Production Manager

Job description

VVater is America’s Next Water Company, delivering the future of purification through its award-winning Farady Reactor (CES Best of Innovation 2025, World Future Award 2025), proprietary ALTEP (Advanced Low Tension Electroporation Process), Advanced Dissolved Air Flotation, and Micro & Nano Bubble technologies. Unlike outdated chemical, filter, and membrane systems, VVater’s electric-field breakthroughs eliminate PFAS, microplastics, microorganisms, and other contaminants with record retention times, without toxic byproducts or costly consumables. With over 4.3B gallons treated and validation from global leaders, VVater is scaling into municipal drinking water and wastewater, DPR/IPR, onsite reuse for data centers, commercial buildings, and resorts, residential purification, and consumer health water, delivering a 60% smaller footprint, 40% CapEx savings, 80% OpEx savings, and 40% less energy use. THIS IS AN ONSITE POSITION BASED IN AUSTIN, TEXAS. NO REMOTE OR HYBRID AVAILABILITY FOR THIS POSITION Reporting to the Operations Manager, the Production Manager owns the factory floor. You run the build of VVater's water and wastewater treatment systems from raw materials to finished, tested units, leading fabrication, electrical, controls, and automation integration, mechanical assembly, and final testing. You are the person who makes sure the floor runs on schedule, builds to spec, and ships quality product on time, every time. This is a hands-on, shop-floor leadership role. You are on the floor with your team, not behind a desk. You set the daily drumbeat, remove the roadblocks, uphold the standard for quality and safety, and drive the throughput that enables VVater to scale its manufacturing. You own what happens inside the four walls of the factory. Field installation, commissioning, and long-term O&M are owned elsewhere in the Operations organization; your mandate is to build and deliver flawless units off the production floor. Key Responsibilities Production Leadership Own daily production on the factory floor across fabrication, welding, electrical, controls and automation integration, mechanical assembly, and final test Run the daily production drumbeat: shift planning, work assignments, tier meetings, and floor coordination Drive on-time build completion and shipment against the master production schedule Remove roadblocks in real time to keep the floor moving and hold the line on quality and safety People & Team Lead, manage, and develop the shop floor team, including supervisors, leads, fabricators, welders, electricians, assembly, and automation technicians Set clear expectations, assign work to the right people, and hold the team accountable to standards and schedule Build the bench: mentor, train, and develop talent as the manufacturing organization scales Foster a culture of ownership, craftsmanship, safety, and continuous improvement on the floor Scheduling & Throughput Execute master production scheduling and capacity planning to meet build and shipment targets Ensure material readiness at every station in partnership with supply chain and procurement Anticipate bottlenecks, balance workload across the floor, and keep production flowing Track and drive floor KPIs across safety, quality, delivery, throughput, scrap, and rework Quality & Build Standards Own build quality on the floor: ensure every unit is built to specification, drawing, and standard Partner with QA/QC on inspection plans, first-article inspection, nonconformance, and corrective action Enforce standard work, visual management, and process discipline at every station Drive root-cause analysis and corrective action to eliminate defects and reduce rework Continuous Improvement Apply Lean and Six Sigma tools to increase throughput, reduce scrap and rework, and improve flow Implement standard work, 5S, and visual management across the production floor Partner with Engineering on design-for-manufacture and assembly (DFMA) and the implementation of engineering changes (ECOs) Continuously improve layout, tooling, fixturing, and process to build faster and better Safety & Compliance Champion a safety-first culture on the floor: LOTO, machine safety, PPE, and safe work practices Ensure the shop floor meets all applicable EHS regulations and standards Maintain a clean, organized, and safe production environment Systems & Reporting Enforce ERP and MRP discipline on the floor: accurate work orders, BOMs, routings, and build records Use production data (OEE, downtime, throughput) to identify and close performance gaps Prepare production performance reporting and floor status for operations leadership Manage floor-level costs, labor, and resource utilization Qualifications 7+ years of progressive manufacturing or production leadership experience, ideally in engineered products, process equipment, industrial equipment, or a similar build-to-order environment Proven track record running a factory floor and leading hands-on production teams to hit schedule, quality, and throughput targets Hands-on familiarity with manufacturing processes including fabrication, welding, machining, electrical assembly, and mechanical assembly Working knowledge of industrial automation and controls environments (PLC/SCADA) and how automated systems are built and integrated Strong command of ERP/MRP (work orders, BOMs, routings) and data-driven KPI management Demonstrated experience with Lean and Six Sigma toolsets; Green or Black Belt preferred Quality and compliance mindset (ISO 9001 practices, familiarity with inspection and first-article processes) Strong EHS mindset with a track record of building a safety-first floor culture Exceptional leadership, communication, and team-building skills; able to lead credibly on the shop floor Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, or related field, or equivalent hands-on experience Preferred Qualifications Experience building water, wastewater, or process treatment equipment Experience scaling a manufacturing operation in a high-growth company Familiarity with MES/SCADA data for OEE and downtime analysis Experience with fabrication and weld shop operations Comfort and fluency with modern digital and AI tools for planning, reporting, and floor management ** As a part of our process to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of all applicants, assessment tests are required as part of our recruitment process. Unfortunately, should you elect not to participate in completing the assessment tests, your application will not be able to progress to the next stage or taken into consideration during evaluation.