About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and results-driven Production Manager to lead and optimise our manufacturing operations. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring production targets are achieved safely, efficiently, and to the highest quality standards while driving continuous improvement initiatives across the production environment.

This role requires a strong leader with excellent operational planning skills, the ability to manage multidisciplinary teams, and a passion for delivering operational excellence in a highly regulated manufacturing environment.

Qualifications and experience

• Bachelor's Degree or National Diploma in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management or a related technical discipline.

• Minimum of 8–10 years' manufacturing or production management experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.

• Experience in a high-technology, defence, aerospace or precision manufacturing environment will be advantageous.

• Proven experience leading production teams, planning manufacturing schedules and managing production resources.

• Experience implementing Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma or continuous improvement methodologies is advantageous.

Key technical skills

• Production planning and scheduling

• Manufacturing operations management

• Capacity planning and resource management

• Quality management systems and regulatory compliance

• Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement

• Root Cause Analysis and corrective action implementation

• Health, Safety and Environmental compliance

• KPI development, monitoring and reporting

• ERP/MRP systems

• Budget and cost management

• Risk management

• Leadership, coaching and team development

• Stakeholder and cross-functional collaboration

Key responsibilities:

Production Delivery

• Manage daily manufacturing operations to achieve production targets.

• Ensure products are delivered on time, within budget and to specification.

• Monitor production performance and implement corrective actions where required.

Resource and Capability Management

• Plan, allocate and optimise production resources.

• Develop team capability through coaching, mentoring and performance management.

• Ensure workforce competency and succession planning.

Quality and Compliance

• Ensure compliance with quality standards, customer requirements and regulatory obligations.

• Drive adherence to quality management systems and production procedures.

• Lead investigations into production and quality issues and implement corrective actions.

Continuous Improvement and Industrialisation

• Identify and implement process improvements to increase productivity and reduce waste.

• Support new product introduction and industrialisation activities.

• Drive Lean Manufacturing and operational excellence initiatives.

Production Environment and Leadership

• Promote a safe, collaborative and high-performance working environment.

• Ensure compliance with health, safety and environmental standards.

• Build strong relationships with engineering, supply chain, quality and other key stakeholders to support business objectives.