General Manager Manufacturing Jobs in Madison, WI

POSITION SUMMARY

The General Manager serves as a key link between the customer-facing side of the business and the shop floor, ensuring that sales commitments, quotes, and customer expectations are fully understood and executed by manufacturing.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Sales & Business Growth (Primary Focus)

●      Own the company's revenue growth strategy; develop and execute sales plans to achieve and exceed corporate sales objectives.

●      Lead, mentor, and hold accountable the direct sales team and outside sales rep organizations to ensure goals are consistently achieved.

●      Personally engage in identifying and closing new business opportunities, and in growing wallet-share with existing key accounts.

●      Coordinate win strategies and account assignments; build and maintain strong relationships with key customers and decision-makers.

●      Produce and own sales forecasts, pipeline reporting, and other sales performance metrics for executive review.

●      Lead the assessment, selection, and optimization of CRM and sales technology platforms to support growth and provide actionable analytics.

●      Represent the company at industry events, trade shows, and client meetings to build brand awareness and strategic partnerships.

●      Stay current on industry trends, competitive dynamics, and market opportunities; use this insight to inform pricing and go-to-market strategy.

Marketing & Brand

●      Direct marketing strategy to build brand awareness, generate qualified leads, and support business development goals.

●      Oversee the company website, digital presence, and marketing collateral, ensuring a consistent and compelling brand image.

●      Guide campaign development across digital, print, and industry channels, and track marketing performance and ROI.

●      Ensure marketing translates technical manufacturing capabilities into clear, customer-focused messaging.

Quoting & Customer Service Leadership

●      Take ownership of the quoting function, ensuring proposals are accurate, competitive, and turned around quickly to support sales velocity.

●      Develop and continuously improve quoting templates, tools, and processes to enhance proposal quality and consistency.

●      Provide direct leadership and oversight of the customer service team, ensuring exceptional support, efficient order processing, and strong customer retention.

●      Ensure tight coordination between quoting, customer service, sales, and manufacturing so customer commitments are realistic and consistently met.

Manufacturing Operations Oversight

●      Ensure manufacturing consistently meets or exceeds key performance targets related to safety, quality, delivery, and cost.

●      Partner with production leadership to resolve operational, manufacturing, and maintenance issues, and to drive continuous improvement and lean manufacturing initiatives.

●      Ensure production schedules and forecasts are developed, clearly communicated, and executed on the shop floor in alignment with sales and customer commitments.

●      Ensure compliance with safety, environmental, ISO, and customer-specific quality requirements.

●      Coordinate engineering and product changes that affect the shop floor, and evaluate capabilities of production personnel to guide training and development.

Leadership & Communication

●      Model a visible, communicative leadership style — sharing context, expectations, and business results openly with the team to build trust and alignment.

●      Build and develop a strong cross-functional leadership team across sales, marketing, quoting, customer service, and manufacturing.

●      Foster collaboration and clear communication between customer-facing teams and manufacturing to eliminate silos and surprises.

●      Establish and maintain close working relationships with engineering, quality, and finance to support overall business objectives.

●      Recruit, retain, and develop talent across all functions reporting into this role; manage conflict constructively and hold teams accountable to commitments.

●      Other duties as may be assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS / EXPERIENCE / EDUCATION

●      Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, or a related field; advanced degree a plus.

●      7+ years of progressive sales leadership experience, ideally within an electronics manufacturing or industrial B2B environment.

●      Prior experience overseeing or closely partnering with manufacturing operations preferred; comfortable operating on the shop floor as well as in the boardroom.

●      Extensive, well-developed network within the electronics manufacturing industry.

●      Proven track record of opening doors, closing deals, and driving measurable revenue growth.

●      Experience leading customer service and/or quoting functions preferred.

●      Strong knowledge of electronics manufacturing processes (PCB assembly, wire harnesses, industrial box builds, control panels) preferred.

KEY COMPETENCIES

●      Sales-driven, results-oriented leader with a strong bias toward revenue growth.

●      Strong, transparent communicator who builds trust across teams and levels of the organization.

●      Strategic thinker with strong market awareness in industrial or manufacturing sectors.

●      Ability to translate technical manufacturing capabilities into compelling customer messaging and realistic delivery commitments.

●      Skilled at building trust, managing conflict, and holding teams accountable to commitments.

●      Data-driven mindset with the ability to measure and improve both sales and operational performance.

Self-motivated, proactive, and adaptable in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Ontech Talent, is where innovation meets expertise in the dynamic realm of IT and Engineering recruiting and staffing. Founded by industry visionary Nicole Whitbeck Dohnal, Ontech Talent has emerged as the premier strategic partner for Fortune mid to large companies seeking unparalleled talent solutions.