Value Stream Manager
About The Position
The Value Stream Manager (VSM) is accountable for the end-to-end performance of assigned manufacturing value streams at Avio Aero’s Chicago site. The role translates customer demand and approved operating plans into safe, quality-compliant, achievable daily, weekly, and monthly production and shipment commitments. The VSM drives delivery, productivity, cost, and inventory performance through FLIGHT DECK, disciplined daily management, and continuous improvement in a unionized, three-shift operating environment. The position leads assigned production supervisors and coordinates cross-functional partners, including Quality, Engineering, Planning, Supply Chain, Maintenance, EHS, Finance, and Training. The VSM removes constraints, develops qualified talent, and ensures accountability across shifts, while preserving Quality’s independent decision authority. The role reports to the Plant Leader. The assigned portfolio may include Chinook and Apache / PW74 / Specialty product value streams or Shared Processing Operations. For Shared Processing, the Quality supervisor responsible for Shared Processing 2 retains a solid-line reporting relationship within Quality and a dotted-line functional alignment to the Shared Processing VSM. Supervisor assignments and employee headcount depend on the approved organization.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, or a high school diploma/GED with a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience.
- At least 4 years of supervisory or management experience in aerospace, tight-tolerance machining, or a comparable manufacturing environment, or equivalent training/experience.
Nice To Haves
- Experience leading supervisors, managing production schedules, and coordinating complex or multi-shift manufacturing operations.
- Strong front-line leadership, coaching, accountability, and conflict-resolution skills.
- Demonstrated skill in Lean Manufacturing, FLIGHT DECK or similar daily-management systems, 5S, problem solving, and continuous improvement.
- Working knowledge of aerospace quality systems, special processes, statistical process control (SPC), and engineering drawings / specifications.
- Ability to translate ERP / MRP, labor, routing, inventory, work-center, and delivery data into practical production decisions.
- Sound judgment in balancing customer delivery, quality, safety, cost, and resource constraints.
- Strong Microsoft Office and analytical skills, written and oral communication, and cross-functional collaboration.
Responsibilities
- Enforce EHS rules, safe working practices, applicable procedures, specifications, and compliance requirements across assigned operations.
- Coordinate prompt containment, escalation, root-cause investigation, and closure of manufacturing defects and process issues with Quality and Engineering, while preserving Quality’s independent disposition and release authority.
- Meet customer commitments through reliable flow, clear priorities, traceable performance, and timely communication of delivery risks.
- Maintain process discipline for assigned special processes, including plating and other controlled processes where applicable, with qualified technical and Quality personnel.
- Own the integrated execution plan for assigned value streams, from release and material readiness through machining, shared processing, rework or repair, inspection, and shipment readiness.
- Translate weekly and monthly shipment commitments into realistic daily work-center and operator-level targets using qualified labor, routing requirements, machine availability, material, and schedule constraints.
- Lead daily tier reviews and shift handoffs; track plan versus actual; investigate misses, assign corrective actions, and ensure follow-through.
- Monitor overdue work, WIP, work-center queues, MRR / MRB constraints, rework, supplier-related holds, and other barriers to customer priorities.
- Coordinate capacity sharing and priority decisions across value streams without compromising process controls or Quality’s independence.
- Analyze work-center load, machine hours, qualified labor, skills coverage, attendance, overtime, and bottlenecks to determine practical capacity and staffing needs.
- Monitor and improve manufacturing efficiency, direct labor productivity, schedule attainment, first-pass yield, rework, scrap, WIP aging, inventory flow, and controllable operating cost.
- Partner with Planning, Supply Chain, Quality, and Finance to assess material constraints, inventory exposure, working capital impacts, and schedule trade-offs; escalate risks requiring site-level decisions.
- Develop business cases and recommendations for capital equipment, tooling, maintenance, staffing, training, and process improvements that increase effective capacity or reduce risk.
- Lead, coach, develop, and hold assigned front-line supervisors accountable for standard work, employee development, operating results, and timely issue escalation.
- Build skills matrices, cross-training plans, qualification coverage, succession plans, and performance coaching routines with HR and Training.
- Lead fairly and consistently in a unionized environment; administer company policies and the collective bargaining agreement, and participate in grievance resolution and bargaining support when requested.
- Build a culture of proactive problem solving, respect, teamwork, and transparent performance reporting across shifts.
- Deploy FLIGHT DECK / Lean fundamentals, including daily management, visual controls, standard work, 5S, root-cause problem solving, and sustainable corrective action.
- Own an operating scorecard covering Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Inventory, and People & Productivity, with targets, leading indicators, actions, and owners.
- Partner with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Continuous Improvement to improve process capability, flow, equipment reliability, and right-first-time execution.
- Communicate risks, resource needs, countermeasures, and results to the Site Leader and functional leadership; lead recovery actions when performance falls short of plan.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Life and injury insurance
- Performance-related bonuses and local bonus scheme
- Employee assistant program
- Employee special awards for service and recognition
- Local special agreements and discounts
- Technical, leadership, and development training
- Smart working and work-life balance support, including hybrid work when possible
- Programs aimed at supporting employee wellbeing, psychological safety, and daily needs
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
