Senior Manufacturing Manager – Adhesives

Location: Dallas, Texas
Reports To: Vice President, Adhesive Operations
Travel: Approximately 15%
Facilities Supported: Dallas (primary) and Pennsylvania (later)

Position Summary

We are seeking a Senior Manufacturing Manager – Adhesives to provide operational leadership across our U.S. adhesive manufacturing operations in Texas and Pennsylvania.

Based near Dallas, this position will initially work closely with and report to the Vice President of Adhesive Operations, assuming increasing responsibility for the day-to-day oversight of adhesive manufacturing across both facilities. The role is intended for an experienced manufacturing leader who can develop a deep understanding of our operations, people, products, and processes while building the capabilities necessary to assume broader operational leadership responsibilities in the future.

The successful candidate will combine strong manufacturing fundamentals with hands-on leadership, sound judgment, and a continuous-improvement mindset. Approximately 15% travel will be required, primarily between Dallas and the Pennsylvania facility.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and oversight of adhesive manufacturing operations at the Dallas & PA facilities, with primary day-to-day presence in Dallas.
• Work closely with the Vice President of Adhesive Operations to learn our manufacturing processes, operating practices, organizational structure, and strategic priorities.
• Assume increasing responsibility for production planning, execution, staffing, productivity, quality, safety, and operating performance across both facilities.
• Develop strong working relationships with plant leadership & production employees at both locations, including regular travel to the PA facility (15%).
• Ensure production schedules and customer requirements are met while maintaining appropriate standards for safety, quality, cost, and efficiency.
• Monitor key manufacturing performance indicators and identify opportunities to improve throughput, labor productivity, yields, downtime, waste, and overall manufacturing cost.
• Lead and support continuous-improvement initiatives focused on process reliability, capacity utilization, workflow, and operational efficiency.
• Partner with Quality, EH&S, Maintenance, Supply Chain, R&D, and other functions to resolve operational issues and improve manufacturing performance.
• Support capital investment projects, including identification of needs, evaluation of alternatives, implementation, and measurement of results.
• Help develop production supervisors, managers, and other key manufacturing personnel and strengthen the organization’s leadership pipeline.
• Promote consistent operating practices, accountability, and communication across both manufacturing locations.
• Ensure manufacturing activities comply with company policies and applicable environmental, health, safety, and regulatory requirements.
• Participate in annual operating plans, manufacturing budgets, capacity planning, and longer-term operational strategy.
• Serve as a key member of the operations leadership team and take on broader responsibilities as experience and organizational needs evolve.

Qualifications

Required

• 7+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing operations, engineering, plant management, or a related industrial environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading production teams and managing manufacturing performance.
• Strong understanding of production planning, manufacturing processes, safety, quality, cost management, and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to identify operational problems, determine root causes, and implement practical solutions.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively with employees at all levels of an organization.
• Ability to balance hands-on operational involvement with broader planning and leadership responsibilities.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and decision-making capabilities.
• Willingness and ability to travel approximately 15%, primarily to Pennsylvania.

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or another technical discipline relevant to manufacturing operations. Equivalent manufacturing leadership experience will also be considered.
• Experience in chemical manufacturing, adhesives, coatings, polymers, specialty chemicals, or other batch/process manufacturing environments.
• Experience overseeing multiple manufacturing locations or significant responsibility beyond a single production department.
• Experience with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, continuous improvement, or similar operational excellence methodologies.
• Experience with capital projects, automation, manufacturing technology, or process optimization.
• Experience developing supervisors and other manufacturing leaders.

Key Attributes for Success

The successful candidate will be:

• Hands-on: Comfortable spending significant time on the manufacturing floor and understanding operations at the process level.
• Accountable: Takes ownership of results and follows issues through to resolution.
• Analytical: Uses operating data and firsthand observation to identify problems and opportunities.
• Practical: Focuses on solutions that improve safety, quality, service, productivity, and cost.
• People-oriented: Builds credibility with production employees while setting clear expectations for performance.
• Collaborative: Works effectively across manufacturing, technical, commercial, and support functions.
• Adaptable: Comfortable operating in a growing, fast-moving manufacturing organization.
• Growth-minded: Interested in developing into a broader operations leadership role over time.

What Success Looks Like

During the first 12–24 months, the Senior Manufacturing Manager will be expected to develop a comprehensive understanding of our adhesive manufacturing operations, establish credibility with employees and leaders at both facilities, assume increasing responsibility for manufacturing performance, and demonstrate the leadership capability required to take on broader responsibility for our U.S. adhesive operations.