Strategic Plant Transformation Leader

Judge Direct Placement; Springfield (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Judge Direct Placement partners with a premier manufacturing leader in Springfield, IL to identify a visionary Production Manager who will drive a total operational rebirth—truly a Strategic Architect on the plant floor.

The role demands 7+ years of manufacturing leadership, a Lean/Six Sigma mindset, and a data-driven approach to translate strategy into actionable goals while overseeing P&L and asset optimization.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of manufacturing leadership experience with change management or large-scale efficiency improvements.
• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Eng., Supply Chain, or Operations; Master’s/MBA preferred.
• Lean/Six Sigma certifications (Lean Master, Six Sigma Black Belt) or equivalent.
• Leadership style that commands respect through competence and transparency on the plant floor.
• Advanced proficiency in leveraging ERP data and IIoT insights to drive shop-floor behavior and planning.

Responsibilities

• Define and enforce a culture rooted in mutual respect and extreme ownership; replace finger-pointing with collaborative problem-solving and rigorous accountability.
• Bridge the gap by spending significant time on the floor to translate strategy into actionable goals for the workforce.
• Audit the human capital landscape; mentor leaders and restructure teams to support a high-performance environment.
• Re-engineer end-to-end production cycles to remove friction points and maximize value-add time via Kaizen and Lean.
• Implement real-time dashboarding for OEE, FPY, and safety incidents to move to data-driven reality.
• Shift maintenance and production to predictive reliability using Pareto analysis to target key issues.

Skills

7+ years manufacturing leadership

ERP data analytics

IIoT insights

Boots-on-the-ground leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering or Operations

Master’s degree or MBA preferred

Lean Master

Six Sigma Black Belt

Tools

Kaizen

Job description

Judge Direct Placement partners with a premier manufacturing leader in Springfield, IL to identify a visionary Production Manager who will drive a total operational rebirth—truly a Strategic Architect on the plant floor.

The role demands 7+ years of manufacturing leadership, a Lean/Six Sigma mindset, and a data-driven approach to translate strategy into actionable goals while overseeing P&L and asset optimization.