Production Team Lead

Production Team Lead

Location: Cambridge, Ontario (On-site)

Type: Full Time, Permanent

Shift: Day shift, with flexibility to support cross-shift coordination

ABOUT SMARTER ALLOYS

Smarter Alloys is a world leader in shape memory alloy (SMA) innovation, pioneering advanced SMA based materials and devices for medical, cleantech, transportation, and beyond. We are a fast moving, high growth company with aggressive production targets and a world class technical team based in Cambridge, Ontario. We are looking for a hands-on, execution focused Production Team Lead to help scale, optimize and grow our production capacity.

THE ROLE

As the Production Team Lead, you will own daily shop floor performance. You will coordinate technicians, drive throughput across various manufacturing processes, and make the real-time calls that keep material moving. You will work directly with production management, engineering, and the millwright to translate our production plan into consistent, on-time output.

You will be on the floor and lead by example, set the pace for your team, and resolve bottlenecks as they happen. You need to be comfortable making decisions under changing conditions, holding your team accountable to standard work, and escalating clearly when something is off track.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Learn all production equipment and processes hands-on to troubleshoot, coach technicians, and make sound floor decisions


• Execute the production plan, coordinate technicians across shifts, manage overtime requirements as needed and maintain flow through various manufacturing processes


• Drive throughput by resolving bottlenecks in real time, running clean shift handoffs, and escalating constraints


• Execute PM activities on schedule with the millwright, track completion, and escalate equipment risks


• Reinforce standard work, 5S, and quality at the source; maintain WIP visibility through ERP systems and support Lean and TPM

WHO YOU ARE

• 2 to 3 years of experience in high-volume manufacturing, ideally in a lead or senior technician role


• Solid grasp of production workflows and equipment, with the ability to coordinate technicians and hold them accountable to standard work


• Able to manage multiple priorities and make sound real-time decisions under changing conditions


• Strong communicator who runs clear shift handoffs and is disciplined about documentation and PM tracking


• Self starter who owns the floor; comfortable standing, walking, and hands-on with equipment for a full shift

STRONGEST CANDIDATES WILL ALSO HAVE

• Familiarity with TPM, Lean, and 5S, and a track record of applying them on the floor


• Experience working across shifts or coordinating between shifts


• Exposure to ISO 13485 quality environments or other regulated manufacturing frameworks


• Familiarity with nitinol, shape memory alloys, or superelastic materials


• Experience using ERP or MES systems for production tracking and WIP visibility

WHAT WE OFFER

• Competitive compensation package with full benefits and paid vacation


• Opportunity to work on novel technology with real commercial impact in growing markets


• Autonomy and ownership: you will own the shop floor, not babysit someone else's process


• A collaborative, fast moving team that values initiative and results over process and politics

WORKING WITH SMARTER ALLOYS

We are a small, innovative, and fast-moving company at the cutting edge of the smart materials industry, with applications spanning medical/dental, automotive, energy, consumer electronics, and sporting goods. We have aggressive growth goals and are looking for someone who is ready to grow with us. We strive to build a team that reflects the diversity of the community we work in and encourage applications from traditionally underrepresented groups, including women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, people identifying as LGBTQ2SI+, veterans, and people with disabilities.