Molding Excellence Manager

Silgan Dispensing Systems; Grandview (MO); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Silgan Dispensing Systems in Grandview, MO seeks a Molding Excellence Manager to lead injection molding across four value streams in a 24/7 operation. The role emphasizes data-driven decision making, process validation, and disciplined improvement.

You will coach teams, own OEE components, and drive capability and quality through robust process control. The position requires deep expertise in statistical molding, TPM, and cross-functional collaboration with a center-wide service model.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Plastics, Mechanical, or Manufacturing Engineering; or an equivalent combination of education and directly applicable scientific molding experience.
• Seven+ years of progressive injection molding experience in a high-volume environment with multi-cavity/multi-press setup.
• Ownership of molding OEE and scrap with documented baseline and countermeasures.
• Experience in ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified facilities and third-party audits.
• Experience in a 24/7 operation across all shifts.
• Preferred: RJG Master Molder or similar scientific molding certification; Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or higher; TPM implementation.
• Mold flow simulation, packaging, dispensing, or closures molding experience; knowledge of cost ownership.

Responsibilities

• Establish and enforce validated process windows for every mold using scientific methods.
• Own molding output against plan across four value streams; manage OEE components and cycle time.
• Act as internal customer for Molding Services & Tool Room; document defects and prioritize repairs.
• Lead through supervisors; conduct weekly 1:1s; develop bench strength and onboarding.
• Own labor plan, overtime forecast, resin yield, and energy intensity; support cost-reduction proposals.
• Own Tier 2a; deliver the daily data package; ensure ISO 9001/14001 conformance and corrective actions.

Skills

Scientific molding

Statistics

Mold, press & materials

Problem solving

Leadership

Data literacy

Gemba / coaching

ERP awareness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Plastics/Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering; or equivalent

Tools

JD Edwards EnterpriseOne

Advanced Excel

Job description

SUMMARY

The Molding Excellence Manager owns injection molding output, process control, and molded component quality at Grandview across all four value streams in a 24/7 operation. This is a process and management role. The facility is looking for a scientific molder who leads with data and teaches his teams. The role is accountable for validated process windows, capable processes, and statistical discipline in place of shift-to-shift preference. Molding equipment maintenance, the injection mold tool room, and CNC machining are owned by the Molding Services & Tool Room Manager. This role is the internal customer of that center under a documented service level agreement. Molding OEE is split accordingly: Availability is owned by Molding Services & Tool Room; Performance and Quality are owned by this role. Both are reported together at Tier 2a.

LEADERS

Leaders are expected to create a safe work environment through implementation and commitment to the Safety & Health — Vision, Mission, Values, and the Safety Principles of Conduct. Promote safety by following company and site safety policies and procedures, responding to safety non-conformance by coaching to correct behaviors, and encouraging and supporting employees by attending employee safety meetings and recognizing safe behaviors.

SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

All employees are expected to act in a safe manner at all times and ensure that those around them do not put themselves or others at risk. Everyone is personally accountable for his/her own safety as well as that of their co-workers. Safety and health is a shared responsibility of everyone in the organization and a condition of employment. We value and expect engagement out of all employees. Co-workers share the responsibility for doing the right thing for the environment and carrying out the stewardship principles addressed in our Environmental Policy. We will provide the resources necessary to implement this policy, and management will conduct periodic reviews to ensure its ongoing effectiveness.

SCOPE

Value Streams TS800, PreFresh, Mixor, Radar — all four; 24/7, three shifts.

Direct Reports: Molding Supervisors (all shifts); Process Technicians and Process Engineers. Molding operators and material handlers report indirectly.

Does Not Own Molding maintenance, the injection mold tool room, or CNC machining OEE Ownership Owns Performance and Quality. Availability is owned by Molding Services & Tool Room. Service Level Agreement Documented SLA with Molding Services & Tool Room covering prioritization, response, and escalation. Priority conflicts elevate to the Plant Manager with production impact data.

Tier Participation: Owns Tier 2a (8:00–8:20 AM); attends PLT sessions for assigned value streams; prepares and presents own section at Tier 3.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Other duties may be assigned. Must follow all work rules and policies.

