Plant Manager

Smart4 Sciences; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Career progression opportunities

Job summary

Smart4 Sciences is seeking an experienced Plant Manager to lead a busy chemical manufacturing facility in Kansas City, overseeing production, maintenance, quality, and logistics. You will drive safety, operational excellence, and customer delivery while shaping site strategy and a culture of accountability.

You will manage a high-performing team, implement continuous improvement through Lean and Six Sigma, and collaborate with engineering, quality, and supply chain to meet cost and performance

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of manufacturing leadership in chemical/process manufacturing.
• Proven experience leading plant operations across production, maintenance, quality, and logistics.
• Strong leadership of large manufacturing teams.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement.
• Strong KPIs, planning, quality systems, and performance management.
• Experience leading customer audits and resolving technical or quality issues.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead all day-to-day plant operations across production, maintenance, quality, and logistics.
• Ensure safety, quality, cost, productivity, and customer delivery objectives are met.
• Champion a strong safety culture with OSHA and EHS compliance.
• Drive continuous improvement using Lean, Six Sigma, and structured problem solving.
• Develop and monitor KPIs including production output, downtime, scrap, efficiency, and costs.
• Identify and implement process improvements to increase productivity and reduce waste.
• Oversee quality systems, ensuring compliance with customer requirements and industry standards.
• Lead customer audits, technical reviews, and support customer satisfaction through consistent operational performance.
• Develop production schedules and ensure manufacturing plans align with customer demand and delivery expectations.
• Coach, mentor, and develop plant leadership and production teams while building a culture of accountability and engagement.
• Support capital investment projects, equipment upgrades, and manufacturing improvements across the facility.
• Partner with Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and other cross-functional teams to deliver business objectives.

Skills

Leadership

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

Operational Excellence

Cross-functional Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical discipline

Job description

Are you an experienced Plant Manager with a background in chemical manufacturing? Do you have a proven track record of leading manufacturing operations, driving operational excellence, and developing high-performing teams?

We're recruiting on behalf of a global manufacturing organization seeking an experienced Plant Manager to lead a busy chemical manufacturing facility based in Kansas City. This is an excellent opportunity to take full ownership of plant operations, leading production, maintenance, quality, logistics, and continuous improvement while ensuring world-class performance across safety, quality, delivery, and cost.

Reporting directly to the Director of Operations, you'll play a key role in driving operational performance, developing site strategy, and building a culture focused on safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead all day-to-day plant operations across production, maintenance, quality, and logistics.
• Ensure manufacturing activities consistently meet safety, quality, cost, productivity, and customer delivery objectives.
• Champion a strong safety culture while ensuring compliance with OSHA, environmental regulations, and company EHS standards.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives using Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Develop and monitor KPIs including production output, downtime, scrap, efficiency, and operational costs.
• Identify and implement process improvements that increase productivity, reduce waste, and improve overall plant performance.
• Oversee quality systems, ensuring compliance with customer requirements and industry standards, including IATF 16949 and ISO 14001.
• Lead customer audits, technical reviews, and support customer satisfaction through consistent operational performance.
• Develop production schedules and ensure manufacturing plans align with customer demand and delivery expectations.
• Coach, mentor, and develop plant leadership and production teams while building a culture of accountability and engagement.
• Support capital investment projects, equipment upgrades, and manufacturing improvements across the facility.
• Partner with Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and other cross-functional teams to deliver business objectives.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of manufacturing leadership experience within chemical manufacturing or a related process manufacturing environment.
• Proven experience managing plant operations, including production, maintenance, quality, and logistics.
• Strong leadership experience managing large manufacturing teams.
• Demonstrated success delivering operational improvements through Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement methodologies.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing KPIs, production planning, quality systems, and operational performance management.
• Experience leading customer audits and working directly with customers to resolve technical or quality issues.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
• A proactive leader with a passion for developing teams and driving operational excellence.

What’s on Offer

• Competitive salary of $140,000 - $155,000
• Performance bonus
• Opportunity to lead a high-performing chemical manufacturing facility
• Significant influence over operational strategy and continuous improvement initiatives
• Excellent long-term career progression within a global manufacturing organisation

If you're an experienced manufacturing leader looking to make a significant impact within a global chemical manufacturing business, we'd love to hear from you.