X-ray Source Production Line Manager

ZEISS•Dublin, CA

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The X-ray Source Production Line Manager has full ownership of the ZXR1 production line, including daily work planning and execution, staffing, employee performance, safety, quality, delivery, cost, capacity, systems, and continuous improvement. The manager sets priorities, sequences work, assigns resources, monitors results, removes barriers, and adjusts the plan to meet business commitments. Reporting to the Director of X-ray Source Production and Development, the manager directly leads the technician organization and coordinates with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Planning, Finance, and other partners to maintain a safe, capable, and predictable production operation.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing, or a related discipline; equivalent experience may be considered.
10+ years of manufacturing or operations leadership experience, preferably in high-tech or complex assembly.
Demonstrated experience directly planning daily production, assigning work, leading frontline employees, and meeting safety, quality, delivery, and cost targets.
Ability to plan and control production using capacity, labor, material, quality, delivery, and cost data.
Working knowledge of ERP-based manufacturing, preferably SAP, including work orders, routings, BOMs, labor reporting, inventory, and traceability.
Experience with KPI management, daily operating reviews, capacity planning, recovery planning, and financial performance.
Working knowledge of lean manufacturing, standard work, 5S, Kaizen, NCR, CAPA, 8D, root-cause analysis, and FMEA.
Clear, decisive communicator who sets expectations and aligns technicians, partners, and leadership.
Strong planning, prioritization, and problem-solving skills in a changing production environment.
Proven people leader with sound judgment, accountability, coaching, and conflict-resolution skills.
Visible, data-driven floor leader who acts quickly, removes barriers, and follows commitments through completion.

Nice To Haves

Experience with New Product Introduction (NPI) and transitioning products from engineering development into stable production.
Experience in X ray systems, microscopy, vacuum systems, or other complex electromechanical assemblies.
Prior experience in a regulated or quality focused environment (e.g., ISO certified manufacturing).

Responsibilities

Own the daily, weekly, and longer-range production plan for the ZXR1 line, aligned with customer demand and business commitments.
Set priorities, sequence work orders, assign technicians and equipment, confirm readiness, and adjust the plan throughout the day as conditions change.
Lead daily floor execution, communicate expectations, monitor progress, and resolve constraints affecting safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
Maintain capacity and staffing plans covering equipment, process constraints, labor, skills, materials, and forecast demand.
Own schedule attainment, shipment commitments, recovery plans, utilization, throughput, and escalation of cross-functional risks.
Directly manage and lead ZXR1 technicians, including hiring, onboarding, attendance, work expectations, performance management, employee relations, and development.
Maintain a culture of accountability focused on safety, quality, ownership, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
Ensure appropriate staffing, training, cross-training, and skill coverage for current and future production needs.
Coach employees, provide timely feedback, conduct performance reviews, address performance or conduct issues, and support career development.
Ensure timely, accurate SAP transactions for work orders, material movements, labor, inventory, and production completion.
Own production routing and master-data governance, coordinating approved BOM, routing, and process changes with Engineering and Planning.
Maintain inventory accuracy, traceability, and production-data integrity; investigate discrepancies and prevent recurrence.
Own line metrics and performance, including safety, first-pass yield, output, schedule attainment, efficiency, utilization, scrap, rework, and on-time shipment.
Lead daily production reviews, compare actual performance with plan, assign corrective actions, and follow issues through closure.
Prepare and present KPI trends, root causes, recovery actions, risks, and improvement priorities.
Manage line financial performance, including labor, overtime, material variance, scrap, rework, inventory, forecasts, budgets, and cost reduction.
Own production quality performance and partner with Quality and Engineering to strengthen process controls and reduce defects, variation, scrap, and rework.
Ensure NCRs are contained, investigated, dispositioned, and closed promptly; lead or support CAPAs and verify effectiveness.
Maintain compliant SOPs, work instructions, checklists, build records, revision control, and training.
Lead continuous improvement work based on safety, quality, delivery, cost, capacity, and employee input.
Coordinate with Engineering and Quality to implement approved product, process, documentation, and quality-system changes.
Partner with NPI and Product Development to transfer products into stable, repeatable production.
Work with Supply Chain, Planning, and Purchasing to resolve material constraints, inventory risks, and delivery priorities.
Serve as the accountable owner and primary escalation point for ZXR1 production-line performance and cross-functional decisions.