Fabrication & Welding Production Manager Company:

Inventech Marine Solutions /

Life Proof Boats Location:

Bremerton, WA Job Type:

Full-Time Compensation:

$115,000 - $130,000 DOE, plus performance bonus potential About Us Inventech Marine Solutions, the builder of Life Proof Boats, is a growing aluminum boat manufacturer serving commercial, government, military, and recreational marine markets. We recently moved into our new manufacturing facility and are continuing to scale our production capabilities. Our welding department currently includes approximately 35 welders and fabricators , with continued growth expected. As we expand, we are looking for a strong production leader who can bring structure, accountability, efficiency, and improved workflow to one of the most important departments in our company. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands welding, fabrication, production scheduling, labor efficiency, and shop-floor leadership. Position Summary The Fabrication & Welding Production Manager will be responsible for leading the welding department and improving the way boats move through fabrication. This person will manage daily production, develop lead welders, improve labor-hour performance, reduce rework, strengthen quality standards, and help create a more disciplined and scalable production system. The right candidate will be comfortable on the shop floor, respected by welders, and capable of turning a fast-moving production environment into a more organized and efficient operation. This is not a desk-only role. We need a leader who can walk the floor, understand the work, solve bottlenecks, hold people accountable, and help the team consistently build boats on schedule and within budgeted labor hours. Key Responsibilities 1. Lead and manage a welding/fabrication department of approximately 35 team members, with continued growth expected. 2. Improve daily and weekly production flow through the welding department. 3. Assign work clearly and ensure welders understand priorities, expectations, quality standards, and schedule requirements. 4. Work with production leadership to build and maintain realistic welding schedules for each boat. 5. Track actual labor hours against budgeted labor hours and identify causes of overruns. 6. Reduce inefficiency, lost time, rework, and unclear handoffs between production stages. 7. Develop and manage lead welders or area leads within the department. 8. Create accountability around production goals, quality expectations, safety, and schedule performance. 9. Improve coordination between welding, engineering, CNC/cutting, press brake, purchasing, inventory, paint, rigging, and final assembly. 10. Support the development of standard work instructions, weld sequences, production travelers, and quality checkpoints. 11. Ensure weld quality, fit-up quality, and fabrication standards are consistently followed. 12. Help build a skills matrix for welders and identify training needs. 13. Maintain a clean, safe, organized, and professional welding department. 14. Participate in hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, coaching, and corrective action when needed. 15. Drive continuous improvement in labor efficiency, schedule reliability, quality, and team performance. What Success Looks Like

• Boats move through welding with clearer priorities and fewer delays.
• Labor-hour performance improves against budget.
• Rework is reduced.
• Lead welders become more accountable and more effective.
• Production schedules become more reliable.
• The welding team becomes more organized, disciplined, and scalable.
• The department shifts from "everyone for themselves" to a structured production system. Required Qualifications
• 7+ years of experience in welding, fabrication, shipbuilding, boatbuilding, aerospace, heavy manufacturing, or metal manufacturing.
• 3+ years of leadership experience managing welders, fabricators, production crews, or shop-floor teams.
• Experience leading teams in a production environment, preferably 20+ people.
• Strong understanding of aluminum welding and fabrication.
• Ability to read and interpret drawings, weld symbols, production documents, and work instructions.
• Experience managing schedules, priorities, labor hours, and production deadlines.
• Strong leadership, communication, coaching, and accountability skills.
• Comfortable working on the shop floor and solving real-time production issues.
• Strong safety mindset. Preferred Qualifications
• Experience in aluminum boatbuilding, marine fabrication, shipbuilding, defense manufacturing, aerospace, or complex welded structures.
• Experience with Lean manufacturing, 5S, continuous improvement, takt planning, production cells, or standard work.
• Experience using ERP/MRP systems or digital production tracking tools.
• Experience creating labor budgets, weld sequences, production travelers, or department KPIs.
• AWS certification, CWI, or formal welding inspection experience is a plus, but not required.
• Experience building or leading a lead-person structure within a growing production department.

Ideal Candidate The ideal candidate is a practical, hands-on production leader who has credibility with welders but also understands the business side of manufacturing. This person should be able to lead people, improve systems, and hold the department accountable without creating unnecessary conflict. We are looking for someone who is:

• Structured and organized.
• Calm under pressure.
• Strong on accountability.
• Comfortable making decisions.
• Respected on the shop floor.
• Focused on schedule, quality, safety, and efficiency.
• Able to improve culture without losing the team.
• Capable of building systems that support growth.

Compensation & Benefits Compensation will depend on experience and qualifications.

Expected salary range:

$115,000 - $130,000 per year 401

K Match:

5% match Bonus potential: Based on department performance, labor-hour efficiency, schedule performance, quality, safety, and rework reduction. Benefits may include health insurance, paid time off, retirement plan options, and other company benefits. Why Join Us This is an opportunity to take ownership of a critical production department inside a growing marine manufacturing company. We have invested in a new facility, continue to expand our production capacity, and are looking for the right leader to help us build a stronger, more efficient, and more scalable welding operation. The person who succeeds in this role will have a major impact on the future of our company.

Pay:

$115,000.00 - $130,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) 401(k) matching Dental insurance Health insurance Life insurance Paid time off Professional development assistance Referral program Relocation assistance Vision insurance Application Question(s): Must be able to pass a 15-panel drug test.

Experience:

Supervisor or management: 10 years (Required)

Work Location:

In person