Plant Manager (Manufacturing & Machine Operations)

Founded in 1981 Amtech Systems is a publicly traded company (Nasdaq: ASYS) supplying essential equipment services and consumables to the semiconductor industry. Our Semiconductor Fabrications Solutions (SFS) business provides consumables parts and services for power semiconductor and mature node semiconductor OEMS. Our Thermal Process Solutions (TPS) business provides equipment and services for semiconductor advanced packaging applications electronic assembly and power semiconductor packaging. The company manufactures products in several factories in the US and China and serves global customers.

Job Summary: Reporting to the VP & GM The Plant Manager is responsible for overseeing all day-to-day manufacturing operations including production machine operations maintenance purchasing safety quality environmental performance and workforce effectiveness. This role ensures efficient safe and cost-effective plant operations while driving continuous improvement optimizing equipment reliability managing vendor relationships maintaining strong labor relations in a union environment and proactively managing operational risk. The Plant Manager also champions sustainability initiatives and ensures alignment with customer expectations through a strong voice-of-customer approach.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Operations Management

Lead all plant operations to achieve production quality cost delivery and environmental performance targets

Oversee production planning scheduling and execution to meet customer demand

Monitor KPIs including throughput scrap downtime labor efficiency and energy/resource utilization

Ensure optimal utilization of equipment materials and workforce

Manage production capacity planning to align labor equipment and materials with forecasted demand

Machine Operations & Maintenance

Oversee machine operations ensuring reliability performance and minimal downtime

Implement preventive and predictive maintenance programs

Drive improvements in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

Lead troubleshooting and root cause analysis for equipment and production issues

Purchasing & Supply Management

Oversee plant-level purchasing activities including raw materials consumables and equipment

Manage vendor relationships to ensure quality cost competitiveness and on-time delivery

Partner with supply chain/procurement to align sourcing strategies with production needs

Optimize inventory levels and reduce excess/obsolete inventory

Negotiate pricing contracts and service agreements

Risk Management (Core Accountability)

Lead plant-wide risk assessment processes across operations equipment safety supply chain and labor

Identify evaluate and mitigate operational financial and regulatory risks

Implement controls and contingency plans to minimize business disruption

Ensure alignment with enterprise risk management frameworks and internal controls

Drive a proactive risk-awareness culture across all levels of the plant

Continuous Improvement

Implement Lean Manufacturing Six Sigma and operational excellence initiatives

Identify and eliminate waste improve processes and increase productivity

Lead cost reduction initiatives without compromising safety quality or compliance

Standardize processes and drive consistency across shifts

Safety Environmental & Sustainability Leadership

Ensure compliance with OSHA environmental and regulatory requirements

Ensure compliance with all required safety training certifications and company policies across the workforce

Promote a strong safety-first culture and safe work practices at all times

Lead environmental and sustainability initiatives including:

Reduction in CO₂ emissions and energy consumption

Waste and pollution reduction programs

Resource efficiency improvements (water materials utilities)

Partner with customers and internal stakeholders to meet sustainability expectations

Lead incident investigations and corrective actions

Quality Management & Voice of Customer

Ensure products meet internal quality standards and customer specifications

Integrate voice-of-customer insights into production quality and improvement initiatives

Drive customer-focused quality metrics responsiveness and issue resolution

Partner with quality teams to reduce defects scrap and rework

Support audits and maintain compliance with quality systems (e.g. ISO)

Union & Labor Relations

Lead operations in a unionized environment in alignment with the CBA

Partner with HR/labor relations on contract administration grievances and investigations

Participate in grievance resolution and arbitration preparation

Build strong relationships with union representatives and employees

Ensure consistent application of policies and contract terms

Support labor negotiations with operational input

People Leadership

Lead coach and develop supervisors operators and staff

Drive workforce engagement accountability and performance management

Oversee employee time and attendance processes to ensure accurate reporting compliance with labor agreements and effective workforce planning

Support hiring training and succession planning

Foster a high-performance team-oriented culture.

Financial & Administrative

Manage plant budget (labor materials purchasing operating expenses)

Drive cost control productivity improvements and margin enhancement

Report on plant performance to senior leadership

Qualifications:

Required Education & Experience:

Required

Bachelors degree in Engineering Manufacturing Operations or related field (or equivalent experience)

7 years of manufacturing experience with progressive leadership responsibility

3 years in a plant or production leadership role

Hands-on experience with machine operations and equipment management

Experience in a unionized manufacturing environment

Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement principles

Preferred

Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt)

Experience with plant-level purchasing or supply chain management

Experience supporting labor relations or union negotiations

Experience with ERP/MRP systems (Microsoft Dynamics 365 preferred)

Experience leading sustainability or environmental compliance initiatives

Skills & Competencies:

Operational leadership and decision-making

Risk assessment and mitigation

Labor relations and conflict resolution

Vendor management and negotiation

Customer focus and voice-of-customer integration

Problem-solving and root cause analysis

Process improvement and change management

Safety environmental and sustainability leadership

Success Metrics

Production output and on-time delivery

Equipment uptime and OEE improvement

Cost reduction and purchasing savings

Inventory turns and material availability

Safety performance (incident rates and training compliance)

Environmental performance (energy usage emissions waste reduction)

Quality (defects scrap customer satisfaction)

Effective risk mitigation and business continuity

Labor stability and grievance resolution effectiveness

Other duties may be assigned to support the overall business. Amtech Systems has the right to revise and update this job description at any time.