N-K Manufacturing Technologies

Plant / Production Manager

Grand Rapids, MichiganFull-time
$70,000 - $80,000 annually
About the Job
Summary:
A Production Manager leads and oversees shop floor operations to ensure safe, efficient, and high-quality production while meeting internal and external customer demands. This role is responsible for driving operational performance, maintaining accountability and discipline, supporting continuous improvement initiatives, and developing production teams in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. The Production Manager plays a key role in achieving production, quality, safety, staffing, and cost objectives while fostering a positive and performance-driven culture.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
  • The plant manager will serve as the primary on-site representative of the company, acting as a liaison with customers, corporate leadership, and external stakeholders.
  • The plant manager is responsible for managing all production. This role requires strategic decision-making, operational oversight, leadership of department heads, and maintaining compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements. This role demands a focus on quality, efficiency, and continuous improvement in plastic injection molding.
  • Lead day-to-day operations for the IML injection molding department, including molding machines, automation, tooling, and product and case handling systems.
  • Oversee equipment and tooling setup, changeovers, processing, and maintenance to support production efficiency and output goals.
  • Monitor production specifications, quality samples, and process controls to ensure compliance with customer and engineering requirements.
  • Ensure department procedures, work instructions, and compliance documentation are maintained through the internal document control system.
  • Conduct thorough and timely Layered Process Audits (LPA) within assigned production areas.
  • Manage department performance across safety, quality, productivity, and key operational metrics.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with Engineering and other internal teams during commercialization, process changes, and improvement initiatives.
  • Support production planning activities to align staffing, materials, and operational priorities with production schedules
  • Monitor daily staffing levels, manage attendance coverage, and develop contingency plans to support operational continuity. Manage incident investigations, safety alerts, corrective actions, and safety training for employees, contractors, and visitors
  • Lead root cause investigations and implement corrective and preventive actions for quality and production issues.
  • Support workforce management activities, including hiring, onboarding, retention, performance evaluations, promotions, corrective actions, and terminations for hourly team members.
  • Track, maintain, communicate KPIs and operational performance to management team. Provide data for OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness).