Production Manager

Grain & Protein Technologies•Assumption, IL

6d•$85,000 - $105,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Production Manager leads the safe, high-quality, and reliable execution of the production plan across assigned manufacturing operations at the Assumption, Illinois facility. The role establishes expectations and daily accountability for Safety, Quality, and Delivery, develops production leaders and employees, and works with Supervisors, Cell Leads, Planning, Quality, Materials, Maintenance, Engineering, and Continuous Improvement to remove barriers and consistently execute the production schedule. The position emphasizes visible safety leadership, quality at the source, disciplined daily management, production-schedule execution, labor and productivity performance, and coaching frontline leaders. The Production Manager spends significant time on the manufacturing floor and helps build employee ownership, problem-solving capability, standard work, and a strong leadership pipeline. This is an onsite role based in Assumption, Illinois. Expected annual salary is $85,000–$105,000, with eligibility for an annual bonus. The employer is Grain & Protein Technologies, a global designer, manufacturer, and marketer of equipment solutions for grain, seed, poultry, egg, and swine production. The company reports annual revenue of $1.1 billion, operations in over 100 countries, 19 manufacturing facilities across five continents, and more than 3,600 employees.

Requirements

Demonstrated manufacturing leadership experience in a production environment.
Experience leading Supervisors, Cell Leads, or frontline manufacturing teams.
Strong understanding of Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost/Productivity management.
Experience managing daily production schedules and manufacturing priorities.
Demonstrated ability to coach, train, and develop frontline leaders.
Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Ability to work effectively across Quality, Planning, Materials, Engineering, Maintenance, and Continuous Improvement.
Comfort with spending significant time on the manufacturing floor.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Operations, Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, or a related discipline, or equivalent manufacturing leadership experience.
Experience in metal fabrication, welding, forming, laser cutting, powder coating, assembly, or high-mix manufacturing.
Experience with Lean Manufacturing principles.
Knowledge of 5S, Standard Work, Visual Management, Gemba, 5 Whys, Root Cause Analysis, Eight Wastes, and Constraint/Bottleneck Management.
Experience leading through significant operational or organizational change.

Responsibilities

Establish safety as the first priority through manufacturing-floor presence, Gemba walks, production meetings, safe-work expectations, hazard identification, and follow-up on corrective actions.
Establish production-team ownership of quality; ensure operators understand specifications and critical quality characteristics; respond to defects and recurring issues; reduce scrap and rework; and use structured problem-solving.
Translate the production schedule into daily execution, communicate production requirements and expected output, and drive adherence to the frozen schedule.
Monitor schedule performance, respond to production shortfalls, identify and escalate constraints, manage schedule changes, align labor and equipment with priorities, and lead recovery plans when performance misses expectations.
Coach and develop Supervisors, Cell Leads, and production employees; set expectations and accountability; build leadership, abnormality-response, problem-solving, and root-cause capabilities; and provide regular feedback.
Teach and reinforce effective Gemba conversations, 5S, standard work, prevention of recurring problems, effective shift handoffs, and communication between production areas.
Develop backups and strengthen the production leadership pipeline.
Lead a disciplined daily operating rhythm, including regular Gemba walks, reviews of safety and productivity, visual management, clear assignment and follow-up of corrective actions, and accountability that encourages visibility of problems.
Ensure appropriate staffing and labor allocation; monitor actual performance against expected performance; improve labor productivity and earned hours; identify lost time from waiting and shortages; balance labor across areas; and improve utilization of existing equipment and resources.