The people who own safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
Operations leadership is judged every shift. We recruit the plant and multi-site leaders who hold that line — people who can read a scrap report, walk a line and see the constraint, and hold a launch date without burning out the team. Chuck has spent 20+ years in automotive, aerospace and defense, machining, and industrial products, which means the screening conversation happens in your language, not a keyword match.
Roles We Fill in Manufacturing & Operations
From individual contributors to executive leadership, we recruit across all levels of manufacturing and operations talent.
Plant Managers
Site leaders accountable for safety, quality, delivery, and cost — in union and non-union environments alike.
Operations Directors & VPs
Multi-site leaders who standardize what works across plants without flattening what makes each one run.
Production & Value Stream Managers
Front-line leadership over takt, staffing, changeover, and daily output against the schedule.
Quality Directors & Managers
Owners of the quality system — IATF 16949, AS9100, ISO 9001, PPAP and APQP submissions, and customer escapes.
Supply Chain & Materials Leaders
Purchasing, planning, and logistics leadership that protects line-side availability when a supplier misses.
Maintenance & Reliability Managers
Leaders who move a plant from reactive firefighting to planned maintenance and real uptime.
Continuous Improvement & Lean Leaders
CI leadership that delivers measured cost-out, not a wall of kaizen paperwork.
EHS Directors & Managers
Environmental, health, and safety leadership that changes behavior on the floor, not just the binder.
Program & Launch Managers
Owners of new-program launch and transfers, from quote through PPAP and into steady-state run rate.
Our Manufacturing & Operations Expertise
With decades of combined experience in manufacturing and operations recruiting, we understand the technical requirements, industry dynamics, and cultural factors that make a successful placement.
- 20+ years placing in automotive, aerospace and defense, machining, and industrial products
- Screening that gets specific: scrap and OEE numbers they actually owned, launches they carried, customers they faced
- Fluent in IATF 16949, AS9100, ISO 9001, PPAP, and APQP — and what they mean day to day on the floor
- Comfortable with union environments, multi-shift operations, and greenfield or brownfield start-ups
- Strong Midwest manufacturing-corridor network, with nationwide reach through 150+ independent recruiters
- Confidential replacements handled quietly when the seat is still occupied
“People First transformed our HR director search by understanding our manufacturing culture and sourcing a leader who not only had the credentials but aligned with our values. Their no-nonsense approach is why we'll call them first for future needs.”