Programmer Manager Jobs in Wausau, WI (NOW HIRING)

Reporting to the Director of Operations, the Industrial Engineering Manager is responsible for leading the Industrial Engineering function and driving lean manufacturing, operational excellence, and continuous improvement initiatives throughout the organization. This role provides strategic and hands-on leadership in manufacturing process design, labor optimization, facility planning, capacity analysis, workflow improvement, and new product and production line implementation.

This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities as management may deem necessary from time to time.

• Lead, develop, and manage the Industrial Engineering Department, including coaching, mentoring, and performance management of engineering personnel.
• Establish and execute industrial engineering strategies that support company growth, operational excellence, and business objectives.
• Drive Lean Manufacturing initiatives utilizing tools such as 5S, Value Stream Mapping, Standard Work, Kaizen, Visual Management, SMED, and Continuous Flow.
• Identify and lead continuous improvement projects focused on safety, quality, productivity, delivery performance, and cost reduction.
• Develop labor standards, time studies, work measurement systems, and staffing models to improve workforce efficiency and planning accuracy.
• Analyze manufacturing processes and workflows to eliminate waste, reduce cycle times, improve throughput, and maximize equipment and labor utilization.
• Design and optimize manufacturing layouts for assembly, fabrication, warehousing, and material flow operations.
• Lead facility planning efforts, including new production lines, plant expansions, building additions, equipment relocations, and greenfield or brownfield manufacturing projects.
• Manage capacity planning activities to support current production requirements and future growth.
• Partner with Operations and Product Development teams to support new product introductions and production readiness activities.
• Develop business cases and return-on-investment analyses for capital expenditure projects.
• Lead root cause analysis efforts for manufacturing performance issues and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Monitor and improve key performance indicators (KPIs) including productivity, labor efficiency, utilization, throughput, inventory levels, and overall operational effectiveness.
• Collaborate with Production, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Safety teams to ensure alignment on manufacturing improvement initiatives.
• Develop and maintain facility layouts, process flow diagrams, work instructions, manufacturing standards, and engineering documentation.
• Support ERP system utilization and continuous improvement of manufacturing data accuracy and reporting.
• Participate in strategic planning activities related to plant growth, operational capacity, and long-term manufacturing strategy.
• As part of the AROW Global team, understand the AROW Business System policies and objectives and how your role impacts conformance to them.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Operations Management, or related discipline preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive manufacturing experience, including leadership responsibilities in industrial engineering or operations improvement.
• Demonstrated experience in assembly, fabrication, and high-mix/low-volume or mixed manufacturing environments preferred.
• Proven experience leading Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement initiatives.
• Experience with facility layout design, plant expansions, new production line implementation, and capital project management.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, labor standards, ergonomics, material flow, and capacity planning.
• Experience with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software; IFS experience preferred.
• Experience with root cause analysis methodologies and structured problem-solving techniques.
• Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Exceptional leadership, interpersonal, and analytical skills with the ability to work effectively across all levels of the organization.
• Excellent verbal communication skills required.
• Excellent writing skills to develop reports, work instructions, procedures, and presentations.
• Willingness to travel (<10%).
• Self-motivated with a strong desire to lead change and improve business performance.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or touch objects, tools, or controls. The employee is frequently required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, climb, reach, stoop, kneel, crouch, talk, hear, and move throughout manufacturing and warehouse environments.

The employee may occasionally be required to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and work near manufacturing equipment in assembly, fabrication, and production areas.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

AROW is an Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Employer and complies with Federal and State/Provincial regulations at all U.S. and Canadian locations.

The above statements reflect the general details necessary to describe the principal functions of the occupation described and shall not be construed as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be inherent in the occupation.