The Plant Manager / Operations Manager is responsible for leading all day-to-day operations in a complex, engineered-to-order manufacturing facility. This role oversees production, safety, quality, scheduling, maintenance, and workforce leadership, ensuring the plant meets output, cost, and delivery targets while maintaining the highest safety and quality standards. The ideal candidate is an experienced manufacturing leader with a strong engineering foundation and a proven ability to manage large teams in a heavy industrial, build-to-spec environment.

Key Responsibilities
Operational Leadership

Direct all plant operations including production, workforce management, scheduling, and workflow optimization.

Ensure consistent execution of daily, weekly, and monthly production goals.

Oversee equipment reliability, preventive maintenance programs, and downtime reduction initiatives.

Manage capacity planning, resource allocation, and operational forecasting.

Safety & Compliance

Champion a strong safety culture and ensure full compliance with OSHA and internal safety requirements.

Drive continuous improvement in safety performance, incident reduction, and risk mitigation.

Quality & Continuous Improvement

Ensure adherence to strict quality standards for engineered-to-order products.

Lead continuous improvement, Lean, and 5S initiatives to reduce waste and increase throughput.

Maintain robust quality control processes, root-cause analysis, and corrective action systems.

People Leadership

Manage and develop a large hourly and salaried workforce, including supervisors, leads, and technical staff.

Drive accountability, performance management, training, and employee engagement.

Support a culture of teamwork, problem-solving, and operational discipline.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner closely with engineering, logistics, procurement, and project management teams to align production with customer and project requirements.

Coordinate with leadership on production schedules, capacity constraints, and strategic planning.

Financial & Strategic Management

Oversee plant budgeting, cost control, labor planning, and operational KPI tracking.

Lead initiatives to increase efficiency, reduce scrap, and improve profitability.

Support capital projects, facility improvements, and equipment upgrades.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or similar required).

10+ years of experience in heavy industrial, engineered-to-order manufacturing.

Proven success managing large production teams (100–300+ employees).

Strong understanding of high-volume industrial equipment, mechanical systems, and process operations.

Demonstrated experience improving throughput, reducing waste, and driving performance metrics.

Strong background in Lean manufacturing, 5S, or Six Sigma methodologies.

Excellent leadership, communication, and decision-making skills.

Experience managing safety-intensive environments with heavy equipment and high-complexity workflows.

Bilingual Spanish skills are a strong plus.

Preferred Qualifications
-Advanced degree (MBA or Engineering Master’s) a plus.
-Experience with automation, industrial controls, batching/mixing systems, or large-scale equipment.
-Track record of leading cultural change and operational transformation.

Excellent compensation/benefits offered. Please contact Claudia Scrofani with Ventura AppleOne for more information and immediate consideration!

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disabled / Protected Veterans

The Know Your Rights poster is available here:
https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12.pdf

The pay transparency policy is available here:
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ofccp/pdf/pay-transp_%20English_formattedESQA508c.pdf

For temporary assignments lasting 13 weeks or longer, AppleOne is pleased to offer major medical, dental, vision, 401k and any statutory sick pay where required.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact your staffing representative who will reach out to our HR team.

AppleOne participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations as required by law. Learn more about the E-Verify program.
https://e-verify.uscis.gov/web/media/resourcesContents/E-Verify_Participation_Poster_ES.pdf

We also consider for employment qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements, including, if applicable, the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. Pursuant to applicable state and municipal Fair Chance Laws and Ordinances, we will consider for employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, including, if applicable, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. For Los Angeles, CA applicants: Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.