Operator Academy Lead/Training Manager

TriSearch; Kalamazoo (MI); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

TriSearch seeks an Operator Academy Lead / Training Manager to establish and lead a high‑impact training program for a fast‑growing manufacturing operation. You will design the curriculum, set standards, and coach teams to turn new hires into capable, quality‑focused production operators.

The role focuses on building scalable systems, certifications, and continuous improvement across manufacturing, training, quality, and process disciplines.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in manufacturing training, workforce development, production supervision, or similar.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and continuously improve a weekly Operator Academy curriculum.
• Create hands-on training covering equipment operation, process/HMI fundamentals, wire processing, assembly, and quality requirements.
• Develop training around smart manufacturing workflows, digital work instructions, formboard processes, defect identification, and troubleshooting.
• Establish a structured progression from foundational skills through training, certification, and transition to production.
• Create a repeatable onboarding and training experience that can scale with rapidly increasing production needs.

Skills

4+ years experience

Wire harness

IPC/WHMA-A-620

Instructional design

Training program development

Job description

Operator Academy Lead / Training Manager

Build the training engine behind the next generation of American manufacturing.

What if you could walk into a fast-growing manufacturing operation and build the operator training program from the ground up — creating the curriculum, setting the standards, developing the talent, and ultimately helping determine how the operation scales?

That’s the opportunity.

We are looking for an Operator Academy Lead / Training Manager to create and lead a high-performance training program for a rapidly scaling advanced manufacturing operation. This is more than a traditional training role. You’ll be responsible for developing the systems, curriculum, assessments, and coaching practices that turn new hires into highly capable, quality-focused production operators.

The goal is ambitious: develop dozens of skilled technicians each week while continuously improving productivity, quality, and operator capability as the operation scales.

The Opportunity

As Operator Academy Lead, you will own the end-to-end operator development experience — from a new employee’s first day through hands-on training, assessment, certification, and transition into production.

You’ll work at the intersection of manufacturing, training, quality, technology, and continuous improvement, ensuring that operators are equipped with both the technical skills and process discipline required to succeed in a high-speed production environment.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone who enjoys building rather than maintaining, thrives in a fast-paced environment, and knows how to translate complex manufacturing processes into practical, repeatable training.

What You’ll Do

Build & Lead the Operator Academy

• Design, develop, and continuously improve a weekly Operator Academy curriculum.
• Create hands‑on training covering equipment operation, process/HMI fundamentals, wire processing, assembly, and quality requirements.
• Develop training around smart manufacturing workflows, digital work instructions, formboard processes, defect identification, and troubleshooting.
• Establish a structured progression from foundational skills through a complete reference‑harness build and final certification.
• Create a repeatable onboarding and training experience that can scale with rapidly increasing production needs.

Establish Certification & Quality Standards

• Define clear skills matrices, assessment criteria, testing requirements, and graduation standards.
• Develop a consistent certification process that ensures operators are truly production-ready before entering the floor.
• Incorporate IPC/WHMA-A-620 quality principles into hands‑on training and operator assessments.
• Identify common defects and training gaps and build them directly into the curriculum.

Scale the Workforce

• Develop the training capacity required to support rapid workforce expansion.
• Build systems capable of graduating dozens of qualified technicians per week.
• Continuously improve training efficiency without compromising quality or technical competency.
• Help prepare the workforce for production environments capable of supporting hundreds of harnesses per day.

Drive Continuous Improvement

• Benchmark operator productivity, quality, and first-pass yield.
• Use production data and trainee performance to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Feed lessons learned back into standard work, digital work instructions, and the training curriculum.
• Partner closely with process and automation engineers to ensure training reflects the actual, optimized production process.
• Continuously refine the Academy based on operator feedback, production results, and evolving processes.

What You Bring

• 4+ years of experience in manufacturing training, workforce development, production supervision, or a similar environment.
• Hands‑on experience with wire harness, cable assembly, electromechanical, or comparable manufacturing processes preferred.
• Working knowledge of wire preparation, crimping, assembly, routing, and electrical testing.
• Knowledge of IPC/WHMA-A-620 standards; quality certification is strongly preferred.
• Strong instructional design, coaching, facilitation, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to take complex processes and turn them into clear, practical, repeatable training.
• Experience creating or significantly improving a training program, curriculum, skills matrix, or certification process.
• Ability to work effectively with operators, engineers, quality professionals, and production leadership.
• A hands‑on leadership style and willingness to spend significant time on the production floor.

Especially Valuable

• Lean manufacturing or continuous‑improvement experience.
• Experience supporting a rapidly growing manufacturing operation.
• Experience scaling a workforce during a significant production ramp.
• Familiarity with digital work instructions, manufacturing technology, automation, or connected production systems.
• Experience measuring training effectiveness through productivity, quality, first‑pass yield, or other operational metrics.

Why This Role Matters

This role will have a direct impact on how quickly and effectively the operation can scale.

You won’t simply be delivering training — you’ll be building the system that develops the people who make the operation possible.

If you’re energized by building something new, developing people, improving manufacturing performance, and creating a training program that can scale from its first class to hundreds of production operators, this is an opportunity to make a significant impact.