Frontline Operations Manager - Manufacturing

Working at our Clearwater location, you’ll contribute to highly sophisticated systems that manage the performance of Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft as well as F-18s, F-35s, Harriers, and Apaches. The facility has been awarded OSHA’s highest safety rating and fosters a diverse team impacting the future of flight.

About the role

The Frontline Operations Manager is the direct people leader for Clearwater’s Original Equipment (OE) manufacturing operation. This role is accountable for building a strong, engaged, and high-performing team on the manufacturing floor by leading daily plant operations, developing frontline leaders, removing production barriers, and driving a culture of safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance through active floor leadership. The ideal candidate is a hands-on manufacturing leader who leads from the floor, coaches in real time, and partners closely with supervisors and operators to solve problems where the work happens. This role also serves as a key member of the site staff, setting the tone for operational discipline, accountability, and team engagement across the OE organization.

Responsibilities

• Directly lead the OE manufacturing organization to achieve targets in safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
• Maintain a strong daily presence on the manufacturing floor, leading where the work happens and ensuring issues are identified, escalated, and resolved in real time.
• Coach, develop, and hold accountable frontline leaders, including production supervisors, to strengthen team performance, engagement, and leader standard work.
• Build a culture of direct people leadership, with clear expectations, frequent feedback, visible support, and consistent follow-through.
• Lead daily operating rhythms for the business, including floor walks, tiered accountability, visual management, and action follow-up.
• Partner closely with hourly and salaried employees to remove barriers, improve communication, and ensure execution of daily production priorities.
• Drive continuous improvement according to site benchmarks and standards, with a focus on practical shop-floor execution and sustained results.
• Lead activities to improve manufacturing performance and reduce cost in support of Clearwater’s continued development as an Electronics Center of Excellence.
• Establish and reinforce control plans, daily standard work, and visual management around shop KPIs.
• Lead measurement standardization and systemic change management to support Clearwater site KPIs and problem-solving processes, including root cause corrective action.
• Develop a strong culture of problem solving and operational ownership by engaging teams directly in identifying waste, closing gaps, and implementing countermeasures.
• Participate in Plant Leader staff meetings and communicate OE operating priorities, performance, risks, and recovery plans.
• Support internal capacity and growth planning activities to ensure the organization is positioned to meet customer demand.
• Communicate recommendations, priorities, and solutions across the organization and with cross-functional partners.
• Present business updates, operational risks, and recommendations to senior leaders across GE Aerospace.
• Travel approximately 10%.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college (or a high school diploma / GED with a minimum of 9 years of experience in manufacturing and/or production).
• Minimum of 5 years of direct people leadership experience in a manufacturing and/or production environment.
• This role requires access to U.S. export-controlled information; employment is contingent upon proving U.S. Person status (U.S. lawful permanent resident, U.S. Citizen, asylee, or refugee).

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience leading frontline manufacturing teams from the shop floor, including regular direct engagement with hourly and salaried employees.
• Proven experience coaching leaders and driving accountability in a fast-paced production environment.
• Aviation electronics manufacturing experience.
• Experience directly leading both hourly and salaried employees in a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead from the floor through daily presence, real-time coaching, and rapid problem solving.
• Strong track record of developing supervisors and building high-performing frontline teams.
• Experience leading Kaizen events, including pre-work.
• Ability to lead and organize across functional disciplines.
• Ability to strategically identify and champion action plans to achieve growth.
• Experience leading programs and projects.
• Strong interpersonal, coaching, and leadership skills.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and resolve problems.
• Experience implementing visual management, leader standard work, and daily operating mechanisms in a shop environment.

Benefits

• Relocation assistance provided.