Plant Superintendent / Operations Manager
Metal Processing & Electroplating
Employment Type: Direct Hire – Full-Time
Shift: First Shift
Salary: $125,000–$155,000 annually, based on experience
Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced Plant Superintendent / Operations Manager to serve as the #2 operational leader within a metal processing and electroplating manufacturing facility.
This is a hands-on leadership position for someone who knows how to run people, processes, and productionnot simply supervise a shift. The successful candidate will have experience in metal processing, plating, and specifically electroplating operations, combined with a proven ability to hold employees accountable, improve processes, manage costs, and help drive the financial performance of a manufacturing operation.
This individual will work closely with the Plant Manager and will have significant responsibility for the day-to-day performance of the facility.
Key Responsibilities
- Help lead the overall day-to-day operation of the manufacturing facility and serve as the #2 operational leader behind the Plant Manager.
- Directly manage production supervisors, department leaders, and manufacturing employees.
- Establish clear expectations and hold employees and supervisors accountable for performance, attendance, safety, quality, and productivity.
- Coach and develop employees while also being willing and able to make difficult personnel decisions when necessary.
- Must have direct experience with employee discipline, corrective action, performance management, and termination.
- Develop, document, implement, and continuously improve manufacturing processes and operating procedures.
- Identify production bottlenecks, inefficiencies, labor issues, quality problems, and unnecessary costs and implement corrective actions.
- Develop and manage production KPIs related to productivity, labor efficiency, quality, scrap/rework, downtime, throughput, safety, and on-time delivery.
- Analyze operating results and use data to improve plant performance.
- Participate in budgeting, forecasting, labor planning, purchasing decisions, and cost-control initiatives.
- Have direct responsibility for portions of the facility's P&L and operating performance.
- Understand how labor, overtime, scrap, rework, downtime, material usage, maintenance, and production efficiency impact profitability.
- Partner with the Plant Manager to achieve revenue, margin, productivity, and profitability objectives.
- Manage production scheduling and manpower requirements based on customer demand.
- Work closely with Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, HR, Sales, and other departments to resolve operational issues.
- Maintain a strong presence on the production floor and develop relationships with employees at all levels of the organization.
- Ensure production processes meet customer specifications, quality standards, safety requirements, and applicable environmental/regulatory requirements.
Metal Processing & Electroplating Experience
Candidates must have meaningful experience within metal processing and plating operations, with direct exposure to electroplating strongly required.
Relevant experience may include:
- Electroplating
- Zinc plating
- Nickel plating
- Chrome plating
- Copper plating
- Rack and/or barrel plating
- Metal finishing
- Surface treatment
- Chemical processing
- Pretreatment and cleaning processes
- Plating line operations
- Wastewater/environmental processes associated with plating operations
- Quality and process controls within a metal finishing environment
The ideal candidate understands that electroplating is a process-driven manufacturing environment where chemistry, equipment, labor, quality, throughput, maintenance, and process discipline all have to work together.
Required Leadership Experience
We are looking for a proven manufacturing leadernot someone looking for their first opportunity to manage people.
The successful candidate should have:
- Previous experience as a Plant Superintendent, Operations Manager, Production Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Assistant Plant Manager, or similar senior manufacturing leadership position.
- Demonstrated experience managing multiple supervisors and/or departments.
- Proven ability to hold employees accountable.
- Direct experience conducting disciplinary actions and terminating employees when appropriate.
- Experience creating and implementing processes rather than simply following existing procedures.
- Experience identifying operational problems and developing solutions.
- Experience establishing and managing KPIs.
- Experience managing labor costs, overtime, productivity, scrap, downtime, and other controllable operating expenses.
- Some level of P&L, budgeting, financial, or plant-cost responsibility.
- Strong understanding of how operational decisions affect plant profitability.
- Ability to lead from the production floor while still understanding the financial side of the business.
Ideal Candidate Profile
The right person for this position is a strong, accountable manufacturing leader who can walk onto a production floor, understand what is happening, identify problems, and take ownership of fixing them.
We want someone who:
- Holds themselves and others accountable.
- Does not tolerate recurring problems without corrective action.
- Can have difficult conversations with employees when necessary.
- Earns the respect of hourly employees and supervisors.
- Can develop people but also recognizes when someone is not performing.
- Thinks in terms of processes rather than excuses.
- Uses numbers and KPIs to manage the operation.
- Understands the relationship between production performance and profitability.
- Is comfortable making decisions.
- Can challenge existing processes when there is a better way.
- Is equally comfortable on the production floor and reviewing financial/operational results with senior management.
Qualifications
- 7+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience preferred.
- 3+ years of management experience within metal processing, metal finishing, plating, or electroplating strongly preferred.
- Experience managing supervisors and hourly manufacturing employees.
- Demonstrated P&L, budgeting, cost-control, or financial responsibility.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing KPIs and continuous improvement.
- Experience developing SOPs, processes, and accountability systems.
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
- Excellent leadership and communication skills.
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Engineering, Manufacturing, or related discipline preferred but not required for candidates with significant relevant industry experience.
Compensation & Schedule
Salary: $125,000–$155,000 per year, depending on experience
Schedule: First Shift
Employment: Full-Time, Direct Hire
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced manufacturing leader who wants significant operational responsibility and the ability to directly influence the performance, culture, processes, and profitability of a metal processing and electroplating operation.
