Production Manager, Assembly - B Shift

Join us at Panasonic Energy as we expand to De Soto, Kansas, where we’re building the world’s largest lithium-ion battery factory. This is an exciting opportunity to grow your career while contributing to the future of electric vehicles. As part of our team, you’ll help push the limits of battery technology, enhancing performance and efficiency in sustainable transportation. Our state-of-the-art facility, just outside the Kansas City Metro, will be a hub for innovation in green energy solutions. If you're passionate about sustainability and eager to contribute to the electric vehicle revolution, we invite you to be part of our dynamic team.

About the role

The Production Manager leads and oversees multiple production lines within a high-volume, 24/7 manufacturing environment to achieve safety, quality, cost, delivery, and productivity objectives. This role owns end-to-end manufacturing performance for assigned areas, ensuring alignment to production strategy, Lean manufacturing principles, and SQDCP performance metrics. The Production Manager provides leadership and direction to Production Supervisors, drives cross-functional operational execution, and ensures standardized work, capacity planning, and continuous improvement initiatives are effectively implemented. As the operational owner of assigned manufacturing areas, this position is accountable for delivering measurable business results, developing leadership capability, and building a culture of operational excellence and accountability.

Responsibilities

• Functional Leadership & Operations:
  • Own manufacturing performance across assigned production lines, ensuring achievement of safety, quality, cost, delivery, and productivity targets
  • Manage departmental operating expenses and support annual budget planning processes
  • Lead and develop Production Supervisors to ensure effective daily execution of production plans
  • Ensure capacity planning, labor optimization, and resource allocation align with production demand
  • Drive adherence to standardized work, operating procedures, and operational controls
  • Serve as escalation point for line-level operational, quality, and people-related issues
• Strategic Alignment & Continuous Improvement:
  • Translate plant-level strategy into actionable production plans and performance expectations
  • Drive Lean manufacturing, 6S, and continuous improvement initiatives across assigned areas
  • Lead structured problem-solving efforts to eliminate chronic losses and improve operational stability
  • Monitor and analyze SQDCP metrics, identifying trends and deploying countermeasures
  • Champion cost reduction and productivity improvement initiatives
• Team Development & Knowledge Sharing:
  • Develop, coach, and evaluate Production Supervisors and other direct reports
  • Build leadership capability and succession pipelines within the production organization
  • Partner with HR on workforce planning, employee engagement, and performance management
  • Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement
  • Lead change management initiatives within assigned manufacturing areas
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement:
  • Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and EHS to ensure operational alignment
  • Participate in PFMEA reviews, capacity planning discussions, and new product/process introductions
  • Ensure effective implementation of control plans and process controls
  • Provide performance updates and operational insights to senior leadership
• Quality, Safety, Compliance, & Risk Management:
  • Ensure safe manufacturing operations by enforcing compliance with safety standards and EHS requirements
  • Drive proactive risk identification and mitigation across production lines
  • Ensure defects are contained at the source and systemic quality issues are resolved
  • Oversee root cause investigations and ensure sustainable corrective actions are implemented
  • Maintain compliance with regulatory, environmental, and operational standards
• Supervisory Responsibilities:
  • Provide direct leadership to Production Supervisors and indirectly oversee hourly production personnel across assigned lines
  • Responsible for performance management, workforce planning, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness within assigned areas

Minimal travel as required for business needs.

Requirements

• Education, Certifications, and Licenses:
  • Required: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related technical field. Relevant work experience may be substituted for required education.
  • Preferred: Master’s degree (MBA or MS) in a related discipline, Lean Six Sigma Certification (Green Belt or higher), OSHA 30-Hour General Industry certification
• Essential Qualifications:
  • 5+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience in a high-volume, 24/7 production environment
  • Demonstrated success owning safety, quality, cost, and delivery performance metrics
  • Strong data-driven decision-making capability and financial acumen
  • Working knowledge of Lean manufacturing, 6S, structured problem-solving, and continuous improvement methodologies
  • Experience with ERP/MES systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, FactoryTalk)
  • Ability to influence cross-functional partners without direct authority
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills
  • Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
  • Must have working-level knowledge of the English language, including reading, writing, and speaking English
  • Alignment to Panasonic’s seven (7) core principles (contribution to society, fairness and honesty, cooperation and team spirit, untiring effort for improvement, courtesy and humility, adaptability, gratitude)
• Preferred Qualifications:
  • 7+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience
  • Experience leading large production organizations (100+ employees) in a high-volume, automated environment
  • Proven track record driving productivity, cost reduction, and operational transformation initiatives
  • Experience supporting new product introductions or major capacity expansions
  • Strong change management and organizational leadership capability
  • Advanced analytical skills and structured root cause problem-solving expertise
  • Bilingual or multilingual capabilities (e.g., Japanese, Spanish)

Physical Demands

Physical Activities: Percentage of time (equaling 100%) during the normal workday the employee is required to:

• Sit: 20%
• Walk: 40%
• Stand: 40%

Required Lifting and Carrying:

• Up to 10 lbs.: Frequent (34-66%)
• Up to 20 lbs.: Occasional (1-33%)
• Up to 35 lbs.: Occasional (1-33%)
• Team-lift only (over 35 lbs.): Occasional (1-33%)

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Requirements: To ensure health and safety in the workplace and for employee protection, wearing PPE is required and includes equipment such as a full Tyvek suit, safety shoes, gloves, safety glasses, face mask, and a full hazmat suit that includes a respirator. A respirator fit test will be required based on functional area.

Schedule

6:45 PM–7:30 AM Nights, B-Shift (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday & Every Other Wednesday)

Benefits

Panasonic Energy prioritizes total well-being and offers comprehensive benefits options to support physical, emotional, financial, social, and environmental health:

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, prescription plans, plus Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account options.
• Voluntary Benefits: Life, accident, critical illness, disability, legal, identity theft, and pet insurance.
• Panasonic Retirement Savings & Investment Plan (PRSIP): 401(k) plan with company matching contributions and immediate vesting.
• Paid Time-Off Benefits: Vacation, holidays, personal days, sick leave, volunteer, and parental & caregiver leave.
• Educational Assistance: Tuition reimbursement for job-related courses after six months of service.
• Health Management and Wellbeing Programs: Lifestyle Spending Account, EAP, virtual health management, chronic condition, neurodiversity, tobacco cessation, substance abuse support, and life stage and fertility resources. Available to eligible employees starting the first day of the month following your start date. Eligibility for each benefit may vary based on employment status, location, and length of service.
• Employee Recognition Program: High5 employee recognition and awards platform, quarterly and annual employee recognition.
• Annual Bonus Program: Opportunity for an annual performance-based bonus.
• On-site Food Options: Several on-site cafes, plentiful snack and beverage kitchens, revolving on-site vendor visits and employee events.