• Manufacturing Manager

    Grand Rapids Chair Company (Byron Center, MI)


    Manufacturing Manager

    About the Organization

    Are you looking for a company that values work-life balance, offers benefits like tuition reimbursement and paid volunteer hours, and fosters a transparent, employee-focused culture?You've come to the right place.

     

    Pull up a chair. You're in good company.

     

    At Grand Rapids Chair, we craft furniture that fosters connection and creativity in the spaces where people gather. As a family-owned business, we've built our process around the customer-delivering high-quality, Michigan-made furniture with friendly service and fast lead times.

     

    Our commitment to excellence is driven by our values. We believe every employee plays a role in shaping the future of GRC, and together, we push boundaries, take ownership, and celebrate our collective success together.

     

    We Encourage You to 'Go Be Awesome!'

     

    At GRC, know life extends beyond work. That's why we offer competitive salaries, great benefits, and opportunities for learning and professional growth. We're proud to be named one of Grand Rapids'Best and Brightest Companies to Work For- (https://thebestandbrightest.com/events/west-michigans-2018-best-brightest-companies-work/) - because just like our customers, we want our employees to sit happy, too.

     

    Explore our benefits (https://grandrapidschair.com/about/careers/)

    Description

    Position Summary:The Manufacturing Manager is responsible for leading daily production operations across multiple furniture manufacturing value streams, ensuring safety, quality, delivery, and cost objectives are consistently achieved. This role oversees supervisors, leads, and production teams, driving operational discipline, standard work, throughput, and continuous improvement aligned with the company’s growth strategy and core values.

     

    The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment, excels at developing people, and brings a strong understanding of Lean/TPS principles, furniture manufacturing processes, material flow, and cross-functional collaboration.

    Key Responsibilities:

    Leadership & Team Development

     

    + Provide daily leadership to production supervisors, leads, and hourly team members across steel, upholstery, wood, CNC, powder coat/stain, and assembly operations.

    + Build a strong, accountable culture focused on safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and teamwork.

    + Coach and mentor supervisors and high-potential employees to strengthen leadership capability and bench depth.

    + Conduct performance management, training, and workforce planning to support organizational growth.

     

    Operational Performance

     

    + Ensure production goals are met for safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and labor efficiency.

    + Maintain a safe work environment; enforce safety policies, conduct audits, and drive proactive hazard mitigation.

    + Partner with Quality to reduce defects, scrap, and rework through root-cause analysis and mistake-proofing.

    + Optimize staffing levels and manage labor budgets based on demand, product mix, takt time, and efficiency.

     

    Lean / Continuous Improvement

     

    + Lead daily management systems including Tier 1–3 boards, KPI tracking, and gemba walks.

    + Champion Lean/TPS tools including 5S, standard work, waste elimination, flow improvements, and problem-solving (A3, PDCA, 5-Why).

    + Identify and execute process improvements to increase capacity, reduce cost of quality, and improve workflow.

     

    Cross-Functional Collaboration

     

    + Work closely with Manufacturing Engineering to support tooling, work instructions, and ergonomic improvements.

    + Partner with Product Engineering on new product launches and manufacturability improvements.

    + Coordinate with Supply Chain and Materials to maintain smooth material flow and minimize shortages.

    + Support HR with hiring, onboarding, employee relations, and disciplinary actions when needed.

     

    Production Planning & Control/Logistics

     

    + Manage schedules and resource allocation in alignment with customer demand and inventory objectives.

    + Lead daily/weekly production meetings to review schedule attainment, constraints, and action plans.

    + Ensure accurate reporting of labor hours, production counts, scrap, and downtime.

    + Lead Logistics team consisting of shipping and receiving.

    + Manage incoming inventory storage and location and meet on time shipments to customers.

    Position Requirements

    Required Qualifications:

    + Bachelor’s degree in Operations, Manufacturing, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).

    + 7-10+ years of leadership experience in manufacturing (furniture or wood/steel products preferred).

    + Strong understanding of production operations, lean manufacturing, labor management, and quality systems.

    + Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, and develop large teams across multiple departments.

    + Excellent communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

    + Familiarity with steel fabrication/welding, upholstery, wood machining, assembly, and powder coat/wood finishing processes.

    + ERP/MES experience.

    + Six Sigma, Lean, or similar training/certification (Toyota Production System preferred).

     

    Shift First

     

    Full-Time/Part-Time Full-Time

     

    EOE Statement We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

     

    Category Manufacturing

     

    This position is currently accepting applications.