Production Manager

JTL Services, Inc.has been retained to find top candidates for this growing business.

Position Summary

AV8 MRO is a leading FAA and EASA-certified aircraft component repair station specializing in the overhaul,repair, modification, testing, and exchange of aircraft landing gear systems and related components. We areseeking an experienced Production Manager to provide operational leadership for our Houston, Texasfacility and help drive the next phase of our company's growth.

The Production Manager is responsible for leading all day-to-day production activities across the repairstation, ensuring work is planned, prioritized, and executed safely, efficiently, and in full compliance withFAA, EASA, customer, and company requirements. This role provides direct leadership for approximately 40production employees and is responsible for balancing customer priorities, workforce capacity, productionschedules, material availability, and operational performance to consistently achieve delivery commitments.

Reporting directly to the VP of Operations/Site Leader, the Production Manager is a key member of theoperations leadership team. This individual is expected to be a highly visible leader who actively engageswith employees on the production floor, develops supervisors and team members, removes operationalbarriers, and promotes a culture of accountability, teamwork, quality, and continuous improvement.

This position requires a hands-on leader who thrives in a fast-paced aerospace manufacturing and MROenvironment and possesses the leadership skills necessary to improve productivity, enhance operationalperformance, and support AV8 MRO's commitment to world-class customer service.

Essential Responsibilities

Production Operations

Lead all daily production activities within the FAA and EASA Repair Station.

Establish and communicate daily, weekly, and long-range production priorities.

Coordinate workflow across receiving, teardown, machining, cadmium plating, inspection, assembly,testing, painting, and shipping.

Ensure production schedules support customer commitments while maximizing operationalefficiency.

Monitor Work-in-Process (WIP) and proactively identify and eliminate production bottlenecks.

Drive schedule adherence and improve overall throughput.

Balance workload, labor resources, equipment capacity, and material availability to optimizeproduction performance.

Ensure operational issues are resolved quickly through cross-functional collaboration.

Leadership & Team Development

Provide leadership, coaching, mentoring, and performance management for production supervisorsand employees.

Build a positive, accountable, and highly engaged workforce.

Promote teamwork, communication, respect, and employee development.

Conduct daily production meetings and regular performance reviews.

Identify training needs and develop employees for future leadership opportunities.

Participate in recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and employee retention initiatives.

Foster a culture where safety, quality, accountability, and continuous improvement are core values.

Production Planning & Resource Management

Partner with Planning, Purchasing, and Supply Chain to ensure materials are available to supportproduction schedules.

Balance labor requirements with production demand.

Coordinate outside processing activities and supplier support when required.

Optimize workflow to reduce delays and improve turnaround time.

Maintain visibility of production capacity and communicate potential risks to executive leadership.

Regulatory Compliance & Quality

Ensure all production activities comply with:

FAA Part 145 regulations

EASA Repair Station requirements

Company Repair Station Manual

Quality Management System

Approved technical data

Customer specifications

Support FAA, EASA, customer, and internal audits.

Promote a culture where safety and regulatory compliance are never compromised.

Work closely with the Quality Department to ensure corrective actions are implemented effectively.

Continuous Improvement

Champion Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives throughout the operation.

Identify opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency, and workflow.

Reduce waste and improve resource utilization.

Standardize processes and implement best practices.

Lead root cause investigations and corrective action activities.

Utilize operational metrics to drive continuous improvement and informed decision-making.

Performance Management

Develop, monitor, and report key operational metrics including:

On-Time Delivery

Turnaround Time (TAT)

Schedule Attainment

Work-in-Process (WIP)

Labor Efficiency

Productivity

First Pass Yield

Rework

Safety Performance

Capacity Utilization

Provide regular performance updates to the VP of Operations/Site Leader and recommend correctiveactions when operational objectives are not being achieved.

Decision-Making Authority

The Production Manager has the authority to:

Establish daily production priorities and labor assignments.

Coordinate workflow across all production departments.

Allocate personnel and production resources.

Approve overtime within established company guidelines.

Escalate production, quality, staffing, or material issues to executive leadership.

Recommend equipment purchases and process improvements.

Participate in hiring, employee development, promotions, corrective actions, and performanceevaluations.

Lead cross-functional operational improvement initiatives.

Required Qualifications

Minimum of 10 years of manufacturing or aerospace operations experience, including at least 3years in a production leadership role within aerospace manufacturing, aircraft componentmaintenance, MRO, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.

Demonstrated success leading production teams of 20 or more employees.

Strong understanding of production planning, scheduling, workflow management, and capacityplanning.

Experience balancing customer priorities, labor resources, production schedules, and materialavailability.

Working knowledge of precision machining operations; experience with cadmium plating or otheraerospace surface finishing processes is strongly preferred.

FAA Part 145 Repair Station experience preferred.

EASA Repair Station experience preferred.

Knowledge of aircraft landing gear overhaul or aircraft component repair is highly desirable.

Strong leadership, organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Proven ability to motivate teams and lead organizational change.

Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Experience using ERP/MRP systems; AvSight experience is preferred.

Proficient with Microsoft Office applications.

Must be able to work full-time on-site at AV8 MRO's Houston, Texas facility. This position requires daily interaction with production personnel and active leadership on the shop floor.

Preferred Qualifications

FAA Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) Certificate.

Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, APICS, or Project Management certification.

Experience managing aerospace machining operations.

Experience with aircraft landing gear overhaul.

Knowledge of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) processes.

Experience supporting production in FAA and EASA-certified repair stations.

Core Competencies

Operational Leadership

Production Management

Production Planning & Scheduling

Capacity Planning

Lean Manufacturing

Continuous Improvement

Regulatory Compliance

Team Development

Customer Focus

Accountability

Decision Making

Collaboration

Communication

Process Improvement

Problem Solving

Results Orientation

Success in This Role

The successful candidate will:

Lead a safe, compliant, and highly productive operation.

Deliver exceptional on-time performance and industry-leading turnaround times.

Improve production efficiency, labor utilization, and operational throughput.

Build and develop a high-performing production team.

Create a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement.

Partner effectively with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Customer Service to achievecompany objectives.

Support AV8 MRO's continued growth as a premier FAA and EASA-certified aircraft landing gearoverhaul and repair organization.

For more information send your updated resume to [email protected]

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