What is the Opportunity?

Cembrane specializes in advanced Silicon Carbide (SiC) flat sheet membranes for water treatment. Our mission is to establish SiC as a standard in water treatment by providing membrane filtration that is simple, durable, and economical. Cembrane has supplied products in more than 70 countries and provides clean water for millions of people.

Cembrane is entering a critical scale-up phase in Hutto. We are expanding production capacity, bringing new equipment online, and moving toward a more continuous manufacturing model. This role is central to stabilizing daily output, building disciplined shop-floor execution, improving yield, and preparing the operation for reliable 24/7 production.

We are looking for a Production Manager with a builder mindset: someone who is present on the floor, sets clear standards, holds the team accountable, drives change with urgency, and can lead through pressure.

This role is responsible for leading daily manufacturing operations, ensuring safe, efficient production through effective staffing, shift transitions, quality control, throughput, and on-time delivery. The position will prepare the Hutto facility for continuous operations, lead a team of 20+ operators through coaching and accountability, and drive operational excellence by standardizing processes, tracking KPIs, resolving production challenges, and partnering closely with Quality and Engineering teams.

Success in this role is demonstrated by building a high-performing production team that clearly understands daily goals, takes ownership of results, and consistently delivers improvements in output, yield, staffing effectiveness, and operational discipline. The successful candidate will establish standardized production routines that support continuous operations, foster strong cross-functional collaboration, and serve as a visible, hands-on leader who proactively resolves issues, drives accountability, and enables sustainable operational growth.

The role is based in our Hutto, TX facility and will report to the CEO of Cembrane Group. The role will require some on call, weekend and holiday work (as needed).

What is the role?

Production leadership and execution

• Plan, organize, and execute daily and weekly production schedules to meet customer demand and output targets.
• Lead shift planning, staffing, prioritization, and production follow-up for a growing operation moving toward continuous production.
• Maintain a strong floor presence by observing work, coaching operators, identifying constraints, and ensuring work instructions are followed.
• Monitor production KPIs including output, uptime, yield, scrap, rework, labor efficiency, and on-time delivery.
• Respond quickly to bottlenecks, material shortages, process deviations, and equipment downtime to reduce lost production time.

People leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop approximately 20 production operators and shift resources.
• Set clear expectations for attendance, productivity, safety, quality, teamwork, and ownership.
• Create structure for training, cross-training, shift handovers, operator certification, and performance follow-up.
• Build a culture of accountability, direct communication, practical problem solving, and continuous improvement.
• Constructively manage conflict and competing priorities while keeping the team focused on production goals.

Quality, safety, and compliance

• Ensure production complies with ISO 9001 requirements, internal work instructions, quality procedures, and customer specifications.
• Partner closely with Quality to improve first-pass yield, reduce defects, and strengthen process discipline.
• Promote a safe working environment through visible leadership, daily reinforcement, incident follow-up, and compliance with HSE requirements.
• Support audits, corrective actions, root-cause analysis, and preventive actions related to production performance.

Continuous improvement and scale-up

• Implement lean manufacturing practices, standard work, visual management, and structured problem-solving routines.
• Support commissioning and ramp-up of new production equipment, including furnace-related production planning and operational readiness.
• Identify opportunities to improve throughput, reduce waste, stabilize labor utilization, and strengthen production cost performance.
• Work cross-functionally with Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Leadership to remove constraints and drive execution.
• Other duties as assigned

Does this sound like you?

• 5+ years of experience in manufacturing operations, production leadership, or plant-floor management.
• 2+ years leading hourly production teams, preferably with responsibility for 15+ direct or indirect reports.
• Experience managing or preparing teams for 24/7, continuous, or multi-shift manufacturing operations.
• Hands-on leadership style with a strong onsite presence and comfort spending significant time on the production floor.
• Working knowledge of ISO 9001, production documentation, standard work, nonconformance handling, and audit readiness.
• Demonstrated ability to improve production output, stabilize processes, reduce bottlenecks, and hold teams accountable.
• Strong communication skills, practical judgment, and ability to make decisions under pressure.
• Resilient and comfortable driving change in a fast-moving operation where priorities can shift quickly.
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or similar continuous improvement training.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems, production planning tools, production dashboards, and KPI-based management.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, manufacturing, ops management, business, or a related field or equivalent hands-on manufacturing leadership experience.
• Experience in advanced manufacturing, ceramics, water treatment, chemical processing, thermal processing, semiconductor, automotive, or similar technical operations (preferred).
• Experience managing furnace, kiln, thermal, continuous-flow, or high-temperature production environments (preferred).

What we offer as an employer

At Ovivo, teamwork is at the heart of everything we do. We value work-life balance and strive to provide an engaging work environment along with excellent benefits and career progression opportunities. We offer:

Benefits - all full-time employees are eligible for Ovivo's generous benefits package that includes:

• Medical, Dental and Vision benefits
• 401k Match of 4%
• Parental Leave
• Company paid life insurance along with company paid short and long-term disability
• 11 paid holidays
• Three weeks of PTO per year (prorated based on start date)
• Roll over of up to 64 unused PTO hours to the following year
• Sixteen personal hours (Hire date determines number of personal hours for the first year)
• Days off between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day - paid by the company with no impact to PTO balance
• Annual Incentive Plans based on Company Profit

At Ovivo we are committed to providing working environments where everyone is included and treated fairly and with respect.

Dive in - Apply Today! Let's change the future of water together.

About Ovivo

Ovivo is a global provider of equipment, technology, and systems producing among the purest water and treating some of the most challenging wastewater in the industry. Ovivo is a powerful global brand with renowned trademarks, possessing more than 150 years of expertise and references in water treatment, supported by its proprietary products, advanced technologies, and extensive system integration knowhow. Ovivo delivers conventional to highly technological water treatment solutions for the industrial and municipal markets and leverages its large installed base of equipment around the world to offer parts and services to its customers. Ovivo is dedicated to innovation in an industry that is in constant evolution and offers water treatment solutions that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally sustainable.

Visit our website to learn more about Ovivo: https://careers.ovivowater.com/

About Cembrane

Cembrane is the world's leading manufacturer of Silicon Carbide (SiC) flat sheet membranes. This novel technology is reshaping how water is treated and reused. Cembrane's expertise lies in manufacturing SiC membranes, and continuous improvement is part of our DNA. In 2021, Cembrane joined the Ovivo family, strengthening its position as a leading membrane manufacturer. In 2023, Cembrane started production in Hutto, Texas, while headquarters remain in Denmark.

Visit our website to learn more about Cembrane: https://www.cembrane.com/