Production Manager

Production Manager The Production Manager oversees daily manufacturing operations for assigned product lines at the Carson facility, ensuring safe, efficient, high‑quality production that meets customer, regulatory, and organizational requirements. This role provides leadership, direction, and coordination across cross‑functional teams to achieve operational goals, including safety, quality, delivery, cost, and continuous improvement.

Who are we?

Founded in 1849, Ducommun is the oldest company in California. Starting as a hardware supply store during the California Gold Rush and eventually assisted in the birth of the aerospace industry in Southern California by providing aircraft aluminum to early aerospace pioneers like Lindbergh, Douglas and Lockheed. Today Ducommun is a global provider of innovative manufacturing solutions for customers in the aerospace, defense and industrial markets.

We specialize in electronic and structural systems, producing complex products and components for commercial aircraft platforms, mission-critical military and space programs, and sophisticated industrial applications. Our Performance Center in Carson, CA is the Engineered Products Group site for our Human Machine Interface, Motion Control Device, and Radio Frequency (RF) product lines.

Job Summary

Lead and manage production teams to meet established schedules, output goals, and customer requirements. Coordinate manufacturing activities across shifts and departments to ensure continuity, efficiency, and compliance with work instructions. Maintain and enforce manufacturing quality standards and ensure all personnel follow AS9100/ISO 9001, engineering specifications, and special process controls.

Partner with Planning/Scheduling to optimize material flow, WIP management, and on‑time delivery performance. Implement Lean, Six Sigma, 6S, Kaizen, and other continuous improvement initiatives to reduce waste, improve productivity, and improve margins. Monitor production KPIs, conduct root‑cause analysis on under‑performance, and drive corrective actions.

Ensure production personnel receive required departmental and safety training per corporate procedure DT-QP-HR-003-1H Human Resources. Support cross-functional communication between Engineering, Quality, Planning, HR, and Supply Chain to resolve production barriers. Review staffing needs, participate in hiring decisions, and develop operators, leads, and supervisors using competency matrices and performance reviews.

Maintain a safe work environment and enforce proper use of PPE and safe work practices. Ensure accurate documentation of production work, including travelers, routing, special processes, inspection records, and departmental reporting. Support audits (internal, customer, regulatory) and ensure timely closure of corrective actions.

Escalate operational gaps timely and work collaboratively with leadership