Operations Trainee

About the Role

The Operations Trainee is an entry-level position designed to develop future leaders in manufacturing operations. This role provides hands-on experience in production processes, quality control, safety, maintenance coordination, and continuous improvement initiatives. Trainees will rotate through key departments to gain a comprehensive understanding of plant operations by blending technical learning with early-stage leadership experience, preparing candidates to step into supervisory roles by developing decision-making ability, team coordination and oversight, and accountability for production performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Production & Operations
• Assist in daily production activities to meet efficiency, quality, and safety targets.
• Monitor operations and escalate issues or deviations.
• Support production scheduling and workflow coordination.
• Learn and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Process Improvement
• Participate in Lean / Six Sigma / continuous improvement initiatives.
• Identify inefficiencies and recommend solutions.
• Assist with tracking KPIs (OEE, downtime, scrap, throughput).
• Maintenance & Engineering
• Coordinate with maintenance on equipment issues.
• Assist in basic troubleshooting and preventive maintenance activities.
• Support equipment installations and process changes.
• Quality & Compliance
• Follow and enforce quality standards.
• Assist with root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and company requirements.
• Safety/Environmental (EHS)
• Promote and model safe behaviors on the shop floor.
• Participate in EHS audits and hazard identification.
• Ensure team adherence to EHS policies and requirements.
• Team Collaboration
• Work cross-functionally with engineering, maintenance, quality, and operations.
• Participate in meetings, training, and project teams.
• Communicate effectively across all levels of the organization.
• Training & Development
• Cross-functional rotations.
• Structured leadership development.
• Increasing responsibility, including progressive supervisory exposure.

Supervision and Leadership Development

Provide indirect supervision to production employees by guiding workflow and task prioritization, reinforcing safety, quality, and production standards, and supporting team communication and coordination. The successful candidate will serve as backup/relief for frontline leadership roles (e.g., shift supervisor, team lead), providing assistance with shift coverage during absences, vacations, or high-demand periods. The candidate will be exposed to onboarding and training of new employees, participation in team performance discussions and problem-solving efforts, and develop leadership skills through hands-on team interaction and accountability.

Career Path

• Manufacturing Department Head
• Operations Management
• Manufacturing / Process Engineer
• Continuous Improvement Leader

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Physical Demands:
• Regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear.
• Usually required to sit.
• Occasionally required to stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch.
• Must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required: close vision, color vision, and peripheral vision.
• Work Environment:
• Occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles and outside weather conditions.
• Noise level is usually moderate.

Qualifications

• Education and/or Experience:
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, or other related fields.
• Experience in a manufacturing maintenance environment a plus.