Role Overview
The Senior Manufacturing Operations Manager is responsible for leading all aspects of production, post-processing, and shipping & receiving for the Knoxville, Tennessee site. As Beehive’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence, this role plays a critical part in scaling and industrializing additive manufacturing processes, including Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) and Metal Binder Jetting (MBJ). This role sits between site-level execution and strategic leadership, reporting to the Operations Director. The Senior Manager will lead a team consisting of two Operations Supervisors, with overall responsibility for a team of 15+ employees. This position requires a leader who can bridge engineering and operations, driving process discipline, technical excellence, and production performance while building a high-performing, engaged team.
What You’ll Do...
- Operational Leadership: Lead daily production, post-processing, and logistics operations, ensuring safe, efficient, and high-quality execution across the Knoxville site
- Team Leadership & Development: Provide direct leadership to two Operations Supervisors, with overall responsibility for a team of 15+ employees fostering a culture of accountability, technical growth, and continuous improvement
- Production & Resource Planning: Set daily and weekly priorities in alignment with Production Control, balancing capacity, engineering constraints, and customer delivery commitments
- Additive Manufacturing Excellence: Support and advance additive manufacturing capabilities, including LPBF and MBJ, ensuring processes are optimized from print readiness through final inspection
- Process Optimization & Industrialization: Drive the development and implementation of robust, end-to-end workflows that enable the transition from development to full-rate production
- Continuous Improvement: Lead Lean and Six Sigma initiatives to improve throughput, reduce waste, and enhance process capability across manufacturing and post-processing operations
- Performance Management: Track and drive key metrics including on-time delivery, yield, equipment utilization, and cost performance
- Compliance & Quality: Ensure adherence to EHS, quality, and regulatory requirements, particularly within aerospace and defense manufacturing environments
- Financial & Business Acumen: Monitor and report on operational performance, supporting cost control and productivity improvements aligned with site and company goals
- Talent & Engagement: Build and develop a high-performing team through coaching, performance management, and active participation in hiring and workforce planning
You Have...
- Experience: 8–12+ years of experience in manufacturing, with a strong emphasis within advanced or additive manufacturing environments
- Leadership: 5+ years of experience leading teams in a production and/or manufacturing engineering setting, with demonstrated success building high-performing teams
- Additive Manufacturing Knowledge: Hands-on or applied experience with metal additive manufacturing processes such as LPBF and/or MBJ is strongly preferred