Position Summary
Architectural Wood Design (AWD) is seeking an experienced, high-performing Plant Manager to lead our manufacturing operation as we continue to scale.
This is not a production supervisor or maintenance manager position. We are looking for a proven manufacturing leader who has successfully managed larger manufacturing facilities and can bring the leadership, systems, and operational discipline needed to take our company to the next level.
The Plant Manager will oversee Engineering and Manufacturing while ensuring work flows efficiently from engineering release through shipment. This individual will understand the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and will continually identify bottlenecks, balance manpower between departments, improve throughput, and build systems that allow the company to grow without increasing chaos.
Success in this role is measured by increasing throughput, developing people, improving operational systems, eliminating waste, and creating a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
Essential Responsibilities
Manufacturing Leadership
- Lead all daily manufacturing operations including Engineering, Production, Shipping, and Maintenance.
- Ensure projects are completed safely, on schedule, within budget, and to AWD quality standards.
- Proactively identify and eliminate operational issues before they impact production.
- Drive accountability throughout the manufacturing organization.
- Maintain a highly organized, efficient, and productive operation.
Theory of Constraints (TOC)
- Identify and manage manufacturing bottlenecks.
- Maximize overall plant throughput rather than individual department efficiency.
- Balance manpower between departments based on production demands.
- Ensure critical constraint resources remain productive.
- Continuously improve manufacturing flow and reduce production delays.
Systems & Continuous Improvement
- Build scalable manufacturing systems capable of supporting future company growth.
- Develop standardized processes and best practices throughout manufacturing.
- Eliminate waste and improve efficiency in every department.
- Implement Lean manufacturing principles and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Establish meaningful KPIs and use data to drive operational decisions.
- Continuously improve labor productivity, quality, and on-time delivery.
Leadership & Team Development
- Lead through servant leadership by supporting, developing, and empowering employees.
- Develop supervisors, foremen, and future leaders within the organization.
- Coach employees through regular feedback, accountability, and mentorship.
- Build a culture of ownership, teamwork, urgency, and continuous improvement.
- Cross-train employees to improve flexibility throughout the plant.
- Identify high-potential employees and create development plans for advancement.
- Recruit, develop, and retain top manufacturing talent.
- Hold employees accountable while treating everyone with fairness, consistency, and respect.
Production Planning
- Coordinate closely with Project Management, Engineering, Purchasing, and Executive Leadership.
- Ensure work enters production fully prepared and ready to build.
- Monitor production capacity and adjust manpower as workload changes.
- Prioritize work to maximize throughput and customer satisfaction.
Equipment & Facility
- Ensure all machinery is properly maintained and operating efficiently.
- Develop and oversee preventative maintenance programs.
- Coordinate outside service providers as necessary.
- Recommend capital equipment investments that improve capacity or efficiency.
Quality
- Maintain exceptional quality standards throughout manufacturing.
- Reduce rework, warranty claims, and production errors.
- Investigate root causes and implement permanent corrective actions.
Safety
- Promote a culture where safety is everyone's responsibility.
- Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations and company safety standards.
- Lead ongoing safety improvements throughout the facility.
Performance Metrics
- Monitor production performance daily.
- Measure throughput, labor efficiency, quality, equipment utilization, and on-time delivery.
- Present manufacturing performance and improvement initiatives to executive leadership.
- Use data to identify trends and drive continuous improvement.
Qualifications
Required
- Minimum 10 years of manufacturing leadership experience.
- Experience leading larger manufacturing operations than AWD's current facility.
- Demonstrated success improving manufacturing throughput and operational performance.
- Strong understanding of the Theory of Constraints (TOC).
- Experience balancing labor across multiple production departments.
- Proven ability to build systems that support rapid organizational growth.
- Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Experience developing supervisors, managers, and future leaders.
- Highly proactive with the ability to anticipate problems before they impact production.
Preferred
- Lean Manufacturing experience.
- Six Sigma experience.
- ERP/MRP manufacturing software experience.
- Experience in custom manufacturing or high-mix, low-volume production.
- Experience managing facilities with 75–200+ employees.
Leadership Philosophy
At Architectural Wood Design, we believe great leaders exist to serve their teams.
The Plant Manager is expected to lead through servant leadership by removing obstacles, developing people, providing clear direction, and creating an environment where employees can perform at their highest level.
This leader earns respect through integrity, consistency, humility, accountability, and follow-through. They are highly visible on the production floor, approachable to employees, and committed to helping others succeed while maintaining high performance standards.
What Success Looks Like
The successful Plant Manager will:
- Build systems that allow AWD to scale efficiently.
- Increase plant throughput without unnecessary increases in overhead.
- Identify and solve problems before they impact production.
- Build a strong leadership team throughout manufacturing.
- Develop employees into supervisors and future managers.
- Improve communication between Engineering and Production.
- Reduce rework while improving quality and on-time delivery.
- Build a culture of accountability, ownership, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
- Position AWD to become one of the premier commercial architectural millwork manufacturers in the United States.
Ideal Candidate
We are looking for a leader who sees opportunities where others see problems.
The ideal candidate naturally thinks ahead, builds systems, develops people, embraces continuous improvement, and understands that great manufacturing organizations are built through strong leadership, disciplined processes, and relentless execution.
This is an opportunity to lead a rapidly growing company with ambitious goals and make a lasting impact on the future of our organization.
Pay: $80,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
Application Question(s):
- What is the largest manufacturing facility you have directly managed?
- Which continuous improvement methodologies have you personally implemented?
- Have you successfully improved manufacturing throughput in a previous role?
- Do you have a strong understanding of Theory of Constraints (TOC)? Please explain.
Experience:
- Manufacturing Leadership: 10 years (Required)
Work Location: In person
