Position Summary
Champion Promotion is seeking a hands-on Embroidery Production Lead to coordinate the daily workflow of our embroidery department and help ensure all scheduled work is completed accurately, efficiently, and on time.
This is a working lead position. The Embroidery Production Lead will actively participate in embroidery production while organizing daily priorities, assigning work, monitoring progress, and helping resolve production issues throughout the day.
This position provides day-to-day work direction but is not responsible for the formal management of department employees. The Production Manager will handle employee performance management, disciplinary matters, attendance issues, scheduling approvals, hiring, termination, and other personnel decisions.
The ideal candidate is dependable, organized, and experienced in production operations. This person must be comfortable leading by example, communicating daily expectations, keeping work moving, and working alongside the embroidery team.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Daily Production Coordination
- Review the daily embroidery production schedule and determine work priorities based on due dates, sew times, product availability, and order requirements.
- Communicate daily assignments, production priorities, and deadlines to embroidery department employees.
- Coordinate workflow between operators to keep orders moving through production efficiently.
- Monitor production progress throughout the day and adjust work assignments when priorities or conditions change.
- Identify potential delays involving staffing, materials, artwork, equipment, quality, or order information.
- Communicate significant production delays, staffing concerns, or unresolved issues to the Production Manager.
- Work closely with the Production Manager, Customer Service, Purchasing, and other departments to support on-time order completion.
- Ensure completed orders meet company quality standards and customer specifications.
Working Lead Responsibilities
- Lead by example by actively participating in embroidery production throughout the workday.
- Provide clear day-to-day direction regarding work assignments, order priorities, and production expectations.
- Help keep department employees focused on assigned work and scheduled deadlines.
- Assist operators with production questions, machine setups, garment placement, hooping, thread selection, and troubleshooting.
- Help train new and existing employees on embroidery equipment, production procedures, quality requirements, and department standards.
- Reinforce established safety procedures, quality standards, and production processes.
- Promote teamwork, accountability, organization, and a positive working environment.
- Notify the Production Manager of recurring performance, attendance, conduct, productivity, or training concerns.
- Escalate personnel issues to the Production Manager rather than independently handling disciplinary or employment decisions.
The Production Manager retains responsibility for formal employee management, including performance reviews, disciplinary actions, attendance management, hiring, termination, compensation, time-off approval, and other personnel matters.
Hands-On Embroidery Production
- Operate multi-head commercial embroidery machines as part of the regular daily workload.
- Read and interpret work orders to determine garment quantities, embroidery placement, thread colors, design requirements, and production instructions.
- Locate, verify, and load digitized embroidery files.
- Set up hoops, garments, backing, thread colors, needles, and machine settings.
- Verify embroidery placement, thread colors, design size, and production quality before beginning full production runs.
- Monitor embroidery quality throughout production.
- Troubleshoot thread breaks, registration issues, tension problems, garment movement, design concerns, and other production issues.
- Assist other embroidery operators when technical or production support is needed.
- Perform routine machine cleaning and basic preventative maintenance.
- Report equipment problems and repair needs to the Production Manager.
- Maintain a clean, organized, and safe work area.
Department Operations
- Monitor daily workflow, productivity, order completion, and production quality.
- Identify opportunities to improve department efficiency, organization, production processes, and quality.
- Monitor inventory levels of thread, backing, bobbins, needles, hoops, and other embroidery supplies.
- Communicate supply and material needs to the appropriate manager or purchasing employee.
- Help coordinate routine equipment maintenance and communicate repair needs.
- Track or report production information as requested by the Production Manager.
- Provide regular updates regarding completed work, production delays, quality concerns, equipment issues, and department needs.
- Help ensure completed orders are properly organized and moved to the next stage of production.
Qualifications
- Previous experience in embroidery production, decorated apparel, manufacturing, sewing, printing, warehouse operations, or a related production environment.
- Previous experience providing work direction, training, or day-to-day leadership to other employees.
- Willingness and ability to actively work in embroidery production throughout the day.
- Strong organizational and time-management skills.
- Ability to prioritize multiple orders and meet production deadlines.
- Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality.
- Clear and professional communication skills.
- Ability to troubleshoot production problems and make sound day-to-day workflow decisions.
- Ability to provide direction to coworkers while appropriately escalating personnel concerns to the Production Manager.
- Basic computer skills and the ability to learn production and order-management software.
- Experience operating commercial embroidery equipment.
- Experience operating multi-head embroidery machines.
- Knowledge of embroidery files, thread tension, machine settings, hooping, backing, needles, and garment placement.
- Experience training or assisting embroidery machine operators.
- Knowledge of embroidery digitizing software and embroidery production processes.
- Experience in the decorated apparel, promotional products, uniform, or textile industry.
Physical Requirements
- Ability to stand and work at embroidery equipment for extended periods.
- Ability to lift, carry, and move boxes, garments, and production materials.
- Ability to perform repetitive hand and arm movements associated with hooping, folding, trimming, and machine operation.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced production environment and move between machines and workstations throughout the day.
Pay: $21.00 - $24.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Experience:
- Training & development: 2 years (Required)
- Production planning: 3 years (Required)
- Leadership: 3 years (Required)
- Schedule management: 3 years (Required)
- Embroidery: 1 year (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
