Plant Operations Leader - Lean, Safety & Growth

SL Tennessee; Clinton (TN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SL Tennessee in Clinton, TN seeks a Plant Manager to provide full operational leadership for the facility, accountable for safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people development. This role builds a disciplined operating system, develops strong leaders, and ensures the plant meets customer commitments while driving year‑over‑year performance improvement.

You will establish a disciplined operating system, drive year‑over‑year performance, and build strong leaders while partnering with

Qualifications

• 10+ years manufacturing leadership with increasing responsibility.
• 5+ years direct plant or operations management in automotive, industrial, or high‑volume production.
• Proven success leading supervisors and managers.
• Demonstrated results in safety, quality, cost reduction, throughput, and delivery.
• Experience with Lean systems (policy deployment, standard work, visual management, CI).
• Budget ownership for multi‑million‑dollar operations.
• Cross‑functional leadership with engineering, maintenance, quality, HR, and supply chain.

Responsibilities

• Own daily production throughput, uptime, cycle times, and delivery performance.
• Lead the plant to meet quality objectives and ensure QMS compliance.
• Champion a zero‑incident safety culture and embed safety in pre‑shift activities.
• Manage the plant budget and drive annual cost‑reduction targets.
• Develop supervisory and operator talent and succession plans.
• Set clear KPIs for safety, quality, cost, delivery, and employee relations.
• Maintain open communication and a positive work environment.
• Implement robust daily management systems with problem solving.
• Ensure compliance with quality, regulatory, and customer requirements.
• Drive Lean, standard work, visual controls, and continuous improvement across all departments.
• Align cross-functional teams with engineering, maintenance, quality, and program management.
• Prepare and manage departmental budgets and forecast resource needs.
• Set staffing plans and schedules to meet demand efficiently.
• Resolve operational issues quickly to minimize delays and costs.

Skills

Leadership

Lean deployment

Strategic thinking

Communication

Accountability culture

Customer focus

Change leadership

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering / operations

MBA or technical master's

Lean Six Sigma certification

OSHA/EPA/IATF knowledge

Job description

SL Tennessee in Clinton, TN seeks a Plant Manager to provide full operational leadership for the facility, accountable for safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people development. This role builds a disciplined operating system, develops strong leaders, and ensures the plant meets customer commitments while driving year‑over‑year performance improvement.

You will establish a disciplined operating system, drive year‑over‑year performance, and build strong leaders while partnering with