Sr. Production Manager - Nights

Panasonic • De Soto, KS

10d • Onsite

About The Position

Join us at Panasonic Energy as we expand to De Soto, Kansas, where we’re building the world’s largest lithium-ion battery factory. This is an exciting opportunity to grow your career while contributing to the future of electric vehicles. As part of our team, you’ll help push the limits of battery technology, enhancing performance and efficiency in sustainable transportation.
Our state-of-the-art facility, just outside the Kansas City Metro, will be a hub for innovation in green energy solutions. If you're passionate about sustainability and eager to contribute to the electric vehicle revolution, we invite you to be part of our dynamic team. Join us and make a meaningful impact on the future of energy and transportation.
Job Summary:
The Senior Production Manager provides strategic and operational leadership across multiple production departments within a high-volume, 24/7 manufacturing environment to achieve plant-level safety, quality, cost, delivery, and productivity objectives. This role owns end-to-end manufacturing performance for a major value stream or functional area, ensuring alignment to plant strategy, operational excellence initiatives, and SQDCP performance metrics.
The Senior Production Manager leads Production Managers and their teams, drives long-range capacity planning and operational scalability, and ensures sustainable systems are in place to deliver consistent business results. As a senior operational leader, this position is accountable for financial performance, organizational capability, capital planning support, and the development of a high-performing leadership pipeline aligned with Panasonic’s Seven Core Principles.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related technical field. Relevant work experience may be substituted for required education.
• 7+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience in a high-volume, 24/7 production environment
• Experience leading large production organizations (100+ employees) within a high-volume manufacturing environment
• Demonstrated success owning safety, quality, cost, and delivery performance at a departmental or value-stream level
• Strong financial acumen, including budget management, cost control, and capital planning support
• Proven experience leading large-scale change management and operational transformation initiatives
• Advanced knowledge of Lean manufacturing, structured problem-solving, and continuous improvement systems
• Working knowledge of automated manufacturing systems and industrial production equipment
• Experience influencing cross-functional strategy without direct authority
• Strong executive-level communication and presentation skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
• Must have working-level knowledge of the English language, including reading, writing, and speaking English
• Alignment to Panasonic’s seven (7) core principles (contribution to society, fairness and honesty, cooperation and team spirit, untiring effort for improvement, courtesy and humility, adaptability, gratitude)

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree (MBA or MS) in a related discipline
• Lean Six Sigma Certification (Black Belt)
• OSHA 30-Hour General Industry certification
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience
• Experience leading multi-department manufacturing operations within a high-volume, automated environment
• Proven track record delivering sustained cost reduction, operational transformation, and scalability initiatives
• Experience supporting major capital expansions or greenfield/ramp-up operations
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain high-performing leadership teams
• Advanced analytical capability and expertise in enterprise-level root cause analysis
• Bilingual or multilingual capabilities (e.g., Japanese, Spanish)

Responsibilities

• Own manufacturing performance across multiple production departments or value streams, ensuring achievement of safety, quality, cost, delivery, and productivity targets
• Lead and develop Production Managers to ensure effective execution of production strategy and operational plans
• Oversee long-range capacity planning, workforce planning, and operational scalability initiatives
• Manage departmental operating budgets, cost structures, and financial performance metrics
• Support capital investment planning, equipment strategy, and resource allocation decisions
• Serve as senior escalation point for complex operational, quality, and organizational issues
• Translate plant and enterprise strategy into multi-year operational roadmaps and performance objectives
• Champion large-scale Lean transformation, cost reduction, and productivity improvement initiatives
• Drive systemic loss elimination through structured problem-solving and data-driven analysis
• Establish sustainable operational systems that improve stability, predictability, and performance
• Lead change management efforts associated with production ramp-ups, new product introductions, and business expansion
• Develop and mentor Production Managers, ensuring leadership growth and succession readiness
• Build organizational capability across multiple layers of manufacturing leadership
• Partner with HR and plant leadership on workforce strategy, talent planning, and engagement initiatives
• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement across departments
• Reinforce alignment to Panasonic’s Seven Core Principles through leadership example and organizational expectations
• Partner with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Maintenance, Facilities, Finance, and EHS to drive integrated operational performance
• Collaborate on new product introductions, capacity expansions, and capital projects
• Provide operational insights, performance forecasts, and risk assessments to plant leadership and executive stakeholders
• Influence cross-functional decisions that impact cost structure, customer delivery, and production scalability
• Ensure enterprise-level safety performance through proactive risk mitigation and system-level controls
• Oversee quality management systems within assigned areas, ensuring systemic defect prevention and sustainable corrective actions
• Drive compliance with regulatory, environmental, and operational standards
• Establish risk management frameworks to prevent operational disruption and customer impact
• Provide direct leadership to Production Managers and indirectly oversee Production Supervisors and hourly production personnel across multiple departments
• Responsible for organizational structure design, leadership development, performance management, and succession planning within assigned manufacturing areas

Benefits

• Health Benefits – Offering medical, dental, vision, prescription plans, plus Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account options.
• Voluntary Benefits – Life, accident, critical illness, disability, legal, identity theft, and pet insurance.
• Panasonic Retirement Savings & Investment Plan (PRSIP) – 401(k) plan with company matching contributions and immediate vesting.
• Paid Time-Off Benefits – Vacation, holidays, personal days, sick leave, volunteer, and parental & caregiver leave.
• Educational Assistance – Tuition reimbursement for job-related courses after six months of service.
• Health Management and Wellbeing Programs –Lifestyle Spending Account, EAP, virtual health management, chronic condition, neurodiversity, tobacco cessation, substance abuse support, and life stage and fertility resources. Available to eligible employees starting the first day of the month following your start date. Eligibility for each benefit may vary based on employment status, location, and length of service.
• Employee Recognition Program - High5 employee recognition and awards platform, quarterly and annual employee recognition
• Annual Bonus Program - Opportunity for an annual performance-based bonus.
• On-site Food Options: Several on-site cafes, plentiful snack and beverage kitchens, revolving on-site vendor visits and employee events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager