Value Stream Manager Jobs in Racine, WI (NOW HIRING)

Position Overview

The Value Stream Manager (VSM) has end-to-end responsibility for the performance of an assigned product value stream at Modular Power & Data (MPD). This role serves as the business owner for the value stream, with direct accountability for both production execution and engineering execution from order release through manufacturing, testing, and shipment.

MPD's business model combines engineered electrical distribution products with manufacturing, prefabrication, and integration. The Value Stream Manager ensures these capabilities operate as one coordinated value stream rather than separate functional departments.

The VSM owns the people, priorities, processes, capacity, schedule, quality, cost, and continuous improvement required to deliver the product. Success is measured by the overall performance of the value stream - not simply the performance of an individual department.

Key Responsibilities

1. End-to-End Value Stream Ownership

· Assume full responsibility for an assigned product family or value stream from engineering release through completed production, testing, and shipment.

· Own value-stream performance across safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and customer commitments.

· Establish priorities across engineering and production based on customer requirements, capacity, material availability, and business objectives.

· Identify and remove constraints that prevent work from flowing predictably through the organization.

· Serve as the primary escalation point for issues affecting the value stream.

· Maintain clear visibility into current performance, upcoming demand, risks, constraints, and corrective actions.

2. Production Leadership

· Lead day-to-day manufacturing performance for the assigned value stream.

· Ensure production plans support committed customer delivery dates.

· Manage labor requirements, staffing, capacity, equipment utilization, and production sequencing.

· Establish standard work and repeatable manufacturing processes.

· Drive production readiness before work reaches the floor.

· Monitor throughput, cycle time, work in process, productivity, rework, and schedule attainment.

· Identify bottlenecks and implement corrective actions to improve flow.

· Build a culture of accountability, urgency, craftsmanship, and continuous improvement.

3. 3. Manufacturing Engineering Leadership

· Own engineering execution and priorities for the value stream.

· Ensure engineering deliverables are complete, accurate, manufacturable, and released in time to support production.

· Align engineering resources with the production schedule and customer commitments.

· Drive Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) principles into product development and engineering.

· Improve standardization of designs, components, assemblies, drawings, and manufacturing methods.

· Reduce engineering-driven production interruptions, late changes, rework, and non-value-added complexity.

· Create a strong feedback loop between engineering and the manufacturing floor so lessons learned are incorporated into future designs.

4. Planning, Scheduling & Flow

· Develop and maintain an integrated value-stream plan connecting customer requirements, engineering, procurement, material readiness, fabrication, assembly, testing, quality, and shipment.

· Ensure engineering releases, purchased material, fabricated components, and labor capacity are synchronized with production requirements.

· Proactively identify schedule risks and establish recovery plans before customer commitments are affected.

· Drive toward predictable, repeatable production flow rather than managing through expediting and emergencies.

5. Supply Chain & Material Readiness

· Partner closely with procurement and supply chain to ensure material and equipment are available when required.

· Establish clear material-readiness requirements before production begins.

· Identify long-lead equipment and components early enough to protect project schedules.

· Support make-versus-buy decisions based on capacity, cost, schedule, quality, and strategic importance.

· Reduce shortages, substitutions, expedites, excess inventory, and material-related production disruptions.

6. Quality & Testing

· Own quality performance within the value stream.

· Ensure products are manufactured and tested in accordance with approved drawings, specifications, standards, and customer requirements.

· Establish quality checkpoints throughout the manufacturing process rather than relying solely on final inspection.

· Partner with Quality and Engineering to identify root causes of defects and implement permanent corrective actions.

· Drive reductions in rework, scrap, defects, punch-list items, and field issues.

· Ensure testing and commissioning requirements are incorporated into the production plan.

7. Continuous Improvement

· Lead continuous improvement throughout the value stream.

· Develop and maintain value-stream maps identifying constraints, handoffs, queues, and non-value-added activities.

· Drive improvements in engineering cycle time, production cycle time, throughput, labor efficiency, material flow, floor layout, standard work, design standardization, first-pass quality, and schedule reliability.

· Build processes that scale as MPD's production volumes and product offerings grow.

8. Leadership & Team Development

· Lead production and engineering teams toward common value-stream objectives.

· Establish clear responsibilities, expectations, and performance standards.

· Develop supervisors, engineers, manufacturing leaders, and other key team members.

· Build cross-functional accountability and eliminate department-versus-department thinking.

· Create an environment where problems are surfaced quickly and solved at the appropriate level.

· Ensure team members understand how their work affects downstream operations and the ultimate customer.

Qualifications:

· Strong leadership experience in manufacturing, engineering, operations, or a combination of these disciplines.

· Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive accountability.

· Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, production planning, and engineered products.

· Ability to understand engineering drawings, bills of material, production routings, and manufacturing requirements.

· Strong problem-solving and root-cause-analysis skills.

· Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

· Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively across Engineering, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Project

Management, and Sales.

Preferred Skills:

· Experience with electrical distribution equipment, switchgear, switchboards, RPPs, modular electrical systems, prefabrication, or related engineered products.

· Experience leading both engineering and manufacturing organizations.

· Lean manufacturing or continuous-improvement experience.

· Experience implementing standard work, visual management, value-stream mapping, and production-flow improvements.

· Experience in a high-growth manufacturing environment.