Lean Manufacturing Ops Lead – Continuous Improvement

#twiceasnice Recruiting; Town of Wausau (WI); On-site; USD 100,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Our client, a respected custom manufacturer, seeks a hands-on Manufacturing Operations Manager to lead the next phase of operational improvement. You will work closely with the manufacturing team to understand processes, ask the right questions, and identify opportunities to improve workflow, efficiency, consistency, and profitability.

The ideal candidate is curious, collaborative, and action-oriented, able to challenge the status quo, build trust, and bring people along through change.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive manufacturing operations experience.
• Experience in custom fabrication or engineered-to-order manufacturing.
• Strong cost, COGS, and profitability experience.
• Scheduling, capacity planning, and labor utilization experience.
• ERP/MRP and data-driven manufacturing experience.

Responsibilities

• Oversee manufacturing workflow, productivity, quality, costs, and profitability
• Analyze job costing, COGS, labor hours, material usage, and job margins
• Review estimated vs. actual job performance and identify cost variances
• Improve fabrication methods to reduce labor, waste, rework, and production bottlenecks
• Implement practical Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives
• Develop standardized, repeatable manufacturing processes and work instructions
• Capture and document knowledge from experienced fabrication employees
• Partner with Engineering/Drafting to simplify designs and improve manufacturability
• Forecast workload, labor requirements, materials, and production capacity
• Evaluate equipment, tooling, automation, and technology investments
• Monitor KPIs including profitability, labor efficiency, scrap, rework, and throughput
• Partner with Finance on COGS, gross margin, budgeting, and forecasting
• Build accountability around productivity, quality, costs, and schedules

Skills

Manufacturing leadership

Cost management

Process improvement

Production scheduling

ERP/MRP experience

Job description

Our client, a respected custom manufacturer, seeks a hands-on Manufacturing Operations Manager to lead the next phase of operational improvement. You will work closely with the manufacturing team to understand processes, ask the right questions, and identify opportunities to improve workflow, efficiency, consistency, and profitability.

The ideal candidate is curious, collaborative, and action-oriented, able to challenge the status quo, build trust, and bring people along through change.