Manufacturing Lead Supervisor

The Manufacturing Lead Supervisor is responsible for directing daily manufacturing operations to meet safety, quality, production, and cost objectives. This role provides leadership and oversight to first-line supervisors, ensuring consistent execution of operational goals, proper workforce planning, and adherence to company policies and safety standards. The Manufacturing Lead Supervisor collaborates across departments to support process improvements, drive performance, and maintain a safe and efficient manufacturing environment.

Essential Functions

Safety

• Identify and report unsafe conditions in the KPA system and implement corrective actions to eliminate hazards.
• Conduct root cause analysis for safety incidents and document findings and corrective actions.
• Submit incident reports to the Manufacturing Manager for review and required follow-up.
• Track safety incidents by department to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Coach and monitor employees to ensure compliance with all safety rules and practices.

Staffing & Training

• Ensure each work center is adequately staffed based on workload and production requirements.
• Assign personnel to meet daily production demands and provide staffing recommendations to the Manufacturing Manager.
• Train and cross-train operators based on production schedule needs.
• Participate in cross-functional committees addressing scrap reduction, material usage, and safety initiatives.
• Monitor operator efficiency and provide coaching, feedback, and development support.
• Track attendance, recognize strong performance, and support development-focused coaching.
• Partner with Human Resources on employee relations and labor matters.
• Ensure new hire onboarding and training are completed in accordance with company standards.

Scheduling

• Monitor performance against planned production schedules by work center.
• Partner with the Master Scheduler to ensure schedules are accurate, achievable, and aligned with production capacity.

Scrap & Quality Control

• Ensure scrap is accurately reported by each work center.
• Identify contributing factors to scrap and implement corrective actions.
• Analyze OSRs by work center and collaborate with operators to resolve issues.
• Partner with engineering and maintenance to resolve equipment or process-related quality problems.

Productivity

• Review operator performance to ensure productivity targets are achieved.
• Provide coaching, training, and support to improve performance and operational consistency.

Work Center Organization

• Organize work centers to achieve maximum efficiency and maintain strong 5S housekeeping standards.
• Conduct team meetings to address operational challenges and identify solutions.
• Ensure tools, materials, and resources are available to meet production requirements.
• Improve material staging processes to reduce downtime and eliminate material search time.

Operational Metrics

• Labor Efficiency: Achieve and maintain a minimum earned labor efficiency of 75%.
• Capacity Management: Ensure available capacity meets or exceeds production needs by work center.
• On-Time Delivery: Maintain strong on-time delivery performance for stock and custom orders.
• Cost Reduction: Minimize downtime through efficient setups, improved material availability, proper staging, and proactive preventive maintenance coordination.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in a manufacturing environment in a supervisory capacity.
• Wire and cable manufacturing experience preferred.
• Strong mechanical and process aptitude with knowledge of wire/cable machinery recommended.
• Associate or bachelor’s degree in engineering or manufacturing technology preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• Strong conceptual thinking, analytical ability, organization, and problem‑solving skills.
• Excellent verbal/written communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability to foster teamwork and develop high-performing teams.