Job Description

Help grow a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day.

Job Title: Production Manager

Company: Alicat Scientific

Location: Tucson, AZ (On-site)

Reports to: Director of Manufacturing

Compensation Range: $80,000 – $100,000, depending on experience

About Alicat Scientific

Alicat Scientific designs and manufactures precision gas flow instruments used across industries including semiconductor, aerospace, energy, and life sciences. We operate in a high-mix, low-volume environment building custom-configured products to order. Our production team is the engine behind everything we ship, and this role is at the center of it. #Alicat

The Production Manager is the senior operations leader on the production floor, responsible for leading a team of six production supervisors across day and night shifts. This role owns daily output, workforce development, and operational performance for all assembly operations.

This is a hands-on leadership role with two core functions:

Drive Performance: Ensure the production floor consistently meets targets for on-time shipment, first pass yield, overall labor effectiveness (OLE), and throughput. You will leverage established dashboards and reporting tools to monitor performance, identify trends, and take action.

Develop People: Serve as the primary champion and steward of our Point System and Skill Matrix, a structured framework for technician development, cross-training, and performance-based compensation. You will coach supervisors, manage the system's integrity, and build a highly skilled, adaptable production team.

Key Responsibilities

1. Supervisor Leadership and Team Development

• Directly lead six production supervisors (four day shift, two night shift), setting expectations and holding them accountable for team performance, attendance, and development.
• Conduct regular 1-on-1s with each supervisor, coaching them on how to manage their teams effectively, run productive 1-on-1s with technicians, and use the Career Scorecard system.
• Act as the chief steward of the Point System and Skill Matrix, ensuring tier placements and promotion criteria are applied fairly and consistently across all shifts.
• Analyze skill matrix data to identify talent gaps, coordinate cross-training priorities, and ensure the team maintains the flexibility to handle shifting product mix.
• Partner with HR and the Director of Manufacturing on compensation recommendations, ensuring the system remains competitive and aligned with company guidelines.
• Own the hiring, onboarding, and training pipeline for production technicians in coordination with supervisors and the training team.
• Handle corrective actions, performance management, and termination processes as needed, in partnership with HR.

2. Production Operations and Performance Management

• Lead daily production operations through the supervisor team, ensuring all shifts are on track to meet output, quality, and delivery targets.
• Run the daily operations sync meeting, coordinating priorities across production, logistics, planning, and quality.
• Use established OLE, OTS, and FPY dashboards to monitor performance trends, troubleshoot bottlenecks, and implement corrective actions. (You will be a consumer of these tools, not the builder.)
• Coordinate shift handoffs between day and night operations, ensuring continuity of priorities, escalations, and staffing decisions.
• Manage weekend and overtime operations as needed, including staffing decisions and authorization.
• Collaborate with Logistics and Planning to ensure material flow supports the production schedule and that priorities are aligned.
• Champion continuous improvement on the floor, driving lean initiatives to reduce waste, improve changeover efficiency, and scale production capability.

3. Quality and Safety

• Uphold Alicat's quality standards, ensuring all products are built to specification and that supervisors are enforcing SOPs and work instructions.
• Support CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action) execution on the production floor, working with Quality to close out findings on time.
• Champion a safety-first culture, ensuring all team members are trained and that a safe working environment is maintained at all times.

4. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Engineering, Quality, and Applications teams on new product introductions, ECO implementation, and process changes.
• Participate in parts operations and inventory flow discussions, contributing production perspective on kitting, staging, and material handling improvements.
• Collaborate with the MES/systems team to ensure production workflows are accurately represented and that the shop floor tools support your team's needs.
• Represent production in leadership meetings, providing clear updates on performance, risks, and resource needs.

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years of experience in a complex manufacturing environment (electronics, medical device, aerospace, or similar regulated industry).
• 3+ years of direct leadership experience managing supervisors or front-line production teams, not just individual contributors.
• Demonstrated success in people development, including mentoring, coaching, and managing performance through structured systems.
• Data-literate: comfortable reading and acting on manufacturing KPIs (OLE/OEE, FPY, OTS) from existing dashboards and reports.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to lead a diverse team across multiple shifts and present clearly to leadership.
• Solid problem-solving skills and working knowledge of lean manufacturing or continuous improvement principles.
• Willingness to be on-site and engaged with the floor daily. This is not a remote or hybrid role.

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field.
• Experience in a high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) production environment.
• Experience managing across multiple shifts, including night shift oversight.
• Familiarity with MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) or ERP systems in a production context.
• Experience managing skilled technical teams (e.g., SMT, electromechanical assembly, calibration).
• Background in regulated product manufacturing (AS9100, ISO, or similar quality frameworks).

What Success Looks Like

First 90 Days: Listen, Learn, Stabilize

• Build strong working relationships with all six supervisors and establish a consistent 1-on-1 cadence.
• Learn the Point System and Skill Matrix well enough to explain it confidently and begin evaluating its health.
• Observe supervisor-to-technician 1-on-1s and provide initial coaching feedback.
• Maintain or improve baseline production targets. The first priority is to steady the ship, not overhaul it.
• Deliver a "State of the Floor" assessment identifying the top three bottlenecks or improvement opportunities based on existing data.
• Fully integrate into the daily operations rhythm (ops sync, floor walks, shift handoffs).

First 6 Months: Own It and Improve It

• The Point System is running smoothly and is the primary tool for performance and compensation decisions.
• Supervisors are independently managing their teams' development, running effective 1-on-1s, and actively using Action Plans.
• Demonstrate measurable improvement in key metrics (OLE, FPY, OTS) against the baseline established in the 90-day assessment.
• Successfully lead at least one continuous improvement project that reduces waste or resolves a bottleneck.
• Successfully onboard new hires into the tier system, proving the process works end-to-end.
• Establish yourself as the operational hub of the production floor: the person everyone looks to for decisions, direction, and support.

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