Manufacturing Training Manager

Southern States LLC; Hampton (GA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern States LLC seeks a Manufacturing Training Manager to coordinate and deliver training for manufacturing employees, ensuring safety, quality, and efficiency. You will partner with HR, EHS, Quality, engineering, and operations to onboard new hires, qualify skills, and support continuous improvement on the Hampton and Griffin, GA floors.

You will translate procedures into practical instruction, maintain records, and lead cross-training across shifts, with a focus on hands-on machine

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• 3+ years in manufacturing or industrial settings with training/leadership experience.
• Experience building training matrices, qualifications, and on-the-job training programs.
• Ability to read work instructions, SOPs, drawings, and quality specs.
• Strong communication, organization, and documentation skills.
• Proficiency with MS Word/Excel/PowerPoint and related tools.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and deliver training for onboarding, job proficiency, safety, and quality.
• Collaborate with supervisors and SMEs to identify skill gaps and drive improvement.
• Develop on-the-job training materials, lessons, and assessments.
• Lead manufacturing floor onboarding and cross-training across shifts.
• Maintain training records, matrices, and qualification data for audits.
• Provide hands-on instruction and coaching on equipment and processes.

Skills

Strong communication

Coaching/mentoring

Organizational skills

Recordkeeping

Training program development

SOP literacy

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's Degree in a related field

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Job description

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Senior Director of Corporate Compliance, the Manufacturing Training Manager coordinates, delivers, and documents training for the company's manufacturing employees to ensure they have the knowledge, skills, and qualifications needed to perform their jobs safely, efficiently, and in accordance with quality and production standards. This hands-on position serves as the primary training resource on the manufacturing floor, partnering with Production Supervisors, Team Leaders, Quality, EHS, Engineering, Maintenance, and Human Resources to support new-hire onboarding, job-specific qualification, cross-training, refresher training, and continuous improvement. The Manufacturing Training Manager translates procedures and technical requirements into clear, practical instruction at employees' workstations. This position supports manufacturing facilities in Hampton and Griffin, GA, and requires regular on-site presence at both locations. Flexibility in scheduling is required to support training across multiple shifts, including early morning, evening, or off-shift hours as needed.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Partner with HR, Training & Development, Operations, EHS, Quality, Engineering, and subject matter experts to assess manufacturing training needs and develop, deliver, and evaluate programs supporting onboarding, job proficiency, safety, compliance, quality, and performance, while contributing to the company's learning strategy and design.
• Partner with supervisors and team leads to identify skill gaps contributing to productivity losses, scrap, rework, downtime, or safety concerns while maintaining training and qualification standards.
• Facilitate and manage the development of structured on-the-job training programs, instructional materials, visual work instructions, one-point lessons, and practical skill assessments in partnership with functional experts. Ensure technical content is reviewed and approved by the appropriate content owners.
• Coordinate and conduct manufacturing floor training for new and existing employees; maintain training schedules that support production requirements and consistent instruction across shifts.
• Lead production-floor onboarding, introducing new employees to safety requirements, quality expectations, work procedures, and performance standards; coordinate with Human Resources on Day One and Week One onboarding activities.
• Provide hands-on instruction in machine operation, assembly and production processes, material handling, inspection, documentation, and other assigned tasks within the Manager's qualifications; engage qualified subject matter experts when needed.
• Adapt instruction to employee experience levels and learning needs; demonstrate tasks clearly, provide constructive coaching, and reinforce standardized work.
• Use current and approved work instructions, standard operating procedures (SOPs), job safety analyses (JSAs), drawings, and quality specifications; report outdated, unclear, or incomplete materials to the responsible content owner.
• Reinforce applicable PPE, machine safety, housekeeping, and emergency procedures during instruction; incorporate quality standards, inspection requirements, defect awareness, and accurate documentation.
• Coordinate structured cross-training to improve workforce flexibility and coverage of critical positions; work with supervisors to establish individual training and development plans.
• Coordinate training for new equipment and new or revised manufacturing processes before employees begin affected work.
• Provide refresher or remedial training when performance issues, quality concerns, safety incidents, process deviations, or procedure changes identify training needs.
• Maintain a strong floor presence, observe assigned tasks, coach employees, and serve as an approachable resource for manufacturing process and work requirement questions.
• Immediately communicate unsafe practices, quality risks, or significant deviations from standard work to the appropriate supervisor or manager.
• Conduct or coordinate practical skill assessments and document demonstrated competency before recommending employees for independent work; coordinate qualification approval with production management and designated technical owners.
• Maintain accurate employee training records, skills matrices, qualification matrices, and cross-training matrices; track required training, completion, demonstrated competency, and renewal requirements.
• Monitor upcoming and overdue training or qualifications, communicate skill gaps to supervisors, and follow through on completion plans.
• Keep training records current and available for internal, customer, or regulatory audits; protect employee information and follow record-retention and access requirements.
• Provide regular management updates on training completion, qualification status, skill coverage, and training effectiveness; participate in production, safety, quality, and employee development meetings.
• Participate in Lean manufacturing, 5S, and continuous improvement initiatives; document and share best practices and recommend improvements to training delivery and effectiveness.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field. An equivalent combination of education, technical training, and relevant experience may be considered.
• Three or more years of experience in manufacturing, production, assembly, machining, fabrication, or a similar industrial environment.
• Demonstrated experience in training, coaching, mentoring, or leading manufacturing employees in roles such as Manufacturing Trainer, Training Coordinator, Lead Operator, Team Leader or Production Lead.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and maintaining training matrices, qualification systems, visual work instructions, one-point lessons, or structured on-the-job training programs.
• Working knowledge of safety, quality, and production practices.
• Ability to read and understand work instructions, SOPs, drawings, specifications, and other documentation applicable to assigned operations.
• Ability to demonstrate manufacturing processes clearly and provide constructive coaching and feedback.
• Strong verbal and written communication, organizational, recordkeeping, and follow-up skills.
• Basic proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to work effectively with employees at all organizational levels and support training across assigned production schedules.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in an ISO-certified or similarly regulated manufacturing environment.
• Familiarity with Lean manufacturing, 5S, standardized work, Kaizen, and continuous improvement principles.
• OSHA, Train-the-Trainer, technical training, or other relevant training credentials.