SHOP MANAGER – WELDING & MANUFACTURING

Department: Manufacturing / Operations

Reports To: Operations Manager

Position Type: Full-Time

Industry: Automotive Manufacturing – Shipping Racks & Trailers

POSITION SUMMARY The Shop Manager is responsible for the overall day-to-day operation and performance of the manufacturing shop, including Welding, Assembly, Paint, and Prototype departments.

This position is responsible for ensuring production jobs are properly planned, allocated, scheduled, and completed within established customer requirements and allocated labour hours. The Shop Manager will monitor production progress, manage job priorities, address bottlenecks, and ensure employees and resources are being utilized effectively.

The Shop Manager provides leadership to shop-floor employees and department leads while working closely with Operations, Engineering, Shipping/Receiving, Sales, and Management to ensure products are manufactured safely, efficiently, on time, and to the required quality standards.

A key responsibility of this position is labor-hour management. The Shop Manager must monitor the hours allocated to job orders and ensure production remains within the required or estimated man hours. When a job is trending over hours, the Shop Manager is expected to identify the reason, take corrective action, and communicate concerns Operations Manager.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Overall Shop Management

- Manage the daily operations of the Welding, Assembly, Paint, and Prototype departments.
- Provide leadership, direction, and support to shop employees and department leads.
- Establish daily production priorities based on customer requirements, job orders, deadlines, and company priorities.
- Ensure work is properly organized and flows efficiently through the shop.
- Monitor production throughout the day and adjust priorities as necessary.
- Ensure employees have the information, materials, drawings, hardware, equipment, and resources required to complete assigned work.
- Identify production bottlenecks and take action to keep jobs moving.
- Maintain accountability for production performance, quality, efficiency, and deadlines.
- Coordinate with other departments to prevent delays in production.
- Ensure the shop is clean, organized, and operating in a safe and professional manner.

2. Job Allocation & Labor-Hour Management

- Review incoming job orders and determine appropriate job allocation.
- Assign work to welders, assemblers, painters, prototype employees, and other shop personnel based on skill level, workload, and production requirements.
- Monitor allocated labor hours for each job order.
- Compare actual hours worked against estimated or required man hours.
- Identify jobs that are approaching or exceeding their allocated labor hours.
- Investigate the reasons for labor-hour overruns, including production issues, employee performance, material shortages, drawing issues, rework, quality problems, or inefficient processes.
- Take corrective action when jobs are trending over their allocated hours.
- Reallocate employees or resources when necessary to keep jobs on schedule and within labor expectations.
- Monitor employee productivity without compromising safety or quality.
- Track job progress and communicate potential delays or labor-hour concerns to management.
- Work with Operations and Engineering when estimated hours appear unrealistic or job requirements have changed.
- Ensure employees understand the importance of recording accurate time to the correct job order.
- Review job performance after completion to identify opportunities for improved estimating and production efficiency.

3. Production Scheduling & Workflow

- Develop and manage daily and weekly shop production schedules.
- Prioritize jobs based on customer deadlines, shipping requirements, material availability, and production capacity.
- Ensure work moves efficiently from Welding → Assembly → Paint → Final Completion/Shipping, when applicable.
- Coordinate prototype work without unnecessarily disrupting production schedules.
- Monitor work-in-progress throughout the shop.
- Ensure jobs are started and completed according to established priorities.
- Communicate changes in priorities to supervisors, leads, and employees.
- Identify potential scheduling conflicts before they affect customer deliveries.
- Work closely with Shipping/Receiving to coordinate completed jobs and upcoming production requirements.

4. Welding Department

- Oversee welding production and ensure work is completed according to drawings, specifications, samples, and quality requirements.
- Ensure welders have the appropriate drawings, materials, fixtures,



and information needed to complete jobs.
- Monitor welding productivity and labor hours.
- Ensure welding work is completed accurately and efficiently.
- Address welding quality issues, rework, and production delays.
- Support the development and training of welders and welding leads.
- Monitor prototype welding and ensure prototype work is properly prioritized and documented.
- Work with Quality and Engineering to resolve welding-related issues.

5. Assembly Department

- Oversee assembly operations and ensure components are assembled correctly and efficiently.
- Ensure employees have the correct hardware and components for each job.
- Monitor assembly labor hours and productivity.
- Identify recurring assembly problems and implement improvements.
- Ensure completed assemblies meet quality and customer requirements.
- Coordinate assembly requirements with Welding, Paint, and Shipping.

6. Paint Department

- Oversee the daily operation and workflow of the Paint Department.
- Ensure painted components meet established quality and appearance standards.
- Monitor paint department productivity and labor hours.
- Coordinate paint schedules with welding and assembly production.
- Ensure parts are properly prepared before painting.
- Address paint defects, rework, delays, and material issues.
- Ensure painted products are properly handled and protected prior to final assembly or shipment.

7. Prototype Department

- Oversee prototype manufacturing and development work.
- Coordinate prototype jobs with Engineering, Operations, and Production.
- Ensure prototype work is properly prioritized and does not unnecessarily interfere with scheduled production.
- Monitor prototype labor hours and progress.
- Identify challenges, design issues, or manufacturing concerns and communicate them to Engineering and Management.
- Ensure prototype builds are documented and lessons learned are communicated to the appropriate departments.
- Support the development of efficient manufacturing processes for new products.

