Embedded Operations & Process Engineering Manager at Novagard — Seymour, USA | Base Career

Serve as the primary Novagard representative embedded within the Contract Manufacturer's facility.
Coordinate daily, weekly, and monthly production activities to achieve customer demand requirements and delivery commitments.
Develop, maintain, and communicate production schedules with Novagard Planning and Contract Manufacturer personnel.
Monitor schedule attainment and proactively identify and resolve production constraints.
Lead daily production reviews and communicate operational status to Novagard leadership.
Drive adherence to safety, quality, and production standards.

Coordinate raw material availability, packaging materials, and finished goods inventories.
Work closely with Procurement, Planning, and Contract Manufacturer personnel to prevent supply disruptions.
Monitor inventory levels and inventory accuracy.
Identify and mitigate supply chain risks affecting customer service or production continuity.
Support demand planning, capacity planning, and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) activities.
Coordinate inbound and outbound logistics to ensure timely material flow.

Analyze manufacturing performance data and develop action plans to improve productivity, throughput, and process reliability.
Lead root cause investigations related to safety, quality, downtime, scrap, and customer complaints.
Develop and implement continuous improvement initiatives focused on yield, cycle time, labor efficiency, and cost reduction.
Establish and maintain standardized work procedures and best practices.
Support process validation, new product introductions, and process transfers.
Collaborate with Quality, R&D, Operations, and Engineering teams on process improvements and commercial scale-up activities.

Develop and maintain operational dashboards and visual management systems.
Monitor and report key operational metrics including: Safety Performance, Schedule Attainment, On-Time Delivery, Inventory Accuracy, Yield, Scrap, Throughput, Downtime, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), Customer Complaints and Non-Conformances.
Perform trend analysis and drive corrective action implementation.
Present operational performance reviews to Novagard leadership and Contract Manufacturer management teams.

Build strong working relationships with Contract Manufacturer leadership and operational personnel.
Serve as the primary escalation point for production and supply chain issues.
Coordinate activities among Novagard Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, R&D, and Sales teams.
Lead cross-functional teams in resolving operational and technical challenges.

Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or related technical discipline required.
Minimum of 5 years of experience in manufacturing, process engineering, operations management, or supply chain leadership.
Experience in process manufacturing environments such as silicones, adhesives, coatings, chemical processing, compounding, polymers, or specialty materials preferred.
Strong understanding of production planning, scheduling, inventory control, and supply chain management.
Technical knowledge of manufacturing processes, process equipment, and continuous improvement methodologies.
Demonstrated experience implementing process improvements and solving complex manufacturing challenges.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Project management experience including planning, execution, prioritization, and stakeholder coordination.
Advanced Microsoft Excel and ERP system experience.
Ability to influence and lead through collaboration in environments without direct supervisory authority.

Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma certification.
Experience supporting toll manufacturing or contract manufacturing operations.
Knowledge of silicone, adhesive, polymer, or chemical manufacturing processes.
Experience implementing OEE, TPM, Reliability, or Operational Excellence programs.
Experience with NetSuite ERP and manufacturing planning systems.
Experience with KPI dashboard development and data analytics tools.

Travel between Novagard facilities and Contract Manufacturer locations as required.
Occasional travel for supplier visits, training, process trials, and customer support activities.
Estimated travel: 10%.

Embedded Operations & Process Engineering Manager