More than 65% of US manufacturers say hiring is their single biggest operational challenge. With reshoring accelerating, automation expanding, and an entire generation of experienced plant leaders approaching retirement, the demand for qualified manufacturing professionals has never been higher — and the pipeline has never been thinner.
The Manufacturing Institute projects that up to 1.9 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled by 2033 if current trends continue. That is not a distant forecast — it is a pressure that operations leaders and HR teams are feeling right now, on the floor, every day.
The roles that hurt most when they are empty are not entry-level production positions. They are the Plant Managers who drive operational performance, the Manufacturing Engineers who solve the problems nobody else can, the Quality Managers who keep customers satisfied and audits clean, and the Directors of Operations who hold the whole thing together.
These professionals are not browsing job boards. They are running shifts, managing teams, and fielding calls from competing employers who also need them urgently. Finding them requires a recruiter with genuine industry knowledge, an active network, and the ability to have a credible conversation about what your operation actually needs.
That is what we bring to every manufacturing search.
ROLES WE RECRUIT FOR
Manufacturing Roles We Place — Permanently and Directly
We recruit experienced manufacturing professionals across the following roles. Every search is tailored to your specific operation type, production environment, and requirements.
Plant Manager
- Salary range:$110,000 – $155,000
- Experience:10–20 years manufacturing, 3–5+ years in plant leadership
- Key skills:P&L ownership, production planning, lean manufacturing, team leadership, safety compliance
- Operation types:Discrete, process, assembly, food & beverage, industrial
Director of Operations
- Salary range:$130,000 – $175,000
- Experience:12–20+ years, multi-site or large single-site operations
- Key skills:Strategic operations management, capacity planning, CAPEX, multi-team leadership
- Operation types:Multi-plant, large-scale manufacturing, contract manufacturing
Manufacturing Engineer
- Salary range:$80,000 – $115,000
- Experience:3–10 years
- Key skills:Process improvement, tooling, GD&T, CAD, DFMEA, lean / six sigma
- Operation types:Discrete manufacturing, precision machining, assembly, automotive
Controls Engineer / Automation Engineer
- Salary range:$90,000 – $125,000
- Experience:4–10 years
- Key skills:PLC programming, HMI, SCADA, Allen-Bradley, Siemens, robotics integration
- Operation types:Automated manufacturing, food & beverage, industrial, packaging
Quality Manager / Quality Engineer
- Salary range:$85,000 – $120,000
- Experience:5–12 years
- Key skills:ISO 9001, IATF 16949, APQP, PPAP, SPC, internal auditing, customer quality management
- Operation types:Automotive, aerospace, medical device, industrial, consumer goods
Maintenance Manager
- Salary range:$85,000 – $115,000
- Experience:7–15 years maintenance and reliability
- Key skills:Preventive and predictive maintenance, CMMS, electrical and mechanical systems, TPM
- Operation types:Heavy industrial, food & beverage, discrete and process manufacturing
Production Supervisor / Operations Supervisor
- Salary range:$70,000 – $95,000
- Experience:4–10 years
- Key skills:Shift management, team leadership, production scheduling, safety compliance, KPI management
- Operation types:All manufacturing environments
Continuous Improvement Manager / Lean Manager
- Salary range:$90,000 – $120,000
- Experience:6–12 years
- Key skills:Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma Black Belt preferred, Kaizen, VSM, waste reduction
- Operation types:Automotive, industrial, consumer goods, food & beverage
EHS Manager / Safety Manager
- Salary range:$85,000 – $115,000
- Experience:5–12 years
- Key skills:OSHA compliance, incident investigation, safety program development, workers compensation, EHS auditing
- Operation types:All manufacturing environments
Supply Chain Manager / Materials Manager
- Salary range:$85,000 – $120,000
- Experience:6–12 years
- Key skills:Inventory management, procurement, MRP / ERP systems, supplier management, demand planning
- Operation types:Discrete, process, and assembly manufacturing
Don't see your specific role?
We recruit across the full breadth of manufacturing operations, engineering, and leadership positions.
If the role you need is not listed above, get in touch and tell us what you are looking for.
MARKET CONTEXT
Reshoring Is Creating a Wave of Manufacturing Hiring — Right Now
The shift in US trade policy through 2025 and 2026 has accelerated domestic manufacturing investment at a pace not seen in decades. Companies that previously relied on offshore production are building or reopening US facilities — and every new or reactivated plant needs leadership, engineering, and operations talent immediately.
States like Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, and South Carolina are seeing significant manufacturing investment and corresponding surges in demand for experienced plant-level professionals.
This is not a temporary spike. The structural shift toward domestic manufacturing is creating sustained, multi-year hiring demand — and the companies that move fastest to secure experienced talent will have a meaningful competitive advantage over those that wait.
We are already placing manufacturing professionals in these markets. If your operation is expanding, relocating, or simply needs to replace talent that has moved on, we are ready to move with you.
OUR CLIENTS
We Work With Manufacturers of All Sizes — From Single-Plant Operations to Multi-Site Enterprises
Our manufacturing recruitment clients include regional manufacturers with a single facility and 100 employees, national producers with multi-state operations, and contract manufacturers serving Fortune 500 customers. What they share is a need to hire experienced professionals quickly and a preference for a recruiter who understands their environment.
We are the right recruitment partner for you if:
- You have one or more open manufacturing leadership or engineering roles right now
- Your HR team understands HR but does not have deep manufacturing recruiting expertise
- You have posted on job boards and received applications that are not qualified
- You need someone who can tell the difference between a lean practitioner and someone who has merely attended a lean seminar
- You are opening a new facility or expanding an existing one and need to staff up fast
- You want a recruiter accountable for results on a no-placement no-fee basis
Geographic coverage:
We recruit manufacturing professionals across all major US manufacturing corridors including the Midwest, Southeast, Texas, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Mountain West — with particular depth in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina.
