Production Manager

PRODUCTION MANAGER - LEUVEN REGION (BELGIUM) - PERMANENT POSITION We are looking for a strategic, hands-on Production Manager to lead electronics manufacturing operations and oversee three specialized sub-teams. In this high-impact role, you will be responsible for ensuring production runs smoothly, efficiently, and safely, while driving output quality and continuously improving processes. You will manage daily operations, coaching and coordinating team leads, defining and tracking KPIs, overseeing budget planning, and ensuring that production capacity aligns with company goals and product demand. As the central connection point between production teams and cross-functional groups, you will play a critical role in building scalable processes, introducing new products into production, and maintaining alignment across teams. The ideal candidate is a strong communicator, an analytical thinker, and an experienced leader with deep knowledge of electronics manufacturing. This role offers the opportunity to shape the future of our production operations, strengthen team performance, and help deliver high-quality hardware products at scale. Key Responsibilities Lead and manage three production sub-teams, providing mentorship, performance feedback, and professional development. Coordinate daily and weekly team activities, ensuring alignment on priorities, staffing, and build requirements. Maintain strong communication channels across teams to ensure issues are escalated quickly and resolved effectively. Promote a positive culture focused on safety, accountability, and continuous improvement. Oversee day-to-day production activities to meet output, quality, and delivery targets. Plan weekly production schedules, allocate resources, and ensure build readiness for all product lines. Collaborate with engineering and quality teams to support troubleshooting, process changes, and line stability. Ensure all work instructions, SOPs, and safety procedures are followed consistently on the production floor. Define, track, and report KPIs including throughput, yield, cycle time, downtime, labor efficiency, and on-time delivery. Perform data-driven analysis to identify operational bottlenecks and lead improvement initiatives. Present KPI dashboards and performance summaries to leadership with clear insights and recommendations. Create, document, and optimize production processes to ensure repeatability, scalability, and high quality. Drive continuous improvement efforts using methodologies such as Lean, 5S, and Six Sigma. Support New Product Introduction (NPI) by establishing processes for new hardware builds and integrating new equipment or workflows into production. Ensure all changes are properly validated and communicated across teams. Develop, manage, and forecast production budgets, including labor, equipment, consumables, and maintenance. Identify and evaluate cost-saving opportunities while maintaining quality and operational performance. Work with supply chain to ensure material availability and vendor reliability. Support planning for future capacity, staffing, and equipment needs. Ensure all production activities comply with quality standards, product specifications, and safety guidelines. Partner with the Quality team to reduce defects, resolve non-conformances, and implement corrective actions. Maintain a clean, safe, and compliant work environment through regular audits and training. Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, or a related field, or equivalent experience. Proven experience managing teams in electronics manufacturing or a hardware production environment. Strong leadership, communication, and conflict-resolution skills. Hands-on experience with production KPIs, scheduling, and operational planning. Demonstrated success in establishing, scaling, and optimizing production processes. Experience overseeing budgets, resource planning, and department-level expenditure. Solid understanding of electronics assembly, testing, and production workflows. The Offer: A permanent, full-time employment contract A salary & benefits package commensurate with experience Please send over your CV to tom.walker@vividresourcing.com or call me on +32 (0) 3 318 00 74. As always, we are open to recommendations, so please feel free to pass this on to other suitable candidates.