Guided Search Partners (GSP)
Guided Search Partners is an Executive Search firm built on Trust, Transparency, Specialization, and Long-term Relationships.
We connect high-performing professionals with organizations that value people, performance, and growth, helping leaders find roles where they can make an impact and build meaningful careers.

About the Opportunity
We’re supporting a search for an Operations Manager with a growing Tier 1 automotive plastic injection molding facility. This role will lead day-to-day manufacturing operations, improve plant performance, develop production leadership, and support a major new program launch and facility expansion. The Operations Manager will focus on safety, quality, delivery, cost, labor efficiency, OEE, floor discipline, and operational execution across a multi-shift, high-volume manufacturing environment.

What You’ll Do
You’ll lead manufacturing operations with a focus on performance, leadership development, launches, and continuous improvement.

Key areas of focus include:

• Lead all manufacturing operations
• Drive safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance
• Improve OEE from 72% toward 80% or higher
• Improve labor efficiency, uptime, productivity, and operational KPIs
• Develop shift supervisors and plant floor leadership
• Strengthen accountability and floor discipline
• Partner with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Materials, and HR
• Support APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, and IATF 16949 requirements
• Support successful new program launches
• Participate in capital planning and automation projects
• Lead Lean Manufacturing, SMED, Kaizen, 6S, and OEE initiatives
• Support production across injection molding and offline assembly operations

Who You Are
You are an automotive operations leader with strong plastic injection molding experience and the ability to lead high-volume, multi-shift manufacturing.

You can develop supervisors, improve accountability, and drive performance across safety, quality, delivery, cost, labor, and equipment effectiveness.

You would do well here if you are hands-on, disciplined, and comfortable leading through rapid growth, plant expansion, and new program launches.

Preferred Experience & Attributes
• Tier 1 automotive manufacturing experience required
• Plastic injection molding experience required
• Multi-shift operations leadership experience
• High-volume production experience
• Lean Manufacturing experience
• Strong leadership and accountability skills
• Experience improving OEE, labor efficiency, uptime, and productivity
• Experience developing supervisors and production leaders
• APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, or IATF 16949 experience
• GM experience preferred
• New program launch experience preferred
• Large automotive plant experience preferred

Why This Role Matters
This role is important because the facility is growing, expanding production capacity, and preparing for a major automotive launch. The Operations Manager will help improve operational execution, develop plant leadership, strengthen performance metrics, and support continued growth across the facility.