Production Manager

MAHLE; Murfreesboro, Northern (TN, KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

MAHLE is seeking a Production Manager in Murfreesboro, TN to lead safety, production, and quality across shifts. You will oversee supervisors and hourly teams, drive Lean improvements, and ensure adherence to IATF 16949 and customer specs.

The role emphasizes continuous improvement, standardized work, labor efficiency, and waste reduction. Ideal candidates have 5–10+ years in high-volume automotive manufacturing with prior supervisory experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Business, or related discipline preferred.
• Approximately 5–10+ years of progressive manufacturing experience, depending on plant size and responsibility.
• Previous automotive manufacturing experience strongly preferred.
• Prior leadership experience managing supervisors and hourly employees.
• Experience operating in a high-volume, fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Experience working with automotive OEM/customer requirements.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a safety-first culture across all shifts.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, company EHS policies, PPE requirements, LOTO, ergonomics, and safe work practices.
• Review incidents, near misses, and unsafe conditions.
• Lead corrective actions and verify closure.
• Conduct regular floor safety audits.
• Hold supervisors accountable for daily safety expectations.
• Achieve daily, weekly, and monthly production schedules.
• Monitor production against customer requirements and shipping schedules.
• Manage manpower, machine capacity, overtime, and shift coverage.
• Respond quickly to production interruptions and bottlenecks.
• Coordinate recovery plans when production falls behind.
• Manage schedule attainment and on-time delivery.
• Ensure production meets customer specifications and automotive quality requirements.
• Support IATF 16949 and applicable customer-specific requirements.
• Drive compliance with Control Plans, Standardized Work, PFMEAs, and related docs.
• Partner with Quality to address internal defects and customer complaints.
• Ensure containment and corrective actions are implemented when quality issues occur.
• Drive reductions in scrap, rework, defects, and customer PPM.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

OEE

PFMEA

Root cause analysis

APQP

PPAP

SPC

ERP/MRP

Capacity planning

Labor planning

Microsoft Excel

Production reporting

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Manufacturing/Operations Management/Business

Tools

MS Office

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

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Together, we move the world—we’ve been doing it for over 100 years. At MAHLE, as a leading international development partner and systems supplier to the automotive industry, we pursue the objective of making mobility more efficient, more environmentally friendly, more convenient, and more economical. As part of our dual strategy, we are working both on the intelligent combustion engine for the use of hydrogen and other nonfossil fuels and on technologies for fuel cells and e-mobility.

MAHLE generated sales of €11.3 billion in 2025. Employing just under 65,000 people at 127 production locations and 11 technology centers, the company is represented in 28 countries. (as at: 12/31/2025). Join our MAHLE team! #weshapefuturemobility

Your Contribution

The Production Manager is responsible for the safe, efficient, and profitable operation of assigned manufacturing areas, ensuring customer requirements for quality, delivery, cost, and volume are consistently achieved.

The position leads supervisors and production teams while driving continuous improvement, standardized work, labor efficiency, scrap reduction, equipment uptime, and compliance with automotive quality systems.

This role is responsible to:

1. Safety

• Maintain a safety-first culture across all shifts.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, company EHS policies, PPE requirements, LOTO, ergonomics, and safe work practices.
• Review incidents, near misses, and unsafe conditions.
• Lead corrective actions and verify closure.
• Conduct regular floor safety audits.
• Hold supervisors accountable for daily safety expectations.

2. Production & Delivery

• Achieve daily, weekly, and monthly production schedules.
• Monitor production against customer requirements and shipping schedules.
• Manage manpower, machine capacity, overtime, and shift coverage.
• Respond quickly to production interruptions and bottlenecks.
• Coordinate recovery plans when production falls behind.
• Manage schedule attainment and on-time delivery.

3. Quality

• Ensure production meets customer specifications and automotive quality requirements.
• Support IATF 16949 and applicable customer-specific requirements.
• Drive compliance with:
  • Control Plans
  • Standardized Work
  • PFMEAs
  • Work Instructions
  • Process parameters
  • Traceability requirements
• Partner with Quality to address internal defects and customer complaints.
• Ensure containment and corrective actions are implemented when quality issues occur.
• Drive reductions in scrap, rework, defects, and customer PPM.

Typically responsible for Production Supervisors, Team Leaders, and hourly production employees.

Key expectations include:

• Coach and develop supervisors.
• Hold leaders accountable for results.
• Address attendance, performance, and conduct issues consistently.
• Develop succession plans and future leaders.
• Ensure adequate staffing and employee training.
• Promote employee engagement and accountability.
• Conduct regular supervisor meetings and performance reviews.
• Partner with HR on disciplinary and employee-relations matters.

Lead improvements using Lean manufacturing principles such as: 5S, Kaizen, Standardized Work, Visual Management, Problem Solving, Gemba, Waste elimination, Line balancing, SMED/changeover reduction, Root Cause Analysis, 5 Why, 8D, OEE improvement

The Production Manager should not simply react to daily problems. A major expectation is toidentify recurring problems and permanently eliminate their root causes.

Your Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Business, or related discipline preferred.
• Approximately 5–10+ years of progressive manufacturing experience, depending on plant size and responsibility.
• Previous automotive manufacturing experience strongly preferred.
• Prior leadership experience managing supervisors and hourly employees.
• Experience operating in a high-volume, fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Experience working with automotive OEM/customer requirements.

Equivalent combinations of education and extensive manufacturing leadership experience may also be considered.

Technical Knowledge

Strong knowledge of:

• Automotive manufacturing
• Lean manufacturing
• IATF 16949
• APQP
• PPAP
• PFMEA
• Control Plans
• SPC
• 8D
• Root-cause analysis
• Standardized work
• OEE
• Capacity planning
• Labor planning
• ERP/MRP systems
• Microsoft Excel and production reporting

Specific technical requirements can also includewelding, stamping, injection molding, assembly, machining, paint, casting, or other processes, depending on the operation.

Leadership Competencies- The most important distinction between a supervisor and Production Manager is often the ability to lead through other leaders.

Do you have any questions?

[e-mail]

Facts about the job

Entry level: Experienced hires

Part- / Full-time: Full Time

Functional area: Production

Department: BU2 Thermal and Fluid Systems

Location: Murfreesboro, TN, US, 37127

Company: MAHLE Filter Syst.(US) MF

Your future at MAHLE

As a team player and someone who thinks ahead, you can deploy all your skills with us. In cooperation with colleagues from different countries and areas, you contribute in designing the mobility of the future. When selecting MAHLE, you choose trend-setting technologies and strategies. Are you interested in working with us and developing efficient and environmentally-friendly solutions, optimising existing products, and turning innovative ideas into reality? Then MAHLE is the right address for you.