Plant Operations Leader — Lean, Safety & Growth

Confidential; Cedar Rapids (IA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential in Cedar Rapids, IA is seeking a Senior Site Manager to lead a personal care manufacturing facility, delivering safe, high‑quality products on time and at target cost. You will provide strategic and hands‑on leadership across manufacturing, maintenance, engineering, and quality to optimize performance.

The ideal candidate has 8–12+ years of operations leadership, a Lean mindset, and a track record of developing teams, managing budgets, and driving continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, or a related field.
• 8–12+ years of progressive manufacturing and operations leadership experience.
• Experience leading a manufacturing facility or manufacturing operation.
• Experience managing production, maintenance, engineering, safety, quality, and/or warehouse functions.
• Demonstrated success improving productivity, efficiency, and cost.
• Strong understanding of Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership and direction for daily plant operations and manufacturing activities.
• Ensure production schedules are achieved while maintaining quality, safety, service, and cost objectives.
• Optimize production capacity, labor utilization, equipment effectiveness, and manufacturing flow.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Planning to align production plans with customer demand and inventory requirements.
• Identify and eliminate operational bottlenecks and constraints.
• Manage production changeovers, line utilization, downtime, and throughput.
• Support new product introductions, product transfers, equipment installations, and process changes.
• Maintain a safety‑first culture and ensure compliance with OSHA and applicable requirements.
• Oversee safety training, inspections, incident investigations, and corrective actions.
• Drive continuous improvement in safety performance and reduce workplace injuries and incidents.
• Partner with Quality and Regulatory teams to ensure adherence to manufacturing standards.
• Promote a culture of quality ownership throughout manufacturing.
• Lead a culture of continuous improvement across the facility.
• Establish and monitor KPIs for safety, quality, delivery, productivity, downtime, scrap, and cost.
• Improve OEE, throughput, yields, and labor productivity.
• Identify opportunities for automation, process improvement, and technology implementation.
• Oversee preventive and corrective maintenance programs to maximize equipment reliability and uptime.
• Own plant operating performance and contribute to overall company financial objectives.
• Develop and manage the plant operating budget.
• Monitor labor, materials, overtime, scrap, utilities, maintenance, and other costs.

Skills

Leadership

Operational leadership

Lean manufacturing

Continuous improvement

KPI development

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Change management

Safety compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, or related field

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Confidential in Cedar Rapids, IA is seeking a Senior Site Manager to lead a personal care manufacturing facility, delivering safe, high‑quality products on time and at target cost. You will provide strategic and hands‑on leadership across manufacturing, maintenance, engineering, and quality to optimize performance.

The ideal candidate has 8–12+ years of operations leadership, a Lean mindset, and a track record of developing teams, managing budgets, and driving continuous improvement.