Plant Manager

Be yourself at Protolabs
Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification.  We are an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building a diverse team that feels they are valued in the workplace.  So do you feel you do not meet every single requirement but still intrigued? We encourage you to still apply!  You can help make our company even better.  We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, mental or physical ability, or any way you represent yourself.  We strongly believe diversity makes for more successful teams.

Why Protolabs?
We are the leaders in digital manufacturing. We hire doers, makers, and creative thinkers who tackle our roles with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our culture is centered around meaningful work that brings new and innovative products to market at unprecedented speeds. We are a diverse team that comes from all walks of life and take pride in our team who is smart, genuine, humble, and passionate about what we do. It’s our people who fuel our creativity and make our culture feel like home.

We have an exciting opportunity to join us as a Plant Manager at our Nashua facilitie.

As Plant Manager, you’ll lead, plan, and coordinate end-to-end manufacturing operations across multiple departments, aligning people, processes, and performance to deliver on Proto Labs’ operational objectives.

What you'll do::
• Set and execute manufacturing policies and procedures for safety, quality, cost control, and equipment maintenance.

• Lead and develop operations teams, including supervisors and technical leads.

• Assess production capacity and adjust staffing through supervisors as needed.

• Allocate resources to meet delivery priorities; track schedule vs. actuals and remove delays.

• Drive cross-functional process improvements aligned with cost and quality goals.

• Own quality, safety, and training standards, with a strong focus on improving product quality.

• Deploy and optimise manufacturing IT systems.

• Lead capital equipment planning and purchases.

• Partner with Logistics, Planning, and Inventory to plan and control raw materials, supplies, and tooling.

• Support cost accounting and job costing activities.

• Improve operating and forecasting tools in partnership with other teams.

• Set KPIs and continuous improvement targets for quality, timeliness, and cost.

• Keep supervisors informed on critical matters; perform other duties as assigned.

What it takes::
Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s in Business, Engineering, or equivalent experience

• 10+ years in manufacturing/operations management with significant people leadership; middle manager or higher

• Proven P&L responsibility

• Comfortable in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment

Preferred qualifications:

• Kaizen and Lean Manufacturing experience

• Working knowledge of machining and/or sheet metal fabrication

• Experience in continuous improvement environments

Knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to convey complex technical info and present data clearly

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; high attention to detail and quality documentation

• Self-motivated, proactive, and urgency-driven

• Strong time management; delivers to defined scope, milestones, and timelines

What's in it for you::
• We offer amazing benefits including but not limited to:

• Health Insurance: Traditional OR High Deductible plan

• Flexible Spending Accounts

• Health Savings Account (including employer contributions)

• Dental and Vision

• Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance

• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability

• Paid caregiver leave

• You will receive at least 3 weeks of PTO, Holiday Pay, and Volunteer Hours

• 401k with company match and immediate vest

• Employee Stock Purchase Program at a discounted rate

• Matching grants through Protolabs foundation

• And More!

Proto Labs maintains ITAR-compliant operations in all of our United States based facilities. Due to ITAR regulations, this role is only open to U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) or foreign nationals granted refugee or asylee status. Individuals with temporary visas (e.g. E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, TN or OPT) are not eligible for hire in this role.

Proto Labs, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Physical Demands:
While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to sit; use a computer keyboard, monitor and mouse, telephone and printer; reach with hands, and arms, talk, see and hear. The employee is regularly required to stand, walk, stoop or kneel and must be able to lift and/or move up to 70 pounds.

Work Environment:
Indoors (A/C); nonsmoking; the majority of this job function is performed in a manufacturing area exposed to machinery and noise; with eye protection and safety shoes required. Occasionally works in outside weather conditions. Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.