Manager, Operations

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead safe, efficient day-to-day manufacturing operations across all shifts
• Deliver production plans in line with quality standards and on-time performance expectations
• Monitor performance and drive timely resolution of operational issues
• Maintain strong floor presence and visible leadership with teams
• Ensure strong alignment between Production and Maintenance to deliver reliability and schedule attainment
• Execute preventive maintenance and reliability plans to minimize downtime
• Align staffing, scheduling, and priorities with production demand and capacity
• Identify and resolve recurring operational issues through structured problem solving
• Lead, coach, and develop team leaders, technicians, and operators
• Ensure teams are trained and capable to meet safety, quality, and production requirements
• Drive accountability, engagement, and consistent performance across shifts

People Development & Organizational Leadership Responsibilities

• Develop Production and Maintenance Leads through structured coaching, clear expectations, and actionable feedback
• Maintain succession plans for key roles, identifying readiness, gaps, and development actions
• Reinforce a consistent leadership culture aligned with Michelman values and performance expectations
• Support workforce planning, including staffing, organization design, and hiring needs in partnership with HR
• Lead change initiatives with clarity and alignment across all levels of the organization
• Identify high-potential talent and create targeted development opportunities to build future leaders
• Foster a culture where accountability and development are both expected and actively reinforced

Environmental, Health, & Safety Responsibilities

• Ensure full compliance with all EHS and regulatory requirements, holding teams accountable for safe work practices
• Reinforce a strong safety culture through proactive hazard identification, near-miss reporting, and risk mitigation
• Ensure MOC processes are followed rigorously for all operational changes
• Lead or support incident investigations, ensuring root causes are addressed with sustainable corrective actions
• Maintain site readiness for emergency response, audits, and regulatory inspections

Quality Responsibilities

• Ensure adherence to standards, process controls, and batch accuracy across all shifts
• Partner with Quality to resolve issues and prevent recurrence through root cause analysis
• Maintain audit-ready production and maintenance records and documentation
• Support customer audits and ensure a consistent, credible operational response

Continuous Improvement & Equipment Ownership Responsibilities

• Drive continuous improvement efforts focused on safety, reliability, quality, and productivity
• Support integration of reliability and maintenance programs to improve equipment performance
• Partner with Engineering on improvements that reduce downtime and support capacity needs
• Build a culture where issues are identified early and addressed with urgency and discipline

Critical Competencies, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong, hands-on operational leadership with the ability to manage daily plant execution
• Working knowledge of chemical manufacturing and regulated environments (PSM, GMP, ISO)
• Proven problem-solving and analytical capability
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Effective communication and collaboration across functions and levels
• Demonstrated ability to develop others and build team capability
• Focus on continuous improvement and disciplined execution

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Science, or related field preferred
• 10+ years of experience in manufacturing or operations leadership
• Experience in chemical or regulated manufacturing environments preferred
• Demonstrated experience with incident investigations, audits, and quality systems
• Proficiency with continuous improvement methodologies and structured problem-solving tools