Senior Manufacturing Operations Leader (Lean & Supply Chain)

MissionHires; Minnesota; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

MissionHires is seeking an experienced Operations Manager for a manufacturing company in Wadena, MN. This salaried, exempt leadership role will oversee manufacturing, materials management, procurement, inventory, and production scheduling across multiple sites.

You will provide hands-on shop-floor leadership while building operational discipline, developing supervisors, improving quality and throughput, and advancing long-term operational strategy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, or closely related field.
• 10+ years of operations experience with increasing scope and responsibility.
• 5+ years of management experience with cross-functional accountability across manufacturing and at least one of procurement, inventory, or production scheduling.
• Hands-on working knowledge of lean manufacturing tools and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Direct experience with KPI dashboards, scorecards, and planning tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead manufacturing operations with accountability for safety, quality, throughput, cost, and on-time performance.
• Maintain a hands-on presence on the shop floor to set performance expectations and support supervisors.
• Partner with production supervisors to improve workflow and shift-level accountability.
• Drive a structured continuous improvement program using lean principles and data-driven problem solving.
• Own plant-level quality outcomes, including in-process inspection, defect tracking, and corrective actions.
• Ensure equipment reliability in collaboration with the maintenance team to meet production commitments.
• Oversee end-to-end flow of materials from suppliers through receiving, staging, inventory, and production.
• Develop and maintain inventory policies balancing service level with working-capital efficiency.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Continuous improvement

Cross-functional leadership

Operations management

KPI development

Scheduling & planning

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering or related field

Tools

Microsoft Business Central

Job description

MissionHires is seeking an experienced Operations Manager for a manufacturing company in Wadena, MN. This salaried, exempt leadership role will oversee manufacturing, materials management, procurement, inventory, and production scheduling across multiple sites.

You will provide hands-on shop-floor leadership while building operational discipline, developing supervisors, improving quality and throughput, and advancing long-term operational strategy.