Production Manager

Victaulic•Cookeville, TN

23d•Onsite

About The Position

Victaulic is seeking a Production Manager – Couplings and Welded Systems to join their Operations team in Cookeville, Tennessee. This full-time, exempt role involves owning daily production execution for material handling, cutting, and grooving operations within the PreFabrication area. The Production Manager will provide direct leadership to First and Second Shift Supervisors and hourly production employees, while also owning, tracking, and improving the area’s core Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This role requires close collaboration with Operations, Planning, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, and Supply Chain to ensure throughput, quality, and schedule adherence are maintained across both shifts. It offers an opportunity to lead a high-accountability production area where floor presence and KPI ownership directly influence results.

Requirements

5–8+ years of experience in manufacturing or fabrication operations.
3+ years of direct people leadership experience, including multi-shift environments.
Working knowledge of material handling systems, cutting, and profiling/grooving processes.
Demonstrated ability to own KPIs and drive measurable improvement.
Strong floor presence, with willingness to conduct frequent walkthroughs across both shifts.
Ability to work in an operational manufacturing environment with required PPE compliance.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Operations, Engineering, or a related field.
Lean / continuous improvement experience.
Experience operating in KPI-driven, high-accountability environments.
Experience partnering cross-functionally with Planning, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, and Supply Chain to execute improvement plans.

Responsibilities

Own daily production execution for material handling, cutting, and grooving operations within PreFabrication.
Ensure consistent throughput, quality, and schedule adherence across both shifts.
Maintain a strong floor presence with frequent walkthroughs to observe flow, behavior, safety, and constraints.
Ensure seamless shift-to-shift handoff with no loss of accountability, data, or priorities.
Enforce standard work, job setups, material flow requirements, and process discipline.
Own core KPIs for Cutting & Grooving — First Pass Yield, Cycle Time, Daily Throughput, Downtime, Labor Efficiency, Rework & Scrap, and WIP — reviewing them daily on the floor and weekly with Operations leadership.
Assign KPI sub-ownership to Supervisors and drive corrective actions when metrics miss target.
Provide direct leadership to First and Second Shift Supervisors and hourly production employees, leading structured daily huddles with documented follow-up.
Conduct regular one-on-ones with Supervisors focused on KPI ownership, decision-making, and leadership growth.
Partner with HR and Operations leadership on hiring, onboarding, performance management, and succession planning.
Own quality discipline prior to downstream fabrication, partnering with QA and Engineering to resolve repeat defects.
Identify production constraints and lead targeted improvement initiatives with defined scope and measurable outcomes.
Drive level loading strategies across shifts to reduce WIP and improve flow, standardizing improvements so they hold independent of supervisor or shift.