Production Manager

Sheaumann Laser; Billerica (MA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Short-term and long-term disability

Life insurance

401(k) with employer safe-harbor match

Paid time off: 10 days per year

10 paid holidays per year

Job summary

Sheaumann Laser, based in a cleanroom manufacturing environment, seeks a hands-on Production Manager to lead a 12-operator team and 2 leads. You will run the daily plan, ensure flow, remove obstacles, and build systems for consistent execution, owning on-time delivery and throughput.

The role is a working manager, requiring 60–80% time on the floor and collaboration with Ops, HR and quality. Prior semiconductor/photonics experience is highly preferred for success.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in manufacturing operations with leadership experience.
• Direct hands-on experience in semiconductor/photonics/optoelectronics environments.
• Ability to manage a multi-stage technical process flow and walk a line.
• Proven floor-based management style with heavy production floor time.
• Experience building or running dispatch/scheduling systems (manual or MES/ERP).
• Experience training, qualifying, and performance-managing operators.
• Strong written and verbal communication with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain daily/weekly dispatch lists so each operator knows assignments.
• Manage WIP across epi, fab, dicing, packaging, and test to maximize flow.
• Coordinate with Purchasing, Engineering and Quality to prep lots for run.
• Provide capacity-based dates and own on-time shipment against backlog.
• Spend most days on the floor; run daily standups with leads and operators.
• Identify and reduce operator idle time; track root causes and improve.
• Develop and mentor two lead operators; define escalation paths for issues.

Skills

5+ years experience

Supervising/leading production

Semiconductor/photonics

Floor-based management

Scheduling/dispatch systems

Training and performance management

Strong communication

Lean manufacturing tools

ERP/MES systems

Skills/certification programs

Tools

MES/ERP systems

Job description

Location: On-site (cleanroom manufacturing environment)

Reports to: Director of Operations

Salary Range: $70,000 – $90,000, commensurate with experience

Schedule: Full-time, single shift (day)

Sheaumann Laser designs and manufactures high-performance semiconductor lasers, with in-house operations spanning epitaxial growth, wafer fabrication, and optoelectronic packaging (die attach, wire bond, alignment, test, and burn-in). We are seeking a hands-on, floor-present Production Manager to lead our production team of 12 operators and 2 lead operators.

This is a working manager role, not an office role. You will spend the majority of your day on the production floor — running the daily plan, keeping work flowing to every operator, removing obstacles, and building the systems (dispatch, training, qualification) that make consistent execution possible. You will own on-time delivery, throughput, and operator performance.

This is an excellent step-up opportunity for a strong production supervisor, senior lead, or engineering-minded technician from a semiconductor, photonics, or precision electronics environment who is ready to run a floor.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Production Scheduling & Flow

• Build and maintain a daily/weekly dispatch list so every operator always knows their current and next assignments — no one waits to be told what to do
• Manage WIP across all production stages (epi, fab, dicing, packaging, test) to maximize flow through constraint operations
• Coordinate with purchasing, engineering, and quality to ensure lots are kitted, dispositioned, and ready to run before they reach the floor
• Provide realistic capacity-based commit dates to support delivery scheduling; own on-time shipment performance against a significant backlog
• Spend the majority of each day on the production floor; run a short daily standup with leads and operators
• Identify and eliminate operator idle time; track idle time by root cause (material, disposition, qualification, assignment) and drive corrective action
• Direct and develop the two lead operators; establish clear escalation paths for equipment, quality, and material issues

Training, Qualification & Performance

• Build and maintain a skills/qualification matrix for all operators and operations; drive cross-training to eliminate single-person bottlenecks
• Establish formal training, certification, and requalification standards per operation, with documented work instructions
• Set clear performance expectations; coach, document, and manage underperformance, partnering with the Director of Operations and HR on corrective action
• Own operator hiring: define selection criteria (dexterity, attention to detail, documentation discipline), participate in interviews, and implement practical skills assessments

Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Drive consistent execution to work instructions across all operators; reduce operator-induced quality escapes
• Lead root-cause investigation of floor-level quality issues with quality and engineering
• Identify and implement improvements to flow, layout, tooling, and process discipline

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 5+ years in manufacturing operations, including 2+ years supervising or leading production personnel
• Direct hands-on experience in semiconductor, photonics, optoelectronics, MEMS, or precision electronics assembly manufacturing (cleanroom environment strongly preferred)
• Demonstrated ability to understand and manage a multi-stage technical process flow — you can walk a line, understand what each station does, and reason about where and why WIP queues
• Proven floor-based management style; comfortable spending 60–80% of the day on the production floor
• Experience building or running production scheduling/dispatch systems (manual boards, spreadsheets, or MES/ERP)
• Experience training, qualifying, and performance-managing operators
• Strong communication skills; able to work effectively with engineering, quality, purchasing, and sales

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in laser diode, photonic device, or optoelectronic packaging operations (die attach, wire bonding, fiber/optical alignment, burn-in/test)
• Familiarity with lean manufacturing tools: visual management, kanban/pull systems, constraint (bottleneck) management, standard work
• Experience with ERP/MES systems for work order and WIP tracking
• Experience developing skills matrices and structured operator certification programs

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN THE FIRST 6 MONTHS

• Every operator has visible current and next-job assignments at all times; unplanned idle time is measured and declining
• A skills/qualification matrix exists, cross-training is underway, and constraint operations are no longer dependent on one or two people
• On-time delivery is measurably improving against backlog
• Clear performance standards are in place, and every operator has been given the training and steady workflow needed to meet them

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Salary: $70,000 – $90,000, based on experience
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability (STD/LTD) coverage
• Life insurance
• 401(k) with employer safe-harbor match
• Paid time off: 10 days per year to start
• 10 paid holidays per year

Sheaumann Laser is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.