Manufacturing Manager

About milkrite | InterPuls

At milkrite | InterPuls, we develop and manufacture solutions that help dairy farmers improve milking efficiency, productivity, and animal care.

Our culture is built around three values: Caring, Agile, and Brave. We believe strong results start with strong people, and we are committed to creating a safe, respectful, collaborative environment where employees can learn, grow, and do their best work.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced Manufacturing Manager to provide operational leadership across our Johnson Creek, Wisconsin and Modesto, California operations.

This is a key leadership role responsible for leading and coordinating multi-shift manufacturing operations while driving performance across safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost. The Manufacturing Manager will lead through other leaders and work closely with Production, Maintenance & Facilities, Engineering, Quality, Human Resources, and global leadership to ensure our operations meet business and customer requirements.

The primary work location is Johnson Creek, WI, with responsibility for supporting and coordinating operations across both locations.

What You'll Do:

Lead Manufacturing Operations

• Provide overall leadership and operational oversight for manufacturing and multi-site farm service operations.
• Lead multi-shift operations to achieve safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost objectives.
• Partner with manufacturing leaders to ensure effective staffing, scheduling, overtime, and resource allocation.
• Monitor production performance and communicate KPIs, trends, risks, and opportunities to leadership.
• Support capacity planning and long-term operational planning across locations.
• Partner with local and global leadership on strategic manufacturing initiatives.

Lead & Develop People

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop manufacturing leaders and employees.
• Establish clear expectations, accountability, and performance standards.
• Build a culture of teamwork, respect, continuous learning, and continuous improvement.
• Support performance management and disciplinary actions in partnership with Human Resources.
• Ensure training is completed and documented for new hires, process changes, new equipment, and skill development.
• Develop leadership capability and support succession planning across the operation.

Champion Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Make employee safety a top priority across all shifts and operations.
• Ensure compliance with applicable Health & Safety requirements, OSHA standards, ISO standards, company policies, and the Quality Management System.
• Partner with Quality and other functional leaders to identify and address operational risks.
• Promote a culture where employees are encouraged to identify safety, quality, and process concerns.

Drive Continuous Improvement

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives using Lean Manufacturing principles, Kaizen, and structured problem-solving.
• Use tools such as 5 Whys, A3, and Pareto analysis to identify root causes and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity, quality, efficiency, and processes.
• Lead teams through changes involving processes, equipment, schedules, and other operational improvements.

Support Business & Product Initiatives

• Support R&D and Product Management with new product and process launches.
• Lead the manufacturing budgeting process.
• Collaborate with internal teams, vendors, suppliers, and customers as needed.
• Support special projects and other initiatives assigned by the Leadership Team.

What We're Looking For:

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent combination of education, technical training, and experience.
• 7+ years of progressive manufacturing or production management experience.
• Experience leading teams in a multi-shift manufacturing environment.
• Experience managing production performance, KPIs, staffing, scheduling, and operational resources.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.
• Experience with structured problem-solving and root-cause analysis.
• Strong leadership, communication, coaching, and decision-making skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel.

Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
• Experience managing automated manufacturing processes and familiarity with industrial automation systems.
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma experience.
• ISO Quality Management experience.
• Safety leadership experience or related certification.

The Leader We're Looking For

We're looking for a leader who:

• Puts people first while maintaining clear expectations and accountability.
• Builds trust and strong working relationships across departments and locations.
• Communicates clearly with employees, leaders, and senior management.
• Uses data and KPIs to make informed operational decisions.
• Remains calm and solution-focused when challenges arise.
• Develops people through coaching, feedback, and mentorship.
• Looks for opportunities to improve rather than accepting the status quo.
• Can effectively lead change across a complex, multi-shift manufacturing environment.

Why Join milkrite | InterPuls?

This is an opportunity to have a meaningful impact on a growing manufacturing organization while working with teams across the United States and globally.

You'll have the opportunity to lead talented teams, improve manufacturing processes, develop future leaders, and contribute to initiatives that directly impact our customers and business.

At milkrite | InterPuls, we believe great manufacturing starts with great people.

If you're an experienced manufacturing leader who enjoys developing people, solving problems, improving operations, and working across multiple locations, we'd love to hear from you.

milkrite | InterPuls is an equal opportunity employer.