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Company: Alicat Scientific

Location: Tucson, AZ (On-site)

Reports to: Director of Manufacturing

Compensation Range: $80,000 $100,000, depending on experience

Alicat Scientific designs and manufactures precision gas flow instruments used across industries including semiconductor, aerospace, energy, and life sciences. We operate in a high-mix, low-volume environment building custom-configured products to order. Our production team is the engine behind everything we ship, and this role is at the center of it.

The Production Manager is the senior operations leader on the production floor, responsible for leading a team of six production supervisors across day and night shifts. This role owns daily output, workforce development, and operational performance for all assembly operations.

This is a hands-on leadership role with two core functions:

Drive Performance: Ensure the production floor consistently meets targets for on-time shipment, first pass yield, overall labor effectiveness (OLE), and throughput. You will leverage established dashboards and reporting tools to monitor performance, identify trends, and take action.

Develop People: Serve as the primary champion and steward of our Point System and Skill Matrix, a structured framework for technician development, cross-training, and performance-based compensation. You will coach supervisors, manage the system's integrity, and build a highly skilled, adaptable production team.

• Directly lead six production supervisors (four day shift, two night shift), setting expectations and holding them accountable for team performance, attendance, and development.
• Conduct regular 1-on-1s with each supervisor, coaching them on how to manage their teams effectively, run productive 1-on-1s with technicians, and use the Career Scorecard system.
• Act as the chief steward of the Point System and Skill Matrix, ensuring tier placements and promotion criteria are applied fairly and consistently across all shifts.
• Analyze skill matrix data to identify talent gaps, coordinate cross-training priorities, and ensure the team maintains the flexibility to handle shifting product mix.
• Partner with HR and the Director of Manufacturing on compensation recommendations, ensuring the system remains competitive and aligned with company guidelines.
• Own the hiring, onboarding, and training pipeline for production technicians in coordination with supervisors and the training team.
• Handle corrective actions, performance management, and termination processes as needed, in partnership with HR.

• Lead daily production operations through the supervisor team, ensuring all shifts are on track to meet output, quality, and delivery targets.
• Run the daily operations sync meeting, coordinating priorities across production, logistics, planning, and quality.
• Use established OLE, OTS, and FPY dashboards to monitor performance trends, troubleshoot bottlenecks, and implement corrective actions. (You will be a consumer of these tools, not the builder.)
• Coordinate shift handoffs between day and night operations, ensuring continuity of priorities, escalations, and staffing decisions.
• Manage weekend and overtime operations as needed, including staffing decisions and authorization.
• Collaborate with Logistics and Planning to ensure material flow supports the production schedule and that priorities are aligned.
• Champion continuous improvement on the floor, driving lean initiatives to reduce waste, improve changeover efficiency, and scale production capability.

• Uphold Alicat's quality standards, ensuring all products are built to specification and that supervisors are enforcing SOPs and work instructions.
• Support CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action) execution on the production floor, working with Quality to close out findings on time.
• Champion a safety-first culture, ensuring all team members are trained and that a safe working environment is maintained at all times.

• Partner with Engineering, Quality, and Applications teams on new product introductions, ECO implementation, and process changes.
• Participate in parts operations and inventory flow discussions, contributing production perspective on kitting, staging, and material handling improvements.
• Collaborate with the MES/systems team to ensure production workflows are accurately represented and that the shop floor tools support your team's needs.
• Represent production in leadership meetings, providing clear updates on performance, risks, and resource needs.

• 5+ years of experience in a complex manufacturing environment (electronics, medical device, aerospace, or similar regulated industry).
• 3+ years of direct leadership experience managing supervisors or front-line production teams, not just individual contributors.
• Demonstrated success in people development, including mentoring, coaching, and managing performance through structured systems.
• Data-literate: comfortable reading and acting on manufacturing KPIs (OLE/OEE, FPY, OTS) from existing dashboards and reports.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to lead a diverse team across multiple shifts and present clearly to leadership.
• Solid problem-solving skills and working knowledge of lean manufacturing or continuous improvement principles.
• Willingness to be on-site and engaged with the floor daily. This is not a remote or hybrid role.

• Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field.
• Experience in a high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) production environment.
• Experience managing across multiple shifts, including night shift oversight.
• Familiarity with MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) or ERP systems in a production context.
• Experience managing skilled technical teams (e.g., SMT, electromechanical assembly, calibration).
• Background in regulated product manufacturing (AS9100, ISO, or similar quality frameworks).

• Build strong working relationships with all six supervisors and establish a consistent 1-on-1 cadence.
• Learn the Point System and Skill Matrix well enough to explain it confidently and begin evaluating its health.
• Observe supervisor-to-technician 1-on-1s and provide initial coaching feedback.
• Maintain or improve baseline production targets. The first priority is to steady the ship, not overhaul it.
• Deliver a "State of the Floor" assessment identifying the top three bottlenecks or improvement opportunities based on existing data.
• Fully integrate into the daily operations rhythm (ops sync, floor walks, shift handoffs).

• The Point System is running smoothly and is the primary tool for performance and compensation decisions.
• Supervisors are independently managing their teams' development, running effective 1-on-1s, and actively using Action Plans.
• Demonstrate measurable improvement in key metrics (OLE, FPY, OTS) against the baseline established in the 90-day assessment.
• Successfully lead at least one continuous improvement project that reduces waste or resolves a bottleneck.
• Successfully onboard new hires into the tier system, proving the process works end-to-end.
• Establish yourself as the operational hub of the production floor: the person everyone looks to for decisions, direction, and support.