Job Overview

The Manufacturing Team Leader III leads an assigned production team and serves as a key operational leader within the manufacturing organization. This role is accountable for meeting safety, quality, delivery, productivity, waste, uptime, and cost objectives while strengthening team capability and advancing continuous improvement priorities.

As a leadership pipeline position, the Team Leader III is expected to influence across functions, lead structured problem solving, develop future talent, and assume selected supervisory responsibilities as needed.

Job Requirements

• Lead daily production operations to meet customer requirements and established safety, quality, delivery, productivity, waste, uptime, and cost targets.
• Allocate employees, equipment, and other resources based on production plans, priorities, and schedule changes.
• Train, coach, and mentor operators and Team Leaders on standard work, equipment, processing techniques, quality requirements, job responsibilities, and required certifications.
• Verify that production orders, work instructions, line layouts, tooling, prints, in-process inspections, reporting, and required documentation are followed and completed accurately.
• Analyze department performance data, identify trends and risks, and communicate results, issues, and improvement opportunities to department leadership.
• Lead Tier I and Tier II communication processes and coordinate troubleshooting, escalation, and structured root-cause problem solving.
• Champion TEOA, 5S, visual management, standard work, quality systems, safety standards, and consistent application of plant procedures.
• Lead cross-functional continuous improvement projects focused on safety, quality, capacity, efficiency, material flow, labor utilization, and cost.
• Partner with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Production Control, Supply Chain, Human Resources, and Operations leadership to resolve complex production issues and support departmental priorities.
• Support workforce planning, onboarding, training effectiveness, cross-training, skills-matrix development, employee development discussions, interviews, and talent reviews.
• Promote teamwork, accountability, inclusion, positive employee engagement, and a culture of continuous improvement while developing bench strength and succession capability.
• Serve as acting supervisor during supervisor absences, support department-level decision making, and help implement strategic objectives and annual operating plans.

What your background should look like

• High school diploma or GED required; Associate's degree, technical education, or equivalent manufacturing leadership experience preferred.
• Minimum 7 to 10 years of manufacturing experience with demonstrated success in progressively responsible leadership roles.
• Previous experience as a Team Lead, Lead Operator, Group Lead, or equivalent manufacturing leadership position.
• Proven ability to lead teams, drive performance improvements, and influence results through others.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing systems, safety requirements, quality systems, lean manufacturing principles, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience using production metrics and data to drive decision making and operational improvements.
• Working knowledge of SAP and Microsoft Office applications.
• Demonstrated coaching, training, conflict resolution, and employee development skills.
• Ability to effectively communicate with employees at all levels of the organization and lead cross-functional initiatives.
• Demonstrated potential and readiness to advance into a Production Supervisor role.

Competencies