Production Operations and Service Manager

Job Description:

Brooks Instrument (www.brooksinstrument.com), an industry leader in flow and pressure instrumentation for critical applications, is seeking candidates for a Production Operations and Service Manager position that will be based at the company headquarters in Hatfield, Pennsylvania (suburban Philadelphia). The company has manufacturing locations in Pennsylvania, California, Hungary, Malaysia and Korea, and also maintains sales and service offices throughout the world. Our high-tech products are used in laboratory and process applications in end markets such as: oil & gas, petrochemical, medical devices, waste water, life sciences, and analytical instruments. 

Brooks is a division of ITW (Illinois Tool Works), a fortune 200 company. ITW is one of the world’s leading diversified manufacturers of specialized industrial equipment, consumables, and related service businesses. The company has operations in 56 countries and employs over 50,000 employees. These talented employees, many of whom have specialized engineering or scientific expertise, contribute to ITW’s global leadership in innovation. The company is proud of its broad portfolio of nearly 10,000 active patents, and is focused on fully leveraging its highly differentiated business model to deliver solid growth with consistent best-in-class margins and return on capital.

Basic Function

The Production Operations and Service Manager provides leadership and management oversight for Semi Thermal production and related service, repair, and failure-analysis operations at the Brooks Instrument facility in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. The position is responsible for production performance across first, second, and third shifts through the leadership of the Production Supervisors and also manages the service technician and service coordinator functions supporting Semiconductor products and failure analysis.

The manager develops and executes operating plans that achieve safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, customer service, and financial objectives. Working closely with Business Unit leadership, Engineering, Quality, Materials, Supply Chain, Customer Service, Sales, Human Resources, and other partners, this role builds capable teams, establishes clear accountability, resolves operational issues, and drives continuous improvement across the assigned production and service value streams.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and management oversight for first-, second-, and third-shift Semi Thermal production operations, including direct supervision, coaching, and development of the Production Supervisors.

• Manage the service technician and service coordinator functions supporting Semiconductor products, customer returns, repairs, calibrations, and failure-analysis activities.

• Establish priorities, staffing plans, schedules, and operating expectations across production and service operations to meet customer demand and business objectives.

• Ensure effective shift-to-shift communication, escalation, and follow-through so that safety, quality, staffing, equipment, material, and delivery issues are addressed promptly.

• Monitor and improve key performance indicators, including safety, quality, on-time delivery, output, labor efficiency, productivity, scrap, yield, lead time, work-in-process, service turnaround time, backlog, first-time fix rate, and customer responsiveness.

• Lead daily management and gemba activities; review performance against plan, assign corrective actions, remove obstacles, and ensure accountability for completion.

• Evaluate production, service, repair, and failure-analysis processes to identify opportunities to improve workflow, capacity, quality, cost, cycle time, and customer experience.

• Use ITW Toolbox, Lean Manufacturing, and continuous improvement methods to improve operational performance, simplify processes, and build sustainable standard work.

• Partner with Materials and Supply Chain to align production schedules, material availability, inventory priorities, and parts availability with customer and service requirements.

• Coordinate with Engineering and Quality to resolve product, process, test, equipment, repair, and failure-analysis issues and to implement approved corrective actions and engineering changes.

• Ensure customer returns are evaluated, repaired, calibrated, analyzed, and documented in accordance with established procedures, quality requirements, and committed turnaround times.

• Oversee failure-analysis workflow and reporting, including prioritization, cross-functional coordination, escalation of significant findings, and timely communication of results to appropriate stakeholders.

• Support the formal customer complaint, warranty, credit, repair, and replacement processes in collaboration with Quality, Customer Service, Sales, Engineering, and Business Unit leadership.

• Develop, implement, maintain, and enforce applicable standard operating procedures, work instructions, visual controls, and other operating documentation.

• Ensure conformance with the Brooks Quality Management System and all applicable safety, regulatory, calibration, documentation, and product-handling requirements.

• Build organizational capability by selecting, onboarding, training, coaching, and developing supervisors, technicians, coordinators, and production employees; establish succession and development plans for critical roles.

• Set clear performance expectations, provide timely feedback, administer performance-management processes, and address employee performance or conduct concerns in partnership with Human Resources.

• Promote a safe, respectful, accountable, and customer-focused work environment across all shifts and functional areas within the manager's scope.

• Develop and manage operating budgets, labor and headcount plans, overtime, forecasts, capital requests, and other resources required to achieve production and service objectives.

• Prepare and communicate production, shipping, service, backlog, staffing, financial, and operational performance updates to business and functional leadership.

• Support annual planning and long-range planning activities and translate business priorities into executable production and service plans.

• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, and Business Unit leadership to identify service growth opportunities, improve aftermarket support, and strengthen the customer experience.

• Maintain effective working relationships with internal teams, other Brooks locations, customers, and external service partners as required.

• Support company continuous improvement initiatives and perform other duties as assigned. Marginal functions not listed among the essential duties may also be required.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, operations management, business administration, supply chain, or a related technical discipline required. An advanced degree in business or operations is preferred.

• Minimum of seven years of progressive experience in manufacturing operations, production management, service and repair, or a related technical environment required.

• Minimum of three years of direct people-leadership experience, including responsibility for supervisors, technical employees, or multi-shift operations, required.

• Experience managing production operations in a quality-system-regulated manufacturing environment required; experience with ISO 9001 requirements preferred.

• Experience with service, repair, calibration, customer returns, or failure-analysis operations strongly preferred.

• Experience with semiconductor, thermal, flow-control, instrumentation, electromechanical, or other complex technical products preferred.

• Demonstrated experience using Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, daily management, and performance metrics to deliver measurable operational results required.

• Experience scaling and expanding production capabilities preferred.

• Experience developing budgets, forecasts, staffing plans, capital requests, and operational reports preferred.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities

• Proven ability to lead through other leaders, establish accountability across multiple shifts, and develop high-performing production and technical service teams.

• Strong working knowledge of manufacturing operations, capacity planning, production scheduling, labor management, inventory flow, quality systems, and service operations.

• Ability to read, understand, and communicate complex technical information involving mechanical, electrical, thermal, and electronic products and processes.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to interpret operational data, identify root causes, assess risk, and implement sustainable corrective actions.

• Demonstrated customer focus and the ability to balance delivery, service, quality, cost, and business priorities.

• Strong business and financial acumen, including experience analyzing budgets, forecasts, operating results, and improvement opportunities.

• Excellent verbal, written, presentation, and cross-functional communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with employees at all levels.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities, respond effectively to changing business needs, and provide leadership during escalations.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications; experience with ERP, manufacturing execution, quality, service, or data-reporting systems preferred.

• Ability to work onsite in Hatfield and provide leadership visibility across all three production shifts as business needs require.

• Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 10 percent as required.

The opportunity to join a well established (80 years in business) yet dynamically changing organization that works together as a team to meet the challenges of satisfying customers’ needs and managing rapid growth to better compete in a global marketplace.

ITW is an equal opportunity employer. We value our colleagues’ unique perspectives, experiences and ideas and create workplaces where everyone can develop their careers and perform to their full potential. 

As an equal employment opportunity employer, ITW is committed to equal employment opportunity and fair treatment for employees, beginning with the hiring process and continuing through all aspects of the employment relationship. 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected Veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.