Senior Production Manager – Process Maintenance

Caterpillar Inc.•Decatur, IL

10d•$112,710 - $169,060•Onsite

About The Position

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc. When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it. Senior Production Manager – Process Maintenance Primary Location: Decatur, IL Travel: Up to 5% Relocation Assistance: Available Visa Sponsorship: Not Available Job Summary As a Senior Production Manager in Decatur, Illinois, you will lead the day-to-day operations across all shifts for process maintenance on production machine tools for the entire facility ensuring a safe, compliant, and high-performing operation. In this senior manufacturing leadership role, you’ll build and develop strong frontline leadership teams, drive schedule attainment, and strengthen production safety, cost, and quality control mechanisms through data-driven decision making and structured problem solving.

Requirements

Production Training: Ability to assess skill gaps, develop training programs, and ensure safe/efficient operation of production machinery; validate training impact using pre-/post-performance metrics.
Performance Management: Strength in setting expectations, delivering continuous feedback, recognizing achievement, and driving measurable improvement across teams.
Effective Communications: Ability to tailor communication by audience, coach others’ written/oral messaging, and lead with empathy and assertiveness across levels.
Problem Solving: Skilled in diagnosing operational/process problems, evaluating options, assessing risks/benefits, and using fact-finding/diagnostic tools.
Analytical Thinking: Ability to define problems, compare alternatives, identify meaningful data patterns (e.g., Pareto), and draw sound conclusions.
Influencing: Capable of building persuasive arguments, identifying decision makers, and shaping outcomes through active listening and strategic messaging.
Planning & Organizing: Anticipate bottlenecks, manage competing priorities, and execute action plans that reliably deliver commitments.
Flexibility & Adaptability: Comfortable leading through change; adjusts quickly across shifting priorities, processes, and people.

Nice To Haves

Previous maintenance management experience in complex manufacturing environment
Trained with OSHA standards and compliance regulations
Lean manufacturing / continuous improvement leadership (Kaizen, daily management systems, visual management)
Safety leadership experience in high-risk manufacturing environments; strong EHS mindset
Quality systems familiarity (audit readiness, layered process audits, defect reduction, control plans)
Experience leading leaders (manager-of-managers), multi-shift operations, and complex staffing models
Strong production KPI ownership (safety, quality, delivery, cost, OEE/throughput, scrap/rework)
Cross-functional partnership with operations, quality, engineering, materials, and supply chain teams

Responsibilities

Lead process maintenance support across all shifts and directly manage a team of front line maintenance managers
Own staffing strategy for operations teams; hire, coach, motivate, and develop a strong management and supervisory bench.
Drive performance management practices (goal setting, feedback, recognition, and improvement plans) to elevate results and engagement.
Monitor overall maintenance performance and implement production safety, cost, and quality control mechanisms that reduce risk and improve throughput.
Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory guidelines and maintain a safe, sound manufacturing environment.
Lead structured problem solving and root-cause analysis to remove barriers and prevent recurrence (quality, safety, delivery, cost).
Communicate clearly upward, downward, and cross-functionally to align priorities, influence decisions, and sustain execution discipline.