Description

Marmon Aerospace & Defense LLC

As a part of the global industrial organization Marmon Holdings-which is backed by Berkshire Hathaway- you'll be doing things that matter, leading at every level, and winning a better way. We're committed to making a positive impact on the world, providing you with diverse learning and working opportunities, and fostering a culture where everyone's empowered to be their best.

The highest authority in the plant responsible for the daily operations, efficiency, safety, and quality.

The Plant Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction, and operational performance of Marmon Defense's Manchester Wire and Cable manufacturing facility. This role oversees all continuous improvement, production, maintenance, and shipping activities while ensuring a world-class safety culture, operational discipline, and alignment to customer, business, and compliance requirements. This role also sets and executes long-term operational strategy, enables future growth, and strengthens customer confidence through responsiveness, reliability, and operational consistency.

The Plant Manager is a hands-on, people-first leader with focus on coaching, developing talent, driving cross-functional collaboration, building resilient and high performing teams, and fostering a culture of accountability, operational excellence, continuous learning, and trust. This role has P&L responsibility for the direct cost drivers of the facility and needs to ensure financial goals are met by managing costs and maximizing revenue generation opportunities, while ensuring best-in-class quality standards.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Safety & Continuous Improvement

• Champion and drive a safety-first culture throughout the facility with employee feedback and participation in driving improvement in the safety culture, ensuring compliance with all safety regulations, and implementing and sustaining ongoing safety training and initiatives.
• Ownership of Safety Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the facility and driving improvement of such.
• Regularly assess and update safety protocols, ensuring a safe working environment for all employees.
• Lead behavior-based safety initiatives, auditing routines, risk identification, root cause investigations, and implementation of corrective/preventive actions.
• Ensure robust Job Hazard Analysis process for all new or modified equipment and processes.
• Champion plant and enterprise-wide continuous improvement culture through LEAN and Kaizen initiatives, fostering broad employee involvement and ownership to streamline processes, reduce waste, and improve overall efficiency.
• Mentor team members across all levels to adopt a problem-solving mindset grounded in data-based decisions, curiosity, and shared accountability.
• Partner with Applications and Process Engineering, Quality, and other business functions to implement improvements that reduce waste and scrap, improve yield and quality, and optimize throughput.
• Analyze financial performance and identify areas for improvement, implementing corrective actions to enhance profitability.

Quality

• Build a culture of ownership of quality at the source, coaching leaders and operators in quality awareness, documentation accuracy, and risk reduction.
• Ensure all products meet rigorous aerospace and defense industry standards such as AS9100, customer specific compliance, and facility maintains compliance audit readiness.
• Oversee implementation and sustainment of in-process quality inspections conducted by Operations.
• Collaboration with Quality, Supply Chain, and Process Engineering on root cause investigation, implementing and sustaining corrective actions, and investigating and implementing robust quality control systems to identify and correct defects early in the production process.
• Drive culture of accurate reporting of inventory such as finished good production, scrap, and other future metrics within company's systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and real-time data tracking.

Operations

• Lead and oversee daily manufacturing operations, ensuring production schedules are met and shipment goals are achieved while maintaining high standards for quality, efficiency, and safety.
• Ensure alignment of production planning, capacity, staffing, and material availability to meet customer and revenue requirements through ownership of Production and collaboration with Planning, Supply Chain, and Sales functions.
• Key team member in Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) to ensure accurate revenue forecasting, volume planning, and customer alignment.
• Drive performance to meet operational KPIs including shipments, throughput, scrap, labor and material efficiency, on time delivery, and other cost reduction initiatives.
• Oversee facility capital equipment planning, justification, installation, and performance integration.
• Leverage company data systems to drive cross functional improvements in current workflows to eliminate waste and streamline process and information flow.
• Develop and execute preventative and corrective maintenance strategies to minimize downtime and optimize equipment performance.
• Develop, manage, and report on various departmental budgets, ensuring financial discipline and resource optimization.
• Support digital transformation initiatives to improve process visibility, data accuracy, and decision-making effectiveness.

People

• Build and sustain a high-performing, resilient, and engaged workforce grounded in communication, feedback, empowerment, accountability, and clear KPIs and developmental goals.
• Coach and mentor leaders at all levels, fostering strong succession pipelines, leadership maturity, and development plans.
• Promote an environment centered on trust, transparency, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with HR on hiring, performance evaluations, disciplinary processes, and workforce planning.
• Ensure consistent execution of feedback systems, annual reviews, training programs, corrective action management, and recognition programs.
• Lead effective communication rhythms, including weekly team meetings, shift handoffs, and plant-wide updates.
• Promote and enforce attendance and utilization standards to support plant performance.
• Actively engage and lead by example on the production floor to support issue resolution, coaching, problem identification, and cross-functional escalation.
• Collaborate closely with other departments, including Sales, Engineering, Automation, Data Transformation, HR, and Finance, to align operations with broader organizational goals
• Serve as a key point of contact between other business units to drive innovation, operational effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.

These are the general duties required to fulfill the Plant Manager job description, not a detailed description of all work required. Additional responsibilities may be assigned as business needs evolve.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, or related field (MBA or advanced degree preferred).
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, with 5+ years in a Plant Manager or equivalent operational leadership role preferred.
• Exceptional communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills, with the proven capability to coach and develop leaders, build high performing teams, and foster collaborative cross-functional relationships.
• Excellent external customer presentation and verbal communication skills for interactions such as plant tours.
• Experience in aerospace, defense, or other highly regulated manufacturing environments strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex operations through transformation initiatives, manage P&L performance, achieve operational excellence, and navigate change.
• Strong knowledge of LEAN, Continuous Improvement, and operational excellence methodologies (Green or Black Belt preferred).
• Robust data-driven decision-making abilities with advanced problem-solving capability.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office, data analysis tools, and quick ability to learn company systems, such as ERP.
• Expertise in production planning, quality systems, maintenance strategies, and process engineering fundamentals.
• In-depth knowledge of safety regulations and compliance requirements within manufacturing environments.
• Proven capability to manage budgets, capital expenditures, and long-term strategic planning.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

• Must be able to effectively communicate with co-workers and other department personnel where English is second language.
• Must be able to read, write, understand, and communicate in English

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATION:

• LEAN Green or Black Belt preferred
• AS9100 training preferred

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• This position requires some physical demand. Must be able to lift up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to travel occasionally,
• Ability to bend, move between equipment, and aisles of product.
• Ability to stand and move around production facility for extended period of time if needed.
• Ability to sit at a desk and conduct computer work for extended periods of time if needed.
• Ability to wear Safety attire or protective gear on a daily basis.

Following receipt of a conditional offer of employment, candidates will be required to complete additional job-related screening processes as permitted or required by applicable law .

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all applicants will be considered for employment without attention to their membership in any protected class. If you require any reasonable accommodation to complete your application or any part of the recruiting process, please email your request to careers@marmon.com, and please be sure to include the title and the location of the position for which you are applying.