Production Manager

About the Role

The Production Manager is responsible for coordinating all required activities to produce quality parts for on-time delivery. This role involves close collaboration with support areas such as supply chain, quality, engineering, and maintenance, while adhering to Kinetico policies and procedures.

Responsibilities

• Provides leadership, training, mentoring, coaching, and performance management for supervisors and the entire production team.
• Builds and maintains a culture of collaboration by facilitating open dialogue, mutual respect, and strong partnerships across teams and leadership levels.
• Delegates production tasks, trains employees on assembly procedures, provides tools and equipment, oversees and approves employee time transactions, evaluates performance, and recommends employment actions.
• Focuses on employee engagement to support a high-performance, quality-driven, and engaged workforce.
• Develops and drives connections across all boundaries, working collaboratively to develop solutions for long-term strategy.
• Coordinates and monitors production team activities, measures critical KPIs, and implements actions to ensure goal compliance.
• Monitors standard work compliance according to the quality management system (QMS) and implements improvements to ensure product quality.
• Assists in developing strategic plans for operational activity and manages their implementation.
• Improves processes and policies to support organizational goals and formulates procedures to enhance the quality system.
• Monitors adherence to rules, regulations, and procedures.
• Ensures ERP content is accurate through daily data entry and promotes real-time data entry.
• Anticipates and maintains inventory levels to meet scheduling needs.

Key Performance Indicators

• Safety: Recordables, incidents, observations, and 5S audits.
• Quality: Scrap cost, customer claims, and first pass yield.
• Productivity: Hours earned and schedule compliance.
• Deliveries: OTIF (On-Time In-Full).
• Cost: Overtime, supplies, and direct labor.

Key Challenges

• Manages multiple product lines, requiring in-depth knowledge of each.
• Ensures the team has the knowledge and skills to continuously improve quality and productivity through training, personnel selection, and replacement if necessary.
• Handles quality issues and drives process improvements, including time studies, line balancing, waste elimination, process reviews, and equipment updates.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required (or equivalent experience in lieu of degree).
• 8+ years of industry-relevant production experience, including 5+ years of management experience.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Knowledge of human resource principles and practices.
• Customer- and quality-focused mindset.
• Strong organizational, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience using Lean manufacturing tools such as value stream mapping, 5S, takt time, and Spaghetti diagrams.
• Six Sigma certification desired.
• Manufacturing, engineering, or design experience.
• New product launch experience.

Organizational Context

The Production Manager reports to the Director of Manufacturing Engineering and serves a key role within the production management team. This position works closely with Safety, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, and other functional production managers.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug insurance coverage.
• Employer-provided life insurance, short-term and long-term disability benefits.
• 401(k) contribution matching program.
• Employer-funded defined contribution plan.
• Paid vacation, holidays, and community service volunteer time-off.
• Wellness program.
• Educational assistance reimbursement program.

About Kinetico

Founded in 1970, Kinetico pioneered the development of non-electric, fully automatic water treatment systems. The company has grown into a global organization with independent dealers and international distributors representing nearly 100 countries. Kinetico specializes in manufacturing water softeners and a wide range of systems that improve water quality for general use and high-quality drinking water. Products are third-party certified for quality and performance, backed by comprehensive warranties. Kinetico is part of the Axel Johnson Group, a global organization with a strong track record of developing leading businesses.