Blow Molding Operations Manager — Automotive Plastics

About Mergon

Mergon moulds ideas for a sustainable future. We partner with innovators like Tesla, BMW, and Xerox to design, manufacture, and deliver next‑generation plastic components. We value curiosity, care deeply about our colleagues, customers, and communities, and invest in people and processes so we can do our best work every day.

A Day in the Role

Imagine starting your morning with a quick floor walk through a blow molding cell. You review safety checks, chat with team leads about overnight performance, and look at the hour‑by‑hour plan. A production scheduling decision needs to be made—so you balance demand, materials, and tooling availability to keep delivery commitments intact. Maintenance briefs you on a preventive task list; you approve a minor adjustment to protect equipment reliability.

Mid‑morning, you huddle with engineering and technical resources to troubleshoot scrap spikes and run a short Kaizen burst. After lunch, you review operational KPIs—safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost—then coach supervisors on actions that reduce downtime and improve first‑pass yield. You align capital projects with budget, confirm OSHA/EPA/ISO compliance steps with EHS, and close the day by validating tomorrow’s schedule and updating a simple forecast against labor, material, and maintenance spend.

What You’ll Lead

• End‑to‑end leadership of a blow molding manufacturing operation, including production, production scheduling, maintenance, tooling, engineering, and technical resources.
• Continuous improvement programs that elevate safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost performance.
• Cross‑functional collaboration to enhance manufacturing processes, drive innovation, and advance strategic objectives.
• Optimal utilization of people, equipment, and capital through capacity planning and effective resource deployment.
• Preventive maintenance, equipment reliability initiatives, and capital project execution.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, or related field preferred.
• 5+ years in manufacturing operations leadership; experience in blow molding and/or injection molding—ideally within the automotive sector.
• Hands‑on success managing production, maintenance, engineering, tooling, and continuous improvement activities.
• Practical knowledge of OSHA, EPA, and ISO requirements with a track record of safe, compliant operations.
• Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen expertise applied to boost throughput, cut costs, and minimize downtime.
• Financial acumen to build and manage budgets; control labor, material, and maintenance costs.
• Experience leading preventive maintenance programs, improving equipment reliability, and steering capital projects.
• Proven leadership: coaching, team development, and succession planning.
• Analytical, problem‑solving, and root‑cause analysis strengths paired with clear communication and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Fluency with manufacturing metrics, production planning, and operational performance management.

Your Toolkit

• Leadership / People Management; Coaching and Mentoring
• Continuous Improvement, Kaizen, and Lean Manufacturing Principles
• Production Optimization and Operational Risk Management
• Operational Metrics & KPI Management
• Production Planning & Scheduling
• Workplace Safety & EHS Management
• High‑level Operations Analysis
• Budgeting & Forecasting