Production Manager

Brightpath Associates LLC; Connecticut; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Brightpath Associates LLC in Connecticut seeks a Production Manager to oversee daily paper production, ensuring safety, efficiency and cost effectiveness. You will drive process optimization, lead a team, and coordinate across maintenance, engineering and quality to meet quality targets and customer expectations.

The role requires a solid background in paper manufacturing, strong leadership, and the ability to develop and implement SOPs, monitor KPIs, and manage outages while fostering a culture

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Paper Science, or related field preferred.
• 5+ years in paper manufacturing, supervisory or management role.
• Strong technical understanding of paper machine operations, process control systems, and quality parameters.

Responsibilities

• Manage and oversee day-to-day paper production to meet targets.
• Monitor KPIs such as machine efficiency, downtime, waste, and energy use; propose action plans.
• Partner with maintenance, engineering, and quality teams to troubleshoot production issues.
• Ensure products meet quality standards and customer expectations via quality control measures.
• Lead efforts for process optimization and cost reduction.
• Develop and manage annual mill outage projects to ensure safe downtime and timely restart.
• Coach and mentor production staff, promoting teamwork and continuous improvement.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Data analysis

Process control

Paper machine ops

Quality awareness

Microsoft Office

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

PARCview

AB Factory Talk DCS

PLC programming

Job description

The Production Manager is responsible for managing the daily activities of the paper production process to ensure safe, efficient, and cost-effective production of quality paper products. This role requires a strong background in paper manufacturing processes and leads the pursuit for process optimization, fostering a culture of safety, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Manage and oversee the day-to-day paper production to meet production, quality, and cost targets.
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as machine efficiency, downtime, waste, and energy use. Develop proactive action plants to align KPI results with business goals.
• Partner with maintenance, engineering, and quality teams to troubleshoot and resolve production issues.
• Ensure that paper products meet or exceed quality standards and customer expectations by implementing quality control measures.
• Lead new product development efforts to produce exceptional, cost-effective products that fit our customers’ needs
• Engage mill employees and customers to develop and maintain strategic relationships that add business value
• Ensure team is efficiently allocating resources, including manpower, equipment, and materials, to optimize production output and minimize downtime.
• Assist in the development and management of operations departmental budgets, controlling costs while meeting production goals.
• Develop and manage annual mill outage projects to ensure safe and effective downtime while managing operational resources to return to production as scheduled.
• Lead, coach, and mentor a team of production staff, fostering a culture of teamwork and continuous improvement to improve safety, uptime, product quality, and productivity.
• Communicate expectations across shifts and adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Identify opportunities for process optimization, cost reduction, and efficiency improvements.
• Facilitate training the team on available process management tools, such as PARCview, AB Factory Talk DCS, and various PLCs.
• Support developing training tools and SOPs that allow team to make data-driven decisions regarding Paper Machine operations.

Safety and Compliance

• Lead and develop a team with a zero-injury safety culture at the forefront of production goals.
• Promote and enforce safety protocols and guidelines to maintain a safe working environment for all employees.
• Participate in safety audits, risk assessments, incident investigations, and root cause analysis to support company safety goals.
• Ensure compliance with all environmental, quality, and corporate regulations. Perform root cause analysis on all environmental compliance misses and lead planning to prevent environmental events.
• Perform and document routine mill safety and housekeeping inspections. Proactively challenge operations team to maintain a clean work environment.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Ensure Maintenance, Engineering, and Quality departments are effectively coordinating planned outages, process changes, and product trials.
• Develop and support capital projects and process upgrades, including commissioning and startup activities.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Paper Science, or related field preferred.
• 5 years’ experience in paper manufacturing, with at least in a supervisory or management role.
• Strong technical understanding of paper machine operations, process control systems, and quality parameters.

Preferred Skills

• Excellent proficiency in Microsoft Office programs (Excel, Word).
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent leadership and team management skills.
• Problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
• Familiarity with safety regulations and compliance.
• Proficiency in using computer software for production planning and reporting.
• Ability to analyze data, solve problems, and make informed decisions.
• Commitment to safety and quality standards.