• 30%Process Control & Scientific Molding: Establish and enforce documented, validated process windows for every mold, developed by scientific method — rheology studies, cavity pressure, gate seal, cooling and cycle optimization — not by shift preference or operator habit. Own process capability; run capability studies on critical characteristics and drive Cpk to target. A process that cannot be shown to be capable is not released. Maintain XmR control charts on designated critical process outputs, distinguish special cause from common cause, act on signals, and leave stable processes alone. Own design of experiments, process sheets, setup standards, and change control. Own color and resin performance in the process.
• 20%Production Output & Quality: Own daily and weekly molding output against plan across all four value streams and maintain molded component coverage to Assembly. Own the Performance and Quality components of Molding OEE and manage cycle time to standard and scrap separately. Own the Hour-by-Hour boards in molding — boards current, downtime reason codes honest, action taken within the hour. Own molding scrap dollars; maintain a scrap Pareto by mold and defect code and drive A3 root cause analysis on the vital few. Build and present the weekly molding production plan including press and mold assignments, resin and color requirements, and the overtime required to execute it.
• 15%Asset Partnership & Tooling Interface: Act as the internal customer of the Molding Services & Tool Room center. Document mold and press defects with evidence — dimensional data, process data, and imagery — and prioritize repair demand against production impact and dollarized capacity loss. Verify mold condition and cavitation on return to service and formally accept or reject the release; molds do not return to production on verbal approval. Protect committed PM windows in the production plan. Own the production side of TPM — Autonomous Maintenance task definition, training, and daily completion verification.
• 15%People Leadership & Development: Lead through supervisors and process technicians. Hold weekly one‑on‑ones with each direct report and document coaching. Build scientific molding fundamentals, troubleshooting discipline, and data literacy in the team, and build bench strength through structured cross‑training and knowledge capture. Own molding staffing (all), attendance management, structured 90‑day onboarding, and 90‑day retention. Maintain a minimum of 50 percent of working time on the production floor.
• 10%Cost & Resource Management: Own the molding labor plan and overtime forecast and submit it to the Plant Manager for approval without being asked. Own resin yield and material loss including purge, startup scrap, and regrind handling. Own molding energy intensity per thousand pieces. Support capital and cost-reduction proposals with a documented baseline, quantified benefit, and stated alternatives considered.
• 10%Tiered Management & Compliance: Own and facilitate Tier 2a; no issue leaves the room without an owner, an action, and a due date. Deliver the structured daily molding data package to the Plant Manager as a direct output of Tier 2a. Prepare and present the molding section of the Tier 3 review. Maintain molding processes, records, and work instructions in conformance with ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 and own molding-related corrective actions through to evidenced closure. Enforce lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and hot‑surface safety requirements without exception.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in Plastics, Mechanical, or Manufacturing Engineering; or an equivalent combination of education and directly applicable scientific molding experience.
• Minimum seven years of progressive injection molding experience in a high-volume, multi-cavity, multi‑press environment, including three years leading salaried supervisors or engineers.
• Demonstrated ownership of molding OEE and scrap with a documented baseline, the countermeasures applied, and the measured result.
• Experience in an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified facility, including participation in third‑party audits.
• Experience in a 24/7 continuous operation with responsibility spanning all shifts.
• Preferred: RJG Master Molder or equivalent scientific molding certification; Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or higher; formal TPM implementation; packaging, dispensing, or closures molding experience; mold flow simulation; budget ownership.

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE (REQUIRED)

• Scientific / Decoupled Molding: Rheology studies, cavity pressure and gate seal studies, cooling and cycle optimization, and the development and validation of process windows. This is a screening requirement, not a preference.
• Statistics: Control charts, capability studies, Cpk, measurement system understanding, and design of experiments. The candidate must be able to work the statistics personally, not delegate them.
• Mold, Press & Materials: Mold construction, hot runner systems, and mold condition assessment sufficient to diagnose whether a defect originates in the tool, the machine, the process, or the material — and to prove it. Resin drying, purge discipline, regrind handling, and color changeover standard work.
• Problem Solving & Systems: A3, 5‑Why, and fishbone as normal working methods rather than events.
• ERP (JD Edwards EnterpriseOne preferred); advanced Excel.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES (REQUIRED)

• Self‑Direction: Builds and presents plans without being asked. Brings the Plant Manager a recommendation, not an open question.
• Ownership & Data: Takes accountability for departmental performance. Partners with the Molding Services & Tool Room center rather than using it as an explanation for missed numbers. Publishes the numbers whether they are good or bad and can explain any of them without a subordinate in the room.
• Restraint: Will leave a stable process alone and can explain, from the data, why. Tampering with a stable process is a performance issue in this role.
• Coaching & Presence: Develops supervisors and process technicians into people who can hold the process without them. Minimum 50 percent of working time on the production floor; participates in GEMBA.

LANGUAGE, MATHEMATICAL & REASONING SKILLS

Ability to read and interpret safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, engineering drawings, mold and part prints, and process sheets. Ability to write routine reports and corrective action responses, and to present data and recommendations to plant leadership, corporate leadership, customers, and auditors. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percentage, and to calculate and interpret OEE, cycle efficiency, scrap and yield rates, and cost per thousand pieces. Ability to apply statistical methods including mean, range, standard deviation, control limits, and capability indices, and to interpret control charts correctly. Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions; to distinguish signal from noise in production data; and to withhold action when the data does not support it.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

While performing the duties of this job the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, talk, and hear; frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and sit, bend, stoop, twist, kneel, squat, or crawl. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus are required. Color vision is essential to this role given resin and color defect evaluation. This position works in a general manufacturing plant environment with injection molding presses, auxiliary equipment, hydraulic systems, hot surfaces, and powered industrial trucks. The noise level is usually moderate to loud, and personal protective equipment is required in designated areas. The role supports a 24/7 operation and requires availability across all three shifts, including periodic off‑shift and weekend presence. Approximately 5% travel may be required.

LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMER

The above job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position. All job requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health and safety of themselves or other employees. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job‑related instructions and to perform other job‑related duties requested by their supervisor in compliance with Federal and State Laws. Requirements are representative of minimum levels of knowledge, skills and/or abilities. To perform this job successfully, the employee must possess the abilities or aptitudes to perform each duty proficiently. Continued employment remains on an “at‑will” basis. Silgan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, or the presence of a disability, which would not prevent the performance of essential job duties with, or without reasonable accommodation of any other protective status. Silgan is a drug‑free workplace.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

If you are interested in exploring opportunities at our other divisions, like Silgan Plastics, Silgan Containers, Silgan Closures, Silgan Plastics Food Containers or Silgan Specialty Packaging, Silgan Dispensing creates dispensing solutions for some of the world’s most iconic brands—from triggers and pumps to sprayers and closures. When you join our team, you become part of a global community where your unique perspectives help shape our future. You’ll have the opportunity to be hands‑on, get directly involved in meaningful work, and make a tangible impact from day one.