8. Quality

- Maintain high standards of workmanship and product quality throughout the shop.
- Ensure employees follow drawings, specifications, work instructions, samples, and established quality standards.
- Work closely with the Quality Team Leader to identify and correct quality concerns.
- Ensure defective or non-conforming work is identified and corrected before moving to the next production stage.
- Monitor rework and scrap and identify opportunities to reduce both.
- Investigate recurring quality problems and implement corrective actions.
- Ensure customer-specific quality requirements are communicated to employees.
- Promote a culture where quality is the responsibility of everyone on the shop floor.

1. Employee Leadership & Accountability

- Provide transparent expectations and direction to employees.
- Hold employees accountable for productivity, quality, attendance, safety, and following company procedures.
- Conduct regular communication with team leads and employees regarding production expectations.
- Assist with employee training and development.
- Identify employees who require additional training or support.
- Address performance concerns promptly and professionally.
- Recognize employees who demonstrate strong performance and leadership.
- Maintain a professional and respectful working environment.
- Work with HR and Management on employee relations, disciplinary matters, and performance issues when necessary.

10. Safety

- Maintain a strong safety culture throughout the shop.
- Ensure employees follow all company safety policies and procedures.
- Ensure required PPE is being used correctly.
- Address unsafe working conditions and behaviors immediately.
- Report accidents, injuries, and safety concerns to Management and HR.
- Support safety training and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Ensure equipment and work areas are maintained in a safe condition.
- Lead by example in all safety practices.

11. Materials, Equipment & Resources

- Ensure employees have the materials and components required to complete assigned jobs.
- Communicate material shortages or delays to the appropriate department.
- Monitor the condition and availability of production equipment.
- Identify equipment issues that could affect production.




- Coordinate equipment repairs and maintenance with the appropriate personnel.
- Help ensure tools, fixtures, welders, paint equipment, and other production resources are used appropriately.
- Identify opportunities to improve shop layout, equipment utilization, and workflow.

12. Continuous Improvement

- Identify opportunities to improve production efficiency and reduce unnecessary labor hours.
- Analyze recurring production delays and develop solutions.
- Reduce waste, scrap, rework, and unnecessary movement of materials.
- Improve job allocation and employee utilization.
- Recommend improvements to manufacturing processes, equipment, tooling, and workflow.
- Encourage employees to provide ideas for improving production.
- Monitor the results of process improvements and adjust as necessary.

13. Communication & Reporting

- Provide regular production updates to the Operations Manager and Management.
- Communicate job status, production delays, labor-hour concerns, quality issues, and staffing needs.
- Report jobs that are at risk of exceeding allocated hours.
- Communicate staffing and resource requirements.
- Participate in production and management meetings.
- Maintain accurate production records and reports.
- Ensure accurate job-time reporting and tracking.

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS The Shop Manager will be expected to maintain strong performance in the following areas:

- Production: Jobs are completed according to established priorities and schedules.
- Labor Hours: Jobs are effectively managed to remain within allocated or approved labor hours.
- Quality: Products meet company and customer quality requirements.
- Efficiency: Employees, equipment, and materials are utilized effectively.
- Safety: The shop operates in accordance with company safety requirements.
- Accountability: Employees understand and meet established expectations.
- Communication: Production concerns are identified and communicated before they become larger issues.
- Workflow: Jobs move efficiently through Welding, Assembly, Paint, Prototype, and final completion.
- Continuous Improvement: Production processes are continually evaluated for opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Previous supervisory or management experience in a manufacturing environment.
- Strong understanding of welding and metal fabrication processes.
- Experience working in an automotive or industrial manufacturing environment.
- Strong organizational and time-management skills.
- Ability to manage multiple production priorities simultaneously.
- Strong understanding of labor-hour tracking and production efficiency.
- Ability to read and understand manufacturing drawings and specifications.
- Strong leadership and employee-management skills.
- Ability to identify production problems and develop practical solutions.
- Strong communication and problem-solving skills.
- Basic computer skills and ability to learn company production systems.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Experience manufacturing automotive shipping racks, trailers, fixtures, or similar fabricated products.
- Previous welding leadership or supervisory experience.
- Experience overseeing multiple manufacturing departments.
- Experience with job costing or labor-hour tracking.
- Experience with production scheduling.
- Experience with ISO or quality management systems.
- Experience reading automotive or engineering drawings.
- Experience with continuous improvement or Lean manufacturing principles.
- Previous experience managing prototype production.

CORE COMPETENCIES Leadership – Provides clear direction and holds employees accountable while maintaining a professional working setting.

Production Management – Understands how to organize people, equipment, materials, and jobs to maintain efficient production.

Labor Management – Closely monitors job hours and identifies problems before jobs exceed their allocated time.

Problem Solving – Quickly identifies the cause of production problems and works toward practical solutions.

Quality Focus – Understands that production efficiency cannot come at the expense of product quality.

Communication – Keeps employees, supervisors, and management informed of production priorities and concerns.

Accountability – Takes ownership of shop performance and follows issues through to resolution.

Organization – Effectively manages multiple jobs, departments, deadlines, and priorities.

Continuous Improvement – Looks for ways to improve processes, reduce waste, and increase productivity.

Pay: $65,000.00-$75,000.00 per year

Benefits

- Dental care
- Employee assistance program
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- Vision care

Work Location: In person

📌 Shop Supervisor (Kingsville)
🏢 Precision Laser u0026 MFG
📍 Kingsville