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Plant Manager – Operations

$140-170k plus bonus

Farmers Branch, TX

The Operations / Plant Manager is the senior on-site leader responsible for safe, reliable, and profitable plant performance while serving as the primary operational owner for assigned customer programs. This role blends day-to-day production leadership with program accountability — owning capacity planning, production execution, quality and ECN governance, inventory control, and the commercial outcomes associated with the site’s customer portfolio. The role requires strong cross-functional leadership across Program Management, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Sales, and serves as the escalation point for program risk and customer issues.

Responsibilities

Customer ownership & stakeholder engagement

• Act as the senior onsite interface for key customers and assigned programs; lead operational and executive program reviews and maintain customer confidence through clear, timely communication.

Operational delivery & coordination

• Oversee end-to-end plant operations: daily production targets, scheduling, capacity planning, maintenance readiness, and on-time shipments.
• Ensure production processes are documented, controlled, and continuously improved to reduce variation and increase throughput.

Commercial accountability

• Own program P&L drivers at the site level: support accurate quoting inputs, enforce change-order discipline, protect margins, and collaborate with Finance on program forecasting and cost-to-produce analysis.

Engineering change & quality governance

• Ensure timely review, approval, and implementation of Engineering Change Notices (ECNs); assess scope, cost, and schedule impacts and coordinate cross-functional sign-offs.
• Partner with Quality to resolve non-conformances, drive root-cause corrective actions, and maintain compliance with customer and regulatory requirements.

Cross-functional leadership & people development

• Lead and develop supervisors, team leads, process engineers and program owners; create alignment across manufacturing, engineering, quality, supply chain and commercial teams.
• Champion Lean and continuous improvement initiatives to lower cost, shorten lead times, and improve first-pass yield.

Risk, inventory & working capital management

• Maintain a program risk register, drive mitigation plans, and escalate strategic risks to executive leadership.
• Reduce excess & obsolete inventory exposure and partner with Supply Chain/Finance to optimize working capital.

Success Metrics / KPIs

(used for weekly/monthly/quarterly performance reviews)

• On-time delivery to customer commitments (OTD).
• Plant yield / first pass quality and defect escape rate.
• Program gross margin vs. plan and price realization vs. cost inflation.
• NPI launch adherence: gate milestones & time-to-volume.
• ECN implementation cycle time and percent implemented without rework.
• Inventory days and $ value of excess/obsolete.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 6+ years progressive manufacturing leadership experience — including supervising production, capacity planning, and cross-functional teams in a contract manufacturing, EMS, or complex assembly environment.
• Proven experience owning production KPIs and supporting RFQ/NPI inputs; familiarity with ECN/change-control processes.
• Strong commercial acumen — experience partnering with Finance on program profitability and change order economics.
• Demonstrated leadership skills: coaching, conflict resolution, and ability to influence without direct authority.
• Proficient with ERP/MRP systems and project management tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Lean / Six Sigma certification or demonstrated CI achievement.
• Experience in regulated/high-reliability industries (medical, aerospace, telecom).
• Formal project/program management credential (PMP or equivalent).

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Bellsearchfirm.com

Bell & Associates, Inc. is a recognized Executive Recruiting & Staffing leader based in Kansas City. We focus and specialize in the following practice areas – Accounting/Finance, Engineering, Executive Leadership, Financial Institutions, Healthcare, Human Resources, Information Technology, Manufacturing/Operations Management.  We provide top talent to our clients on a Direct Hire, Contract, and Contract-to-Hire basis.