Plant Operations Leader — Lean, Quality & Throughput

Smartsearchonline; Ventura (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Smartsearchonline in Ventura, CA seeks a Plant Manager to own facility operations, lead cross-functional teams across manufacturing, quality, maintenance, materials, and other plant support functions to ensure efficiency, on-time delivery, and safety. The role reports to senior leadership and drives sustained improvement.

The position requires 5+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership, hands-on floor presence, Lean/CI experience, ERP/MRP proficiency, and the ability to manage budgets and

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience overseeing plant, production, or manufacturing operations with increasing levels of responsibility.
• Strong understanding of production planning, labor management, quality, cost control, and operational KPIs.
• Experience managing budgets and plant operating expenses; direct P&L exposure is highly valued.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing managers, supervisors, and production teams.
• Ability to identify operational problems, establish priorities, and drive solutions through completion.
• Experience with Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, or process optimization is preferred.
• Comfortable working in a hands-on environment with daily production floor interaction.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership for manufacturing and plant operations.
• Coordinate production, quality, maintenance, materials, and supporting functions to keep operations aligned.
• Ensure production goals, customer commitments, quality expectations, and delivery requirements are consistently achieved.
• Track plant performance and use operational data to identify bottlenecks, cost concerns, and opportunities for improvement.
• Manage staffing levels, labor utilization, operating expenses, and departmental budgets.
• Develop supervisors, managers, and other key employees while establishing clear expectations and accountability.
• Support hiring, training, performance management, and workforce development across the facility.
• Lead initiatives focused on improving throughput, reducing waste, strengthening quality, and increasing operational efficiency.
• Maintain a strong presence on the manufacturing floor and stay closely connected to daily production challenges.
• Partner with leadership on business priorities, operational planning, and longer-term improvement initiatives.
• Build strong relationships with important customers and support the resolution of production, delivery, or service concerns.
• Maintain a safe and compliant workplace while reinforcing established environmental, quality, and regulatory standards.

Skills

Leadership experience

Manufacturing operations

Lean manufacturing

P&L exposure

People development

Budget management

ERP/MRP

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

Smartsearchonline in Ventura, CA seeks a Plant Manager to own facility operations, lead cross-functional teams across manufacturing, quality, maintenance, materials, and other plant support functions to ensure efficiency, on-time delivery, and safety. The role reports to senior leadership and drives sustained improvement.

The position requires 5+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership, hands-on floor presence, Lean/CI experience, ERP/MRP proficiency, and the ability to manage budgets and