Production Manager

Production Manager — Role Profile 1. Role Purpose The Production Manager owns the daily decision-making that drives throughput, quality, and on-time delivery across the roll forming and logistics operation. This seat is the engine of execution. Sales sets the demand. Engineering supports the equipment. The Production Manager turns inputs into shipped products through sound decisions, disciplined leadership, and operational rhythm. 2. Core Deliverable Sound, repeatable decision-making under pressure. The Production Manager makes dozens of decisions daily — machine assignments, priority calls, labor allocation, change-response — that compound into throughput and margin. Every other competency in this role exists to support decision quality. A Production Manager who cannot make sound calls is a coordinator. A Production Manager who can is a force multiplier. 3. Required Background The right candidate brings two converging areas of experience: Manufacturing Leadership. Has run a shop, department, or production line. Knows how machines, materials, and operators interact. Has credibility on a factory floor. Project Management. Has owned timelines and cross-functional delivery. Knows how to drive accountability across teams that don't report to them. Either track alone is insufficient. The seat requires both. 4. Non-Negotiable Competencies These are hard requirements. If the candidate is missing even 1, the candidate is not viable. A. Emotional Discipline Under Pressure Calm during fires. Decisions remain consistent and margin-aware regardless of stress. Does not transfer anxiety to the team. No emotional spikes in front of operators, sales, or leadership.

Standard:

Stable leadership through last-minute changes, freight escalations, and operational fires. Measured by team observation and direct feedback. B. Extreme Ownership Owns the result first, then the cause, then the fix. Uses ownership language by default — "I own it / I'll fix it / here's the plan." Closes the loop without being chased.

Standard:

Demonstrated ownership and follow-through on all issues within 24 hours. C.

Throughput / Lean

Thinking Identifies bottlenecks. Reduces waste. Optimizes flow. Understands that machines must run and idle time is the enemy. Batches like profiles. Sequences for efficiency.

Standard:

Visible improvements to flow within the first 90 days. D. Sound Decision-Making Makes machine assignments with rationale that operators can trust. Sequences priorities based on shipment commitments and margin. Defers up the chain when uncertain.

Standard:

Operators confirm assignments are fair and reasoned. E. Floor Presence and Operator Credibility Walks the floor before opening the laptop. Asks operators questions before giving answers. Visible, present, in the work.

Standard:

Floor team identifies the Production Manager as one of them within 6 months. 5. Disqualifiers These behaviors, observed at any point during ramp-up, signal an immediate mismatch. A. Week-One Disqualifiers Treats coaching as criticism. Goes quiet or defensive when challenged. Avoids hard conversations with direct reports. B. Day-Thirty Disqualifiers Creates us-vs-them dynamics between logistics and production, or floor and office. Refuses or avoids floor time. Hides behind the computer. Inconsistent ownership (owns when easy, deflects when hard.) If these patterns surface, do not coach them out. Cut losses. The seat is too important. 6. Cultural Fit Markers USFF's cultural pillars, ranked by importance for this seat: Extreme Ownership — leaders take responsibility for everything in their world.

Lean / Throughput

Thinking — systems, flow, eliminate waste. Family-Business Intimacy — high trust, real relationships, no corporate distance. Shared Wealth — the team grows when the company grows. Hope and Growth — building something meaningful, not just a job. The first two are required from day one. The remaining three can develop with tenure. Observable behaviors that signal fit in the first two weeks: Walks the floor first thing — sees the work before the email. Asks operators questions — curious, not performative. 7. Ramp-Up Plan (30/60/90) Days 0-30: Learn Complete operator immersion: minimum one full day on each machine platform (Knudson/White, MF300/Stars, Engel/Stripes). Build relationships with foremen, lead operators, coil and logistics teams. Shadow Head of Production on machine assignments and priority calls.

Deliverable:

One-page summary of bottlenecks observed and assignment recommendations. Days 31-60: Co-Pilot Begin owning daily machine assignments with Head of Production review. Run daily outbound rhythm and load team coordination. Implement at least one process improvement.

Deliverable:

Demonstrated decision quality. Operators confirm assignments are fair. Days 61-90: Own Full Production Manager authority over machine assignments, priorities, and load coordination. Direct accountability for shipping commitments and throughput targets.

Deliverable:

Independent operation with weekly check-ins, not daily oversight. 8. Year-One Success Definition The floor says "this person is one of us." If operators trust the Production Manager, every other metric is reachable. If they do not, no metric is sustainable. Supporting outcomes by month 12: Throughput pacing toward the 2.0M lbs/mo target with proportional staffing. Foreman bench developing with at least one ready successor in view. Operating rhythms (daily huddles, scoreboards, KPI tracking) embedded. Major scheduling and assignment bottlenecks eliminated or systematized. 9. Career Path Beyond the Seat This role is designed as a step, not a destination. A strong Production Manager should be developing toward the next seat — Director of Operations, Plant Manager, or Head of Production — within 24-36 months.

Designing the role this way:

Attracts ambitious operators who see USFF as a career, not a job. Encourages the Production Manager to develop their own successor from day one. Aligns with USFF's offer letter philosophy: earning a seat through results. 10. Compensation Framework Base on hire — competitive for manufacturing leadership in the regional market. 90-day review — incentive program rolled out, tied to throughput and team development KPIs. Specific dollar figures to be set per candidate based on background and market. 11. Hiring Process Recommendation Given the cost of a wrong hire — operationally and culturally — the process should include: Resume and background review against the two-track requirement (manufacturing + Production Manager). The initial interview focused on past coaching, past pushback, past hard conversations. Real names, dates, outcomes. Floor walk with current foremen and operators present. Observe behavior, not just words.

