Plant Manager (Puyallup)

Description Red Dot Corporation, the leading producer of premium mobile HVAC units and components for heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles, is recruiting for the following position: Plant Manager (Puyallup, WA) Full-Time, Fully On-site, Exempt position Summary Description: The Plant Manager is the General Manager’s direct operational partner and the senior manufacturing leader on the floor at Red Dot’s Puyallup facility.

This is a newly created role that owns day-to-day execution of the plant — production output, supervisor leadership, workforce stability, and continuous improvement — and is directly accountable for the operational metrics that define plant performance: safety, quality, delivery, and cost (SQDC). This is a hands-on manufacturing production leadership role. The Plant Manager is visible across both shifts, sets the tone for accountability and culture, develops frontline production supervisors, and drives measurable improvement against plant targets on a complex, mixed-model assembly floor.

Success means the Puyallup facility delivers consistent, predictable manufacturing performance day in and day out. This is not a warehouse, distribution, or logistics role. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate direct leadership of manufacturing production operations — running a fabrication or assembly floor, owning throughput and OEE, and developing production supervisors. Backgrounds centered primarily on warehousing, 3PL, or distribution without hands-on manufacturing floor leadership will not be a fit.

Reporting Structure: • Reports to: General Manager, Puyallup • Direct reports: All Production Supervisors across 1st and 2nd shift (Fabrication, Core, Assembly, Wire Shop, Injection Molding, Metal Fab, Paint, Final Assembly); the Warehouse Supervisor also reports into this role • Partners closely with: Quality, Manufacturing Engineering, Maintenance, Program Management, Finance, HR, and the Memphis plant leadership team Requirements Job Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions): Daily Production Leadership • Own daily production execution across both shifts against safety, quality, delivery, and cost targets on a daily, weekly, and monthly cadence • Lead daily tier meetings and SQDC reviews; escalate blockers and drive rapid resolution on the floor • Maintain regular, visible presence on 2nd shift and ensure consistent manufacturing standards across both shifts • Make real-time staffing, line-balancing, and prioritization decisions to protect customer commitments People Leadership and Supervisor Development • Coach, develop, and hold accountable production supervisors across both shifts, as well as the warehouse supervisor • Build supervisor bench strength through structured 1:1s, performance feedback, and on-the-floor coaching • Partner with HR to improve onboarding ramp time and stabilize the hourly and temporary workforce • Champion Red Dot’s cultural norms and lead by example in every interaction with the team Safety and Quality • Own safety performance for the production floor — lead incident response, root-cause investigation, and corrective action • Reinforce quality standards in partnership with the Director of Quality; ensure containment and corrective action at every work station • Drive a culture where every employee is empowered and expected to stop the line for a safety or quality concern Continuous Improvement and Lean • Drive Lean and continuous improvement on the floor in partnership with the Manufacturing Engineering / Lean team • Lead or sponsor kaizen events, standard work, 6S, and visual-management improvements • Use data — OEE, throughput, scrap, labor efficiency — to identify and prioritize improvement opportunities Cross-Functional Partnership and GM Backfill • Partner with the GM on workforce planning, budgeting, and capital-project execution • Collaborate with the Memphis sister plant on best-practice sharing and consistent operating standards • Backfill the General Manager as ne