Plant Manager

About Lippert

Lippert is a worldwide manufacturer and supplier of highly engineered products and tailored solutions serving the RV, marine, automotive, commercial vehicle, and building products sectors. The company combines strong manufacturing capabilities with a team-focused culture to deliver dependable service, innovative products, and premium quality.

Why this role stands out

Lippert emphasizes an inclusive environment where every team member is valued. The company aims to build a workplace that respects different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences while aligning business goals with employee needs.

Benefits and growth

• Supportive, inclusive team culture
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) plan with employer match
• Vacation time along with holiday and personal days
• Competitive compensation
• Career growth, mentoring, and development opportunities

Role summary

The Plant Manager will lead manufacturing group leaders, team leaders, and team members in assigned areas or shifts. The purpose of the role is to keep operations safe, efficient, productive, and aligned with customer expectations while promoting quality, organization, teamwork, training, morale, and cost control.

Key responsibilities

• Direct daily plant operations with a focus on safety, quality, efficiency, and customer requirements.
• Support and motivate group leaders so they can drive performance, safety, and team morale.
• Perform daily audits to confirm compliance with safety, quality, and training standards, and correct issues quickly.
• Develop group leaders and implement corrective actions for production-related problems.
• Make sure departmental processes follow quality and environmental management systems.
• Drive standard work and process consistency across the department.
• Identify waste and operational bottlenecks, then lead continuous improvement efforts.
• Track KPIs, analyze trends, and act on negative variances or missed goals.
• Assist with budget planning and revisions to support production and cost objectives.
• Strengthen team relationships through coaching, feedback, training, and performance support.
• Create and maintain training plans that build team capability.
• Monitor build sheets, downtime, and efficiency data to ensure customer commitments are met.
• Keep the department clean, organized, and operating effectively.
• Participate in management planning on cost reduction, product improvement, and problem solving.
• Develop leaders, maintain training matrices, and schedule needed training sessions.

Working conditions

The job is performed in a manufacturing environment with periodic office work. The role may involve exposure to fumes, airborne particles, moving machinery, and vibration, and the noise level can be high. Standing or walking for long periods may be required, and the position includes regular computer use.

Physical requirements

This role requires frequent talking, hearing, standing, walking, hand use, and reaching. It may also involve sitting, climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling at times. The job includes lifting up to 10 pounds frequently and up to 50 pounds occasionally. Vision requirements include close, distance, color, peripheral, and depth perception, along with focus adjustment.

Protective equipment

PPE is required for this role. Company-provided equipment may include a coating suit, coating boots, spray socks, respirator, work gloves, safety glasses, and ear plugs. Additional items such as safety shoes may also be required from the employee.

Schedule and travel

This is a salaried, full-time position. Workdays and hours depend on production needs and the reporting manager’s schedule. Evening and weekend work may be needed when business demands require it. Travel is expected to be minimal and mostly local during the workday.

Qualifications

• High school education required; 2 years of college preferred
• At least 5 years of factory-related experience
• Minimum 5 years of management or leadership experience
• Computer skills, including Microsoft Office and D365
• Lean experience preferred
• Associate degree preferred
• 5 to 8 years of production environment experience preferred

Core competencies

The ideal candidate should demonstrate strong communication and coaching ability, organization, staffing and workforce planning skills, initiative, attention to detail, time management, financial planning, process improvement, decision-making, strategic thinking, quality control, customer interaction, and the ability to work with engineering on design-related issues.

Supervisory responsibility

This role oversees a mix of manufacturing managers, group leads, production supervisors, and team leads depending on the size of the facility.

Work authorization

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Additional information

This job description is not intended to list every task or responsibility that may be required. Duties may change at any time with or without notice. Lippert is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to protected characteristics under federal, state, or local law. Team members are expected to support and follow this policy, and violations may lead to discipline.