General Manager – Manufacturing Operations
APP Apollo, LLC
Bellingham, Washington
Full-Time | On-Site
Starting Annual Salary $100,000 w/ Benefits (Salary is DOE)
Position Overview
APP Apollo is seeking an experienced General Manager to lead the day-to-day operations of our carbon fiber composites manufacturing facility in Bellingham, Washington. This is a hands-on senior leadership position with responsibility for manufacturing operations, personnel and human resources management, workplace safety, quality, customer programs, financial performance, and continuous improvement. The General Manager serves as the senior day-to-day leader of the facility and works directly with company ownership while coordinating closely with Production, Engineering, Quality, and Office Management.
Key Responsibilities
Operations & Production Management
- Oversee daily manufacturing operations across all production departments.
- Work closely with the Production Foreman to establish priorities, staffing requirements, and daily objectives.
- Monitor capacity, throughput, labor utilization, bottlenecks, scrap, rework, and on-time delivery.
- Ensure customer requirements and delivery commitments are translated into executable production plans.
- Identify operational constraints and implement corrective actions.
- Maintain accountability for overall facility performance.
Human Resources & Employee Relations
- Serve as the primary management resource for day-to-day employee relations and personnel matters.
- Manage recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, employee development, disciplinary actions, and terminations.
- Address employee concerns, workplace conflicts, attendance issues, performance concerns, and policy violations in a timely and professional manner.
- Coach managers, supervisors, and team leads regarding employee performance and appropriate personnel-management practices.
- Conduct and document performance discussions, corrective actions, investigations, and other employee-relations matters as appropriate.
- Maintain and consistently administer company policies, procedures, and Employee Handbook requirements.
- Coordinate employee leave, accommodation, workers' compensation, and other employment matters with appropriate external resources when necessary.
- Maintain appropriate confidentiality regarding personnel and employment matters.
- Ensure required employment documentation and personnel records are properly maintained.
- Support compensation reviews, promotions, organizational changes, and workforce planning.
- Maintain awareness of applicable Washington State and federal employment requirements and escalate legal or compliance matters to ownership or professional counsel when appropriate.
- Foster a professional workplace culture built around accountability, communication, respect, and consistent application of company standards.
Leadership & Organizational Management
- Provide direct leadership to department managers, supervisors, and production leadership.
- Establish clear responsibilities, priorities, KPIs, and performance expectations.
- Conduct regular leadership and operational meetings.
- Develop supervisors and team leads to strengthen the company's management structure.
- Evaluate staffing requirements and organizational needs as the company grows.
- Ensure communication flows effectively between ownership, management, office staff, and production employees.
- Act as the senior on-site escalation point for operational and personnel matters.
Customer & Program Management
- Maintain oversight of key customer programs and ensure production and delivery commitments are met.
- Serve as the management escalation point for significant customer, delivery, quality, or program issues.
- Coordinate with Office Management regarding routine buyer communications, purchase orders, releases, forecasts, shipping requirements, and internal sales activities.
Quality & Continuous Improvement
- Support corrective and preventive actions related to production and customer quality concerns.
- Ensure established manufacturing processes and documentation are followed.
- Support continued development of the company's quality management systems and certification objectives.
- Promote root-cause analysis and continuous improvement throughout the organization.
Safety & Regulatory Compliance
- Maintain management accountability for workplace safety and regulatory compliance.
- Ensure compliance with applicable Washington State L&I/WISHA requirements and company safety policies.
- Oversee implementation and enforcement of the company's Accident Prevention Program and applicable PPE, respiratory protection, Hazard Communication, LOTO, equipment safety, and emergency-response requirements.
- Participate in workplace inspections, incident investigations, corrective actions, and Safety Committee activities.
- Ensure required employee safety training and documentation are maintained.
- Correct unsafe conditions and reinforce employee and management accountability for safe work practices.
Financial & Business Management
- Maintain awareness of company revenue, labor costs, material costs, operating expenses, margins, and overall financial performance.
- Review operational and financial performance with ownership and accounting personnel.
- Evaluate staffing, overtime, purchasing, and production decisions from both operational and financial perspectives.
- Assist ownership with budgeting, forecasting, capital expenditures, and strategic planning.
- Identify opportunities to improve productivity and profitability while maintaining quality and customer requirements.
Supply Chain & Purchasing Oversight
- Address significant supplier issues, material shortages, pricing concerns, and vendor-performance problems.
- Ensure critical materials and production supplies are available to support manufacturing requirements.
- Support strategic sourcing and supplier negotiations when necessary.
Executive & Strategic Responsibilities
- Report directly to company ownership regarding production, personnel, quality, customer issues, safety, financial performance, and significant business risks.
- Translate company objectives into actionable operational priorities.
- Identify operational, personnel, customer, and compliance risks and develop appropriate mitigation plans.
- Lead business-improvement initiatives and significant operational projects.
- Help develop the organizational structure, systems, policies, and management practices necessary to support continued growth.
Qualifications (Required)
- 5+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, operations, or a related environment in the automotive sector.
- Previous experience as a General Manager, Plant Manager, Operations Manager, Manufacturing Manager, or similar leadership position strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience managing both production operations and employee-relations matters.
- Experience recruiting, hiring, coaching, disciplining, and developing employees and supervisors.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing scheduling, capacity planning, labor management, inventory, quality, and operational KPIs.
- Experience in automotive, aerospace, composites, or another controlled manufacturing environment preferred.
- Familiarity with ISO 9001, IATF 16949, AS9100, PPAP, and similar quality systems is highly desirable.
- Working knowledge of workplace safety and employment compliance requirements.
- Strong financial and business acumen.
- Strong judgment, communication, organizational, conflict-resolution, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to handle sensitive employee matters professionally and confidentially.
- Comfortable operating in a hands-on manufacturing environment and shifting between executive-level decisions and day-to-day operational issues.
What Success Looks Like
The successful General Manager will create a disciplined, accountable, and predictable operating environment where production commitments are consistently achieved, employees and managers understand expectations, personnel matters are handled consistently and professionally, customer issues are resolved quickly, safety and quality standards are maintained, and ownership has clear visibility into the performance and risks of the business.
APP Apollo, LLC is an equal opportunity employer.
Pay: From $100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Relocation assistance
Application Question(s):
- Have you worked in the Automotive Parts Manufacturing or Distribution field? If yes, how many years?
- Do you have experience managing the operations of a manufacturing facility?
- Have you ever had experience setting up an ISO9001, AS9100 or IATF16949 operations?
Education:
Work Location: In person
