strong leadership, disciplined processes, and measurable results. The Director is evaluated on financial performance, execution, quality, productivity, growth, leadership, and operational discipline, including revenue, gross margin, labor costs, on-time delivery, schedule adherence, throughput, defects, capacity, employee development, inventory accuracy, safety, and improvement initiatives.

Requirements

7–10 years of progressive experience in sign manufacturing, fabrication, wide-format printing, or a related production environment.
At least 5 years of leadership experience managing production teams; experience managing multiple production functions is preferred.
Demonstrated experience with fabricated and printed signage, production scheduling, workflow management, and quality control.
Proven ability to manage job costs, labor, materials, capacity, and profitability.
Track record of improving productivity, quality, on-time delivery, and financial results.
Strong leadership, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Experience with ERP/MIS systems, production reporting, and performance metrics.
Knowledge of equipment maintenance, workplace safety, and manufacturing best practices.

Nice To Haves

Relevant degree preferred; equivalent experience and demonstrated results will be considered.
Experience managing multiple production functions.

Responsibilities

Own departmental performance against revenue, gross margin, labor, material, and profitability targets.
Monitor job costing, estimated versus actual labor, material usage, overtime, waste, and rework to protect margins.
Establish cost controls and identify opportunities to improve productivity, reduce expenses, and increase throughput.
Align staffing, equipment, purchasing, and production capacity with work orders, forecasts, and company growth objectives.
Partner with the VP of Signage, Finance, Sales, and Project Management to ensure production decisions support company-wide financial goals.
Lead daily signage production operations, including fabricated signs, channel letters, dimensional signage, wide-format printing, finishing, and assembly.
Own production scheduling, workflow, capacity planning, and on-time completion.
Establish clear priorities, deadlines, and ownership across production teams.
Coordinate with Engineering, Project Management, Purchasing, and Installation to move projects efficiently from order to completion.
Identify constraints early, resolve production issues quickly, and maintain visibility into work in progress, material availability, and equipment utilization.
Ensure production commitments are realistic, communicated, and consistently achieved.
Build and develop a high-performing team focused on urgency, quality, teamwork, and results.
Establish clear roles, measurable expectations, and accountability for supervisors and production employees.
Hold team leaders accountable for schedules, staffing, productivity, quality, safety, and financial performance.
Coach and develop supervisors to solve problems, make decisions, and own their results.
Address performance issues promptly, recognize strong performance, and ensure appropriate training and staffing.
Foster a positive, high-energy culture that values continuous improvement, direct communication, and follow-through.
Establish quality standards for fabricated, printed, and finished signage.
Ensure work meets approved artwork, engineering specifications, material requirements, and customer expectations.
Track defects, rework, scrap, and customer complaints; implement corrective actions to prevent recurring problems.
Partner with Project Management and Installation to resolve issues and protect customer commitments.
Promote a customer-first mindset in which quality, communication, and on-time delivery drive retention and future revenue.
Continuously improve workflows, production methods, standard operating procedures, and equipment utilization.
Eliminate bottlenecks, unnecessary handling, downtime, waste, and inefficient labor practices.
Develop a scalable production plan aligned with sales forecasts and annual revenue goals.
Identify staffing, equipment, facility, and technology investments needed to support growth, with clear financial justification.
Make disciplined in-house versus outsourcing decisions based on cost, capacity, quality, and delivery.
Use production data and performance scorecards to identify trends, assign corrective actions, and measure results.
Manage material planning, inventory accuracy, purchasing coordination, and supplier performance.
Control material waste and ensure supplies are available to meet production schedules without unnecessary inventory.
Oversee preventive maintenance and ensure equipment is operated and maintained properly.
Maintain a safe, organized production environment and enforce company safety policies and applicable OSHA requirements.
Ensure required training, maintenance records, and safety procedures are consistently maintained.
Provide regular reporting on financial performance, production schedules, capacity, staffing, quality, and operational risks.
Communicate schedule changes, material shortages, and customer delivery risks proactively.
Work collaboratively with Sales, Engineering, Project Management, Purchasing, and Installation to achieve company objectives.
Support leadership decisions, communicate priorities consistently, and focus on solutions rather than excuses.