General Manager

Operations Manager
Job Description
Position Overview

• Location: Greater Toronto Area (GTA West / Halton Region), Ontario
• Reports to: General Manager
• Compensation: $132,000 – $140,000 per year
• Functional Scope: Production, Quality, Engineering, & Maintenance

Company Overview
We are an established Canadian precision manufacturing organization supplying high-tolerance components and complex assemblies to advanced industrial sectors, including aerospace, defence, and high-spec commercial markets. Operating from a fully equipped, modern production facility, our capabilities include multi-axis CNC machining, precision sheet metal fabrication, certified welding, specialized metal finishing, deburring, and mechanical assembly. With a multi-decade track record of technical excellence, we support tier-one clients with products engineered to stringent regulatory standards and tight tolerance requirements.

The Opportunity
We are seeking a hands-on, floor-oriented Operations Manager to lead overall plant execution across a manufacturing footprint of approximately 130–150 employees. Reporting to the General Manager, this operational leader will strengthen daily execution, institute modern production systems, optimize material flow, and eliminate operational bottlenecks across the plant.
The successful candidate will evaluate existing manufacturing methods, establish robust performance metrics, and lead cross-functional initiatives focused on safety, quality, delivery schedule attainment, cost containment, and overall equipment efficiency.

Key Responsibilities
Operational Leadership & Daily Rhythm

• Direct daily operations across production, quality assurance, manufacturing engineering, and facility maintenance.
• Convert strategic business objectives and client requirements into operational master schedules and daily performance targets.
• Establish clear operational accountability across all operational departments, shifts, and supervisory levels.
• Maintain a visible, active presence on the shop floor to coach teams, identify constraints, and remove operational friction in real time.
• Cultivate frontline leadership, establishing structured shift handovers and effective daily operating rhythms.
• Balance labor allocation, machine availability, tooling, and quality oversight to hit production targets safely.

Workflow Optimization & Continuous Improvement

• Conduct end-to-end evaluations of plant layout, shop-floor workflows, and production control systems to create a comprehensive operational improvement plan.
• Re-engineer production flow to shorten manufacturing lead times, reduce work-in-process (WIP) inventory, and eliminate non-value-added material handling.
• Implement standard work practices, visual management tools, daily tiered reviews, 5S workplace organization, and structured escalation protocols.
• Synchronize production scheduling and capacity planning across all primary manufacturing cells—including CNC machining, fabrication, welding, finishing, and final assembly.
• Identify opportunities for cellular manufacturing, improved setup reduction (SMED), line balancing, and repeatable shop-floor schedules.
• Drive floor-level adoption of new systems, ensuring operational changes are fully trained, documented, and sustained long-term.

Performance Management & Operational Visibility

• Develop and manage a balanced scorecard of key plant metrics, including:
• Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and schedule attainment
• On-time delivery (OTD), throughput, and standard labor efficiency
• First-pass yield (FPY), scrap rates, and rework costs
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and unplanned downtime
• Manufacturing cycle time and WIP turns
• Host daily and weekly operational performance reviews that transform raw shop data into immediate corrective actions.
• Provide executive leadership with concise visibility into plant output, capacity risks, critical path constraints, and recovery strategies.
• Apply disciplined root-cause problem solving (5-Why, Fishbone) to resolve persistent operational and equipment issues.

Quality Systems & Compliance

• Partner with Quality and Engineering teams to ensure shop-floor improvements comply with rigorous quality management systems (e.g., AS9100/ISO 9001), regulatory mandates, and customer specifications.
• Promote a 'Quality at the Source' mindset across all operator stations, reinforcing process controls throughout the manufacturing process.
• Ensure process deviations, non-conformance reports (NCRs), and customer feedback are systematically analyzed and corrected using standard CAPA tools.
• Drive targeted yield improvements to continuously lower the cost of poor quality (COPQ).

Maintenance & Reliability Engineering

• Direct plant maintenance resources to implement proactive preventive and predictive maintenance (PM/PdM) programs.
• Maximize critical machinery uptime, reliability, and precision capabilities across the plant.
• Align scheduled maintenance activities with master production schedules to minimize disruptions to active customer orders.
• Track downtime Pareto data to prioritize capital improvement recommendations, machinery refurbishments, or equipment replacements.
• Oversee facility upgrades, equipment installations, plant re-layouts, and capacity expansion projects.

Safety, Culture, & Leadership

• Serve as a champion for health, safety, environmental compliance, and an inclusive, respectful workplace.
• Ensure all teams receive the required safety protocols, continuous skill training, and technical support to execute tasks successfully.
• Establish clear operational objectives for supervisors and managers, offering actionable feedback and proactive performance management.
• Foster strong cross-functional communication between production, engineering, quality, and supply chain functions.

Qualifications & Experience

• Experience: 8+ years of progressive operational leadership experience within a complex, high-mix/low-volume precision manufacturing environment, including direct leadership over plant operations.
• Track Record: Proven success transforming shop-floor operations to improve throughput, lead times, OTD, and overall operating margins.
• Domain Knowledge: Deep knowledge of modern manufacturing systems, Lean/Toyota Production System principles, standard work, visual management, root-cause analysis, and capacity modeling.
• Technical Familiarity: Hands-on experience or direct management exposure to precision manufacturing processes (e.g., multi-axis CNC milling/turning, sheet metal fabrication, certified welding, mechanical assembly, deburring, and surface treatment).
• Industry Context: Background in a tightly regulated, quality-sensitive manufacturing sector (e.g., aerospace, defence, automotive, medical device, or precision industrial machinery).
• Data-Driven: Demonstrated capability to interpret production metrics and translate analytical insights into sustainable shop-floor practices.
• Leadership Style: Pragmatic, decisive, and communicative style with a strong track record of earning respect from experienced floor personnel and senior executives alike.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related technical field is preferred; equivalent hands-on executive manufacturing experience will be given full consideration.