General Manager

Winchester Interconnect is committed to inspiring innovative teams in a dynamic, inclusive environment that thrives on collaboration and continuous growth. We hire exceptional people, celebrate wins, empower employee growth, and provide opportunities to thrive—where potential transforms into purpose.

About the role

The General Manager holds full operational and financial P&L responsibility for our San Marcos, CA manufacturing facility within the Wire & Cable and Assemblies Division. This strategic leader directs all plant activities—including extrusion, stranding, cabling, braiding, engineering, quality assurance, supply chain, and continuous improvement initiatives. The ideal candidate blends deep technical manufacturing expertise in wire, cable, subsea, or interconnect solutions with strong commercial acumen to drive top-line growth and optimize manufacturing margins.

Responsibilities

• Full P&L ownership, delivering against corporate targets for bookings, revenue, EBITDA, free cash flow, and the annual operating budget.
• Drive operational excellence by optimizing OEE, reducing scrap, and executing strategic blueprints for machinery and automation scaling.
• Cultivate a "Safety First," zero-injury culture while maintaining critical quality certifications (e.g., ISO 9001, AS9100).
• Establish clear KPIs to drive workforce performance, talent advancement, and high morale.
• Partner closely with Sales and Product Management to analyze margins, protect profitability against fluctuating commodity costs (e.g., copper and polymers), and capture high-margin growth.
• Collaborate with procurement and logistics to balance working capital constraints with strict customer lead times.
• Build robust relationships across engineering, production, maintenance, and finance to foster a unified culture.
• Maintain vital external connections with key accounts, technical partners, and industry bodies across Aerospace, Medical, Industrial Automation, and Telecommunications sectors.
• Make strategic decisions to deploy capital and allocate resources for long-term plant profitability.
• Optimize manufacturing operations—including high-speed extrusion lines, planetary cablers, bunchers, and braiding machinery—to respond to market dynamics and volume spikes.
• Introduce and sustain Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and 5S methodologies to eliminate waste.
• Recruit, structure, and mentor a high-performing leadership team to secure the plant's future talent pipeline.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, or Materials Science), or Finance. An MBA or advanced degree is highly preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in a manufacturing environment, with at least 3–5 years in a Plant Manager, Operations Director, or General Manager role.
• 3+ years of experience in the Wire and Cable industry (extrusion processes, copper drawing, cabling, or high-performance interconnects) is highly desired.
• Working knowledge of various OEM customers and markets.
• Proven track record of managing a multi-million dollar P&L, executing budget roll-ups, and driving successful cost-accounting initiatives.
• Proven track record of implementing change and driving operational improvements.
• Strong problem-solving and multitasking skills.
• Proficient with ERP/MRP systems (e.g., Visual, SAP, Oracle, Infor) and data-driven manufacturing analysis toolsets.
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma Green/Black Belt is highly advantageous.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to build and maintain a collaborative team environment.

Skills

• ERP Systems: Epicor 10 / Infor Visual ERP
• QT9 Quality Management
• Regulatory Agencies Systems (e.g., UL, CSA)
• Google Enterprise
• ADP

Pay

The pay range for this position is up to $215,000 annually (DOE), plus incentive compensation. Exact salary will be contingent upon experience, education, skills, and other relevant factors.