Production Manager

GPTECH; Assumption (IL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care

Vision & dental plans

401(k) with company match

Paid holidays

Paid time off

Life insurance

Job summary

Grain & Protein Technologies in Assumption, IL is seeking a Production Manager to lead our Manufacturing Operations and ensure safe, high-quality, and reliable execution of the production plan. This role will develop production leadership, drive daily accountability for Safety, Quality, and Delivery, and coach Supervisors and Cell Leads to strengthen leadership and standard work.

The position emphasizes developing people, managing daily schedules, and ensuring productivity while balancing labor

Qualifications

• Demonstrated manufacturing leadership experience in a production environment.
• Experience coaching Supervisors, Cell Leads, or frontline teams.
• Strong understanding of Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost/Productivity management.
• Experience managing daily production schedules and priorities.
• Able to coach and develop frontline leaders.
• Knowledge of Lean manufacturing and problem-solving tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead safety on the manufacturing floor and integrate safety into daily meetings.
• Drive quality at the source and reduce scrap using root cause analysis.
• Turn production schedules into daily execution with clear ownership.
• Train and develop production leadership and ensure standard work.
• Maintain daily management rhythm with Gemba walks and visual metrics.
• Optimize labor and equipment resources to meet production priorities.

Skills

Manufacturing leadership

Coaching frontline leaders

Lean principles

Gemba / daily management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Operations, Engineering, Manufacturing, Business

Tools

5S

Root Cause Analysis

Gemba walks

Job description

We are seeking a highly skilledProduction Managerto join our Manufacturing Operations team at our Assumption, IL facility. The Production Manager is responsible for the safe, high-quality, and reliable execution of the production plan across assigned manufacturing operations at the Assumption facility.

This leader will establish clear expectations, develop production leadership, and create daily accountability for Safety, Quality, and Delivery. The Production Manager will work closely with Supervisors, Cell Leads, Planning, Quality, Materials, Maintenance, Engineering, and Continuous Improvement to remove barriers and ensure the factory executes the schedule consistently.

A critical responsibility of this position is developing people. The Production Manager will coach and develop Supervisors, Cell Leads, and production employees to strengthen leadership capability, improve problem solving, reinforce standard work, and build ownership at the point where the work occurs.

Your Impact

• Safety Leadership - Establish Safety as the first priority in all production activities by being present on the manufacturing floor and incorporating safety expectations into Gemba walks and daily production meetings, ensuring employees understand and consistently follow established safety procedures and work practices, identify and eliminate unsafe conditions and behaviors, hold leaders accountable for addressing safety concerns immediately, partner with EHS and Operations leadership on corrective actions and risk reduction, and encourage employees to identify hazards and participate in improving workplace safety.
• Quality at the Source - Establish clear expectations that quality is owned by the production team and built into the process, ensure operators understand product specifications and critical quality characteristics, respond quickly to defects and recurring quality issues, reduce scrap and rework, use structured problem-solving methods such as 5 Whys and Root Cause Analysis.
• Execute the Production Schedule - The Production Manager is accountable for turning the production schedule into daily execution by ensuring production teams understand what needs to be produced, when it is required, and the expected output, drive daily execution against the frozen production schedule, monitor schedule adherence throughout the shift and respond quickly when production falls behind, identify constraints that threaten customer commitments and escalation through the appropriate process, maintain discipline around schedule changes and prevent unnecessary disruption to production, ensure labor and equipment resources are aligned with production priorities, and drive recovery plans when schedule performance misses expectations.
• Train and Develop Production Leadership - build stronger production leaders underneath them. Responsibilities include: coach and develop Supervisors and Cell Leads, establish clear expectations and accountability throughout the production organization, develop frontline leaders' ability to recognize abnormalities and respond appropriately, teach leaders how to conduct effective Gemba conversations, develop problem-solving and root-cause capabilities, reinforce 5S and standard work, train leaders to differentiate between solving today's problem and preventing tomorrow's recurrence, improve the quality of shift handoffs and communication between production areas, develop backups and strengthen the leadership pipeline, and provide regular coaching and feedback to production leaders.
• Daily Management and Accountability - Lead a disciplined daily operating rhythm, ensure Supervisors and Cell Leads understand daily expectations, conduct regular Gemba walks focused on abnormalities and actions, review Safety and Productivity performance, assign clear ownership and follow-up for corrective actions, use visual management to make performance and problems visible, and reinforce accountability without creating a culture where problems are hidden.
• Productivity and Labor Performance - Ensure appropriate staffing and labor allocation to support production requirements, monitor actual production performance against expected performance, drive improvement in labor productivity and earned hours, identify lost production time caused by waiting and shortages, balance labor across manufacturing areas based on changing production requirements, and improve utilization of existing equipment and resources before relying solely on additional labor or capital.

Your Experience and Qualifications

• Demonstrated manufacturing leadership experience in a production environment.
• Experience leading Supervisors, Cell Leads, or frontline manufacturing teams.
• Strong understanding of Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost/Productivity management.
• Experience managing daily production schedules and manufacturing priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, train, and develop frontline leaders.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Ability to work effectively across Quality, Planning, Materials, Engineering, Maintenance, and Continuous Improvement.
• Comfortable spending significant time on the manufacturing floor.
• Preferred
• Bachelor's degree in Operations, Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, or related discipline, or equivalent manufacturing leadership experience
• Experience in metal fabrication, welding, forming, laser cutting, powder coating, assembly, or high-mix manufacturing
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing principles
• Knowledge of 5S, Standard Work, Visual Management, Gemba, 5 Whys, Root Cause Analysis, Eight Wastes, Constraint/Bottleneck Management
• Experience leading through significant operational or organizational change

Your Compensation and Benefits

Expected annual salary for this role will be $85,000 - $105,000, plus eligible for an annual bonus. This is dependent upon job related knowledge, experience, and skills.

Benefits will include the ability to elect health care and wellness plans, dental and vision plans, flexible and virtual work options (where available), 401(k) Savings Plan with company match, paid holidays, paid time off, health savings and flexible spending accounts, reimbursement for continuing education, life insurance, and other supplemental insurance plans.

Your Workplace and Travel

You will be working an onsite role based out of Assumption, IL.

We value inclusion and recognize the innovation a diverse workforce delivers to our farmers. Through our recruitment efforts, we are committed to building a team that includes a variety of experiences, backgrounds, cultures and perspectives.

Grain & Protein Technologies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing.

1. GPT Purpose: Feeding the World Better, through high quality grain and responsibly raised protein

2. GPT Mission: Make Farmers and Agribusiness Managers more productive and more profitable

3. GPT Culture: Winning Values and Winning Behaviors that nurtures a “Winners Win” culture of excellence

4. GPT Approach: Achieve balanced and sustainable success for Employees, Customers, and Owners