Scenario-based decision exercise:

present a real machine assignment dilemma and evaluate the reasoning. Reference checks with former direct reports, not just former managers. Final alignment with CEO and Head of Production before offer. 1. Production Operations The Production Manager must understand the roll forming operation deeply enough to make sound machine assignments, identify bottlenecks, and earn credibility with operators. Working knowledge of all machine platforms — Knudson, MF300, Engel, Spangles Understanding of changeover times, cycle times, and capacity limits per machine Ability to batch like profiles for efficiency and avoid splitting profiles across machines Recognition of which jobs run best on which platform (e.g., Spangles for truss only) Familiarity with coil profiles, gauges, and material requirements per job type Understanding of how jobs flow from data entry through production to staging to shipment Ability to spot when a machine is underperforming relative to standard Demonstrated by: Completion of operator immersion days on each platform during ramp Machine assignments operators confirm are fair and well-reasoned One-page summary after immersion identifying observed bottlenecks and recommended changes 2. Logistics and Shipping Logistics is an arm of production. The Production Manager owns the full chain from production decision to shipped product. Ship date assignment in alignment with material readiness, production tempo, and customer expectations Staging area assignment and management Truck booking, including freight broker negotiation and management BOL discipline — accuracy, audit, reconciliation, photo workflow, shipment numbering Active Projects grooming — column accuracy across price, carrier, driver contact, notes Outbound email workflow per loadout Local delivery coordination — F-550 management, refueling, service, cleaning DOT compliance basics Understanding of inbound coil coordination with Coil Manager Demonstrated by: Zero BOL discrepancies open beyond 24 hours Freight broker relationships maintained with pressure applied politely and professionally Ship dates that hold or are adjusted with clear communication Active Projects board accurately reflects real production and logistics state 3. Data and Systems The Production Manager owns the data discipline that turns shop floor activity into actionable information. Manufacturing Queue — job entry, sequencing, machine assignment within the queue Active Projects — job entry, BOL management, shipment tracking, status updates Connex — production file uploads tied to job entries Closing jobs as "Shipped" in MQ and Active Projects Marking shipments as "final" appropriately KPI tracking and publication — throughput, machine uptime, scrap and rework, labor efficiency, on-time delivery, inventory accuracy Generating weekly and daily reports Google Suite and USFF custom software proficiency Reading reports and acting on what they reveal Demonstrated by: No backlog of unentered jobs at any point past 24 hours Weekly KPI dashboard published consistently Corrective actions taken based on KPI movement, documented in writing Reports operators and leadership can trust as accurate 4. People Leadership The Production Manager manages roughly 15-20 people directly or indirectly across production and logistics. Performance review cadence — running structured reviews with direct reports on a defined schedule Coaching conversations — public praise, private correction, ownership language reinforcement Interviewing — assessing candidates against defined criteria, asking probing questions Hiring decisions in coordination with Head of Production Onboarding new operators through the training tier system Conflict resolution between team members and across departments Toolbox meetings — leading or supporting daily and weekly team meetings Schedule management — including evening, weekend, and early morning pushes when required Attendance tracking and corrective action when needed Disciplinary process — documented, fair, in line with USFF policy Foreman development — coaching foremen to grow into their roles Demonstrated by: Performance reviews completed for all direct reports within first 90 days At least one documented coaching intervention with a direct report Visible improvement in foreman judgment and autonomy Team retention through the ramp period 5. Cross-Functional Coordination The Production Manager is a connector across sales, engineering, executive leadership, and customers. Sales liaison — negotiating realistic lead times, communicating production reality, managing last-minute change requests Engineering interface — coordinating on tooling improvements, new product runs, machine maintenance windows Executive communication — reporting status to Head of Production and CEO, framing issues with proposed solutions Customer communication when escalated — calm, professional, solution-oriented Internal team communication — keeping foremen, operators, and logistics aligned on priorities Acknowledge, clarify, state impact, offer options, confirm and execute — the change-response framework Demonstrated by: No last-minute changes that create operational chaos because of poor handoff Sales team trusts the Production Manager's lead time commitments Executive team receives proactive updates, not reactive ones Documented examples of cross-functional problem resolution 6. Problem Solving and Continuous Improvement The Production Manager identifies issues before they compound and drives structural fixes, not just reactive patches. Root cause analysis on recurring production issues (coil shortages, machine downtime, material jams) Corrective action implementation — documented, communicated, measured SOP creation and rollout for new processes Process improvement identification and execution Lean and throughput thinking applied to real bottlenecks Forward-thinking issue prevention — identifying upcoming problems before they hit Bottleneck elimination — at least one major bottleneck addressed during ramp Demonstrated by: At least two documented SOPs created or refined during ramp At least one major bottleneck identified and resolved Visible reduction in recurring issues Operators confirm process changes have improved their work Day-One Foundational Competencies While the above are day-90 requirements, the candidate must arrive with these on day one: Manufacturing leadership experience — has run a shop, line, or department Project management experience — has owned timelines and cross-functional delivery Spreadsheet and data fluency — Google Suite, Excel, custom production software adaptability Written communication competency — clear documentation, structured thinking on paper Basic understanding of manufacturing flow, throughput, and bottleneck thinking Experience managing direct reports through performance reviews and coaching The candidate does not need to arrive with USFF-specific knowledge. That is learned during the ramp. Assessment Framework At the 90-day mark, the Production Manager is evaluated against all six competency areas. Full Production Manager authority and compensation tier are confirmed when: All six areas show demonstrated competency No competency area shows a critical gap Operators, foremen, and direct reports confirm the Production Manager's effectiveness through informal feedback The Head of Production confirms readiness for autonomous operation If any area shows a critical gap at 90 days, a coaching plan is established with a 30-day follow-up assessment.

Benefits:

Health insurance Health savings account Paid time off

Work Location:

In person