General Manager – Manufacturing Operations

Our client is a well-established, family-owned contract manufacturing and industrial automation company that has been serving customers since 2000 and employs approximately 75 people. The organization specializes in electrical power and control panels, electro-mechanical assemblies, cable and wire harnesses, and other customized manufacturing solutions, including UL508A-certified control-panel production. With approximately $13.5M in annual revenue, the company works across a diverse customer base and operates in a fast-paced, project-driven environment where quality, delivery, efficiency, and customer specifications are critical.

About the Role

This is a highly visible, hands-on General Manager position responsible for leading approximately 10–15 managers and supervisors across production, engineering, quality, procurement, project management, inventory/warehouse, HR, and other operational functions. The ideal leader will spend significant time on the production floor, working directly with managers and supervisors rather than operating exclusively from an office.

Responsibilities

Day-to-Day Responsibilities:

• Oversee daily manufacturing operations involving electrical control panels, wiring assemblies, cable/wire harnesses, and electro-mechanical assemblies.
• Lead, mentor, and hold managers and supervisors accountable for priorities, deadlines, performance, and follow-through.
• Conduct daily and weekly operational meetings to review production status, priorities, issues, responsibilities, and action items.
• Establish clear accountability and ensure operational issues result in decisions, action plans, and resolution.
• Monitor key performance indicators including throughput, efficiency, defect rates, lead times, on-time delivery, labor utilization, resource allocation, and material availability.
• Optimize labor, equipment, workflow, and other resources to improve productivity and keep customer projects moving.
• Oversee purchasing, material planning, inventory levels, suppliers, and vendor relationships.
• Drive Lean manufacturing, 5S, workflow optimization, standardization, and continuous process improvement initiatives.
• Ensure production follows engineering drawings, schematics, bills of material, customer specifications, quality requirements, and applicable electrical standards.
• Partner closely with Engineering to resolve production and technical issues and prevent recurring problems.
• Work cross-functionally with Sales and Project Management to ensure customer requirements, project scope, and production schedules are aligned.
• Participate in project review meetings and provide updates regarding production status, capacity, resource needs, and potential issues.
• Support customer inspections, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), audits, and other customer-facing operational requirements as needed.
• Develop and strengthen the management team while creating a culture of accountability, teamwork, safety, communication, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as the primary operational leader for people and processes while relying on technical teams for detailed electrical troubleshooting and engineering expertise.
• Help transition day-to-day people and operational accountability from the current leadership structure while allowing senior leadership to focus more heavily on systems and process development.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related discipline.

Required Skills

Requirements:

• The successful candidate will be a proven manufacturing operations leader who is comfortable working in a hands-on, people-driven assembly environment.
• The company is less concerned with a specific job title or exact industry background than with finding someone who has demonstrated the ability to lead managers, improve manufacturing processes, and create accountability in a fast-paced operation.
• 5+ years of progressive management experience in manufacturing operations, including experience leading managers and/or supervisors.
• Proven experience leading a hands-on manufacturing or assembly operation where employees physically build, assemble, wire, or configure products.
• Strong understanding of electrical components, schematics, PLC systems, panel fabrication, wiring/controls, or related electrical/electro-mechanical manufacturing.
• Experience with Lean manufacturing, 5S, continuous improvement, workflow optimization, and process standardization.
• Strong understanding of production KPIs, labor/resource utilization, quality, safety, scheduling, and on-time delivery.
• Experience overseeing purchasing, inventory, material planning, suppliers, and vendor relationships.
• Strong communication, analytical, decision-making, problem-solving, and accountability skills.
• Ability to work directly with managers and supervisors, provide direction, make decisions, and follow issues through to resolution.
• ERP/MRP experience and familiarity with production/project scheduling tools; experience with NetSuite, Excel, Microsoft Office, and/or Smartsheet is beneficial.
• Comfortable working in a roughly 75-person organization where leaders are expected to be visible, collaborative, and willing to wear multiple hats.
• Must be a hands-on leader who is comfortable spending substantial time on the production floor rather than simply delegating responsibilities.
• Direct UL508A control-panel experience is not required, provided the candidate has transferable electrical/electro-mechanical manufacturing knowledge.
• Backgrounds in automotive, HVAC/climate-control assembly, transportation, medical-device assembly, or similar people-driven manufacturing environments may translate well.
• Candidates coming exclusively from CNC/machine-shop, metal-fabrication-only, or highly automated/high-volume production environments without meaningful hands-on assembly leadership experience are not the target.
• Must be willing to work onsite in York, PA, with relocation assistance potentially available for the right candidate.
• Leadership flexibility is expected; standard hours are generally 7:00 AM–3:30 PM or 8:00 AM–4:30 PM, but this is not intended to be a strict clock-punching position.