Manufacturing Manager Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing Engineering, or a closely related field OR 8 or more years of directly relevant manufacturing engineering experience considered in lieu of degree.
• 5 or more years of supervisory or management experience in a production engineering environment, with a demonstrated track record of leading, developing, and holding accountable a team of technical professionals.
• Strong working knowledge of CNC programming, manufacturing methods, machine capabilities, and product technology, with experience translating designs into production-ready deliverables.
• Demonstrated experience establishing, documenting, and enforcing design and manufacturing standards used by cross-functional teams.
• Excellent oral, written, and technical communication skills with a track record of effective collaboration across design, programming, NPI, and production functions.
• Strong project and time management capabilities; able to manage priorities across multiple simultaneous work streams without losing detail or quality.
• Solid math skills and comfort with engineering calculations, metrics tracking, and data-driven decision-making.

Nice To Haves

• Experience managing a cross-functional engineering team including designers, programmers, and industrial engineers.
• Familiarity with First Article Inspection (FAI) processes, documentation standards, and corrective action workflows.
• Experience working directly with a Manufacturing Readiness or production operations team as a review and feedback partner.
• Background in case, packaging, or custom manufacturing environments.
• Experience building or formalizing design standards or a product catalog used by sales or customer-facing teams.

Responsibilities

• Own, formalize, and continuously improve the company's design standards and styles product catalog; transforming what exists today into a documented, usable reference that Sales can use to pre-qualify and route incoming customer requests.
• Collaborate with Sales to ensure the catalog remains current, clearly communicated, and accurately reflects organizational capabilities and capacity.
• Triage and prioritize work arriving from both the Sales and NPI channels, revising schedules across multiple work streams to best meet customer commitments.
• Lead the engineering team through the complete cycle of design, approval, CNC programming, and FAI packet release, ensuring every handoff to production is complete and production ready.
• Establish and enforce a formal design review and approval workflow with clear handoff criteria so work leaving the team is consistently defect free.
• Apply knowledge of CNC programming, machine capabilities, and manufacturing methods to guide the team's technical decisions and resolve complex engineering challenges.
• Develop and maintain bills of materials for manufactured products, including design changes and instructions.
• Serve as the formal approval gate for all FAI reports following Manufacturing Readiness execution — assess findings, direct corrective action, and determine when issues require formal root cause analysis.
• Review, approve, or reject RCA documentation for FAI-related issues; direct the engineering team to execute approved redesign or reprogramming changes.
• Ensure all approved changes are fully incorporated into the final manufacturing-ready packet before release back to production.
• Consult with Production Operations, Quality, Purchasing, and Production Planning as needed regarding modifications to work orders and prints.
• Track and report on design-to-production cycle time, FAI packet quality, and rework rates; use data to drive recommendations for forecasting and improvement.
• Establish production and quality control standards for the department, incorporating measurable metrics including cycle time, handoff quality, and defect reduction.
• Develop and implement methods and procedures designed to eliminate recurring operating problems and raise the quality of team output over time.
• Direct and coordinate all department activities; plan and establish output priorities aligned with operational effectiveness and cost targets.
• Lead staff development through thoughtful selection, onboarding, training, and performance management, including scheduled performance reviews and monthly coaching sessions for all direct reports.
• Partner with internal stakeholders on staffing needs; lead the department's hiring and onboarding processes.
• Foster a team culture built on accountability, collaboration, and continuous growth.
• Maintain a strong, trust-based working relationship with Manufacturing Readiness as the primary feedback source for FAI results and build issues.
• Collaborate with NPI to ensure smooth handoff of approved proof-of-concept designs into the engineering team's workflow.
• Coordinate with Engineering Project Manager(s) on scheduling, priorities, and customer commitments across work intake channels.
• Engage Sales as needed to maintain the design catalog and ensure direct route requests are thoroughly reviewed before reaching the team.

Benefits

• All offers are contingent upon successful completion of a criminal background check prior to start date.
• Candidates must comply with pre-employment and random drug testing in accordance with Company policy for the duration of employment.