Associate Production Manager Jobs in Seattle, WA

Job Summary 

AFL manufactures industry-leading fiber optic cable, connectivity and accessories and provides engineering and installation services for some of the largest telecom customers in the world. Our company was founded in 1984 with a single fiber optic cable and today, we manufacture thousands of products, generate an excess of $4B in revenue, and employ approximately 12,000 associates worldwide. At AFL, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset. We hire and train each individual, investing in them to ensure success in their careers. With a commitment to professional development and growth, let us connect you to your next career opportunity. 

What We Offer: 

• Flexible time off policy
• 401K Company match (up to 4% - dollar for dollar)
• Professional development, training, and tuition reimbursement programs
• Excellent medical, dental, vision, and life insurance policy options
• Opportunities for career advancement with an industry leading company!

The Production Manager will be a member of the operations leadership team and will be responsible for all aspects of production in the plant. He/She will lead a team of professionals comprised of production supervisors, process engineers, manufacturing admin, production leads, coordinators, and production assemblers in a dynamic and fast-paced build-to-order manufacturing environment. The incumbent will ensure collaboration with the support departments that interact with the production/operations team. The Production Manager will be diligent and driven in applying their leadership and production management experience to meet safety, quality, production, and cost objectives.  He/She will be accountable for delivering tangible results in support of business plan objectives to include improvements in material yield, defect reduction, capacity utilization, productivity, delivery performance, cost management, work-in-process management, and continuous improvement projects.

Responsibilities

 EHS 

• Promote a proactive and engaging EHS culture.
• Understand environmental aspects and ensure workplace controls are robust and adequate to meet our EHS policies and permit requirements (zero non-compliances).
• Identify EHS chronic issues, negative trends and potential risks; develop corrective action plans as appropriate (zero recordable injuries).
• Lead investigations for injuries and incidents. Ensure the report is submitted within 24 hours as required.
• Ensure timely completion of assigned Hazard Hounds and EHS corrective actions.
• Provide management oversight of supervisory EHS accountabilities (training, follow up actions, etc.). 

Operational Administration & Execution 

• Establish and achieve, or exceed operational targets such as safety, scrap, OTD, productivity, quality, cost, and volume without exceeding expected manufacturing costs. Optimize the usage of overtime.
• Lead the daily department production meeting, follow up on open actions.
• Facilitate condition-based process meetings as required to introduce new processes, changes to procedures, address issues problem solve, and provide opportunities for operator engagement.
• Execute assigned projects.
• Ensure accountability on direct reports to deliver projects and KPIs.
• Ensure the production teams are well-informed of performance-to-targets, challenges, and successes by utilizing available media (boards, intranet, displays, etc.) to frequently communicate status and trends.
• Carry out leadership responsibilities in accordance with company policies, procedures, safety, and applicable laws.
• Define ramp up plans, when needed and meet such plans in timely manner. Collaborate with production scheduling to ensure lead times offered are on/below standard.
• Manage manufacturing expenses to forecast/budget including personnel, consumables, and other associated conversion costs.

Continuous Improvement

• Work with Process Engineering and Production Supervisors to continuously improve internal processes and procedures. Researching new technologies and other methods to improve efficiency. Overseeing and improving the physical plant layout.
• Proactively trouble-shoot operational issues and drive implementation of resolutions. Response in timely manner of any customer complaint or Internal Action Report issued to the production department. Lead a deep investigation for every complaint to detect root causes & avoid recurrence of problems.
• Apply lean manufacturing principles and conduct continuous improvement activities such as kaizen events to eliminate waste & 5s. Develop and foster a Continuous Improvement culture.
• Drive inventory control procedures and focus on operational excellence.

Supervision

• Achieve or exceed customer requirements by using in an efficient manner all the direct resources (People and equipment).
• Responsible for the development, direction, coordination, and evaluation of direct reports. Develop and encourage their technical and operational performance. 
• Support Production Supervisors with interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assisting, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
• Target coaching needs, training needs, team dynamics, staffing needs, and cost analysis.
• Provides clear, responsive, and innovative objectives and regularly manages employees to ensure yearly objectives are met.

Key Competencies

• Diligent in applying leadership and production management skills to meet safety, quality, production, and cost objectives in a fast-paced, build-to-order, manufacturing environment.
• Team player with well-developed interpersonal skills who is comfortable in a cross-functional, multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast paced, ambiguous, and rapidly changing environment.
• Strong organization and time-management skills.
• Strong interpersonal, influencing, and teamwork skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to effectively communicate with all levels of personnel, including customers is a must.
• Ability to think ahead and create action plans to achieve results.
• Analytical and driven by data and facts. 

Working Conditions:

• AFL is a fast paced and complex environment
• Role is a critically important role in our Data Center and Hyperscale team
• Salary range for this Production Manager  role is $89,700 – $149,500  per year based on personal and industry experience