Manufacturing Operations Manager

Who we are:

Formic is on a mission to reshape American manufacturing by making automation accessible to every factory. As labor constraints rise costs increase and global competition intensifies automation is no longer optional for manufacturers that want to stay competitive.

We deliver automation through a Robotics-as-a-Service model that combines industrial robotics proprietary software and full-service support into a single integrated solution. By removing the traditional barriers of cost complexity and risk we enable manufacturers to deploy automation quickly and realize measurable gains in throughput safety and operational efficiency without large upfront capital investment.

Backed by leading investors including Lux Capital Initialized Capital Blackhorn Ventures and Mitsubishi HC Capital North America Formic is scaling rapidly and building the foundation for a new era of high-performance Made in America production.

About the team:

The Automation Engineering Team is responsible for delivering robotics-driven automation deployments across a wide range of customer applications. The team partners cross-functionally to translate customer requirements into deployed systems ensuring solutions are integrated commissioned and validated to perform reliably in real manufacturing environments. Automation Engineering works closely with customers internal technical teams and external partners to ensure operations are on schedule and maintain high standards for quality safety and repeatability.

About the role:

As Manufacturing Operations Manager you will play a critical role within Formics Automation Engineering organization. You will be responsible for building the operational foundation that enables Formic to deliver automation solutions safely efficiently and at scale.

You will serve as a key operational leader within Formics Bolingbrook facility working closely with the rest of the Automation Engineering Team Supply Chain Fleet Operations Product Software Solutions Engineering and Project Management teams you will coordinate resources align priorities and drive execution across the organization.

This role combines people leadership operational excellence and hands-on problem solving. You will develop technical talent improve organizational effectiveness establish scalable processes and help create the structure and accountability required to support Formics continued growth.

Were looking for a leader who thrives in fast-paced environments enjoys building systems and teams and is excited by the opportunity to help shape the future of industrial automation.

In this role you will:

• Serve as a key operational leader within Formics Bolingbrook Illinois facility helping align priorities across engineering inventory logistics and project execution activities
• Build and uphold a culture of ownership accountability urgency and continuous improvement
• Lead daily standups and execution reviews to ensure priorities are clear resources are aligned and blockers are addressed quickly
• Act as an escalation point for operational issues impacting execution quality or readiness
• Drive accountability for operational performance quality safety and organizational effectiveness
• Partner cross-functionally to align operational readiness with customer commitments and project timelines
• Collaborate with Supply Chain and Fleet Operations teams to ensure proper inventory levels system availability and future capacity requirements
• Forecast organizational capacity and proactively identify resource constraints before they impact execution
• Establish and improve SOPs workflows quality standards and operational processes that support a scalable organization
• Ensure systems are built tested staged and prepared to meet Formic and customer quality standards
• Track and improve key operational metrics including throughput readiness utilization quality and execution performance
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency eliminate bottlenecks and strengthen cross-functional collaboration
• Partner closely with Product Software Solutions Engineering Supply Chain Fleet Operations and Project Management teams to ensure successful execution across the automation lifecycle
• Communicate operational priorities risks and capacity needs across stakeholder groups
• Provide visibility into organizational performance readiness and operational health through regular reporting and reviews

What makes you a great fit:

• 6 years of experience leading operations automation manufacturing engineering or other technical teams in a fast-paced environment
• Demonstrated success leading teams directly while influencing and driving results across cross-functional organizations
• Experience working with industrial automation systems robotics or related manufacturing technologies
• Experience with industrial robots or cobots such as FANUC KUKA Yaskawa ABB or Universal Robots preferred
• Experience with end-of-line automation systems including palletizing depalletizing case packing or related applications preferred
• Proven ability to establish processes develop SOPs implement training programs and drive operational improvements
• Experience managing quality safety operational readiness and on-time execution in a manufacturing automation or technical operations environment
• Strong understanding of operational planning resource allocation capacity management and performance metrics
• A hands-on leadership style with a willingness to roll up your sleeves solve problems and support the team wherever needed
• Strong judgment ownership attention to detail and the ability to balance strategic thinking with day-to-day execution
• Excitement for building teams improving systems and helping scale a rapidly growing automation company

Bonus points if you have:

• Experience working for a robotics company automation systems integrator (SI) original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or industrial technology organization
• Experience scaling operations within a high-growth startup or rapidly growing organization
• Experience supporting customer-facing deployments installations or field operations
• Familiarity with Lean Manufacturing Six Sigma Kaizen or other continuous improvement methodologies

What we look for:

Were building this company from the ground up and every person we hire has an outsized impact on our culture performance and trajectory. While each team member brings unique strengths and perspectives we look for people who align with our Operating Principles and embody them in action. If this sounds like you Formic may be the right place for you!

• Fearless Optimism: You make bold bets and default optimistic. You believe in the mission arent paralyzed by risk and fear inaction more than failure. You see ambiguity as opportunity and bring energy to building what doesnt yet exist.
• Create the Magic: You absorb complexity so customers dont have to. Whether your customer is external or internal you focus on delivering experiences that are clear fast value-added and outcome-driven. You dont say not my job. You make things work.
• Today Not Tomorrow: You have a bias to action. You close the loop. You take extreme ownership. You understand that speed compounds and you dont confuse activity with results.
• Seek Truth: You think from first principles. You value data over ego and strong opinions loosely held. Youre willing to challenge assumptions including your own in pursuit of the best answer.
• Made of Rubber: You are resolute and adaptable. When things break or priorities shift you rebound stronger. You treat setbacks as learning moments and move forward with grit.
• One Formic: You operate without silos. You practice radical helpfulness document clearly and make clean handoffs. You assume positive intent and prioritize team success over individual credit.

Equal Opportunity Employment:

Formic is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race color religion or religious creed sexual orientation gender gender identity marital status family or parental status disability military or veteran status or any other basis protected by law. All employment decisions are based on a persons merit business needs and role requirements. If you require further accommodations or have questions regarding accessibility of our roles please reach out to.

AI Use:

At Formic fairness and transparency are at the heart of our hiring process. We use AI-powered tools in some interviews to help our teams evaluate candidate responses but all final hiring decisions are made by humans. You can learn more about how AI is used in our recruitment process by reviewing our AI Hiring Disclosure linkedhere.