Free Production Manager Job Description Templates
Free production manager job description templates: standard, manufacturing, small business, food, and assistant. FLSA and OSHA notes. Download DOCX.
Production Manager Job Description Templates
5 free templates by operation. Download as DOCX or copy-paste.
The production manager job description is one most small manufacturers copy from a generic template written for a corporate plant, not a ten- or thirty-person shop. The thin one-pagers online list grand duties for a multi-shift operation and skip the two things that actually matter when a small manufacturer hires: getting the FLSA exempt classification right so you do not owe surprise overtime, and naming the safety and OSHA responsibilities that the production manager usually owns. The result is a posting that describes the wrong job and creates compliance risk.
At FirstHR, we build for small businesses that hire without an HR department, and a small manufacturer hiring a production manager is a textbook case: the owner is making a key leadership hire, the role carries real FLSA and OSHA stakes, and turnover in production runs high. The five templates below cover the role by operation: standard, manufacturing, small business, food and beverage, and assistant. Fill in the brackets and post. For the principles behind any posting, the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Is a Production Manager?
A production manager oversees the daily operations of a manufacturing or production facility: planning and scheduling production, leading the team, and managing output, quality, cost, and safety. The federal classification, industrial production managers, describes the role as overseeing the operations of manufacturing and related plants and the staff who run them.
The scope changes with the size of the operation. In a small shop the production manager is hands-on, planning the day and working alongside a small team; at a larger plant the role owns throughput across shifts with formal lean and quality systems. The term also has a film and theatre meaning, but the hiring intent here is manufacturing. That range is why one generic template rarely fits, and why the five templates on this page split by operation so the summary and duties match the actual job.
Production Manager Duties and Responsibilities
Production manager duties and responsibilities center on four areas: planning and scheduling, team leadership, quality and cost, and safety and compliance. The operation shifts the weights, lean and throughput for a plant, sanitation for food, hands-on work for a small shop, but these four categories hold across nearly every production manager role. These are the duties grouped the way the templates use them.
A strong posting grounds these in your specifics: your product, your plant size, your shifts, and who the role reports to. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Production Manager vs Supervisor vs Operations
Production roles overlap, and naming the right one keeps your posting accurate. Here is how the most-confused roles relate, which decides which template you need.
| Role | Scope | Reports to |
|---|---|---|
| Production Manager | Owns the production operation: planning, cost, quality, staffing | Owner / operations / plant manager |
| Production Supervisor | Leads a line, team, or shift | Production manager |
| Assistant / Shift Manager | Runs the floor on assigned shifts | Production manager |
| Operations Manager | Broader: production plus supply chain, logistics, facilities | Owner / GM |
In small manufacturers these roles compress into one person, which is why titling honestly matters. For the adjacent roles, the operations manager job description templates cover the broader business role, the production assistant templates cover support positions, and an org chart helps map the structure, which the guide to organizational charts explains.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by your operation. All five share the same skeleton, but each one emphasizes the duties, scale, and compliance that fit a specific kind of production role. Use this guide to choose.
5 Free Production Manager Job Description Templates
Download all five as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: job summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, and compensation and how to apply. Fill in the brackets and confirm the FLSA classification before you post the pay.
Template 1: Standard Production Manager
The base version for a small manufacturer: planning and scheduling production, leading the team, and managing output, quality, cost, and safety. Start here if no specialized version fits.
Template 2: Manufacturing Production Manager
The plant version: throughput, lean and continuous improvement, multi-shift teams, ERP, and equipment uptime. For an experienced manufacturing leader running a full floor.
Template 3: Small Business / No-HR Production Manager
The small-business version: reports to the owner, blends hands-on work with leadership, and includes a built-in FLSA and safety compliance note. Built for a manufacturer without an HR department.
Template 4: Food / Beverage Production Manager
The food version: food-safety, sanitation, HACCP, and FIFO/FEFO rotation alongside production leadership. For a food or beverage manufacturer with strict compliance.
Template 5: Assistant / Shift Production Manager
The number-two version: running the floor on assigned shifts, supporting the production manager, and stepping up when needed. For a growing team that needs a deputy.
Skills and Qualifications to Include
Production manager qualifications weight leadership, production knowledge, and results over specific credentials. Keep the requirements concrete, and separate the must-haves from the nice-to-haves.
| Weak requirement | Strong requirement |
|---|---|
| Leadership skills | Leads, trains, and schedules a production team |
| Knows production | Plans and schedules production to hit targets |
| Quality-focused | Maintains quality standards and reduces waste |
| Safety-minded | Owns floor safety and OSHA recordkeeping |
| Some experience | Production or operations leadership experience |
Most production manager roles weight experience and leadership over a specific degree, so hire for proven production results and team management. Keep the language neutral and job-related, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics. For a fuller framework, the SHRM guide to writing a job description covers the standard sections.
Production Manager Salary
Production manager pay varies widely by industry, plant size, and region, but federal data gives a reliable center for setting a range before you write the posting.
A small manufacturer typically pays below the national median, while a large multi-shift plant pays at or above it, and an assistant or shift role sits below the manager. These are the most recent confirmed federal estimates, useful as a baseline you adjust for your operation and local market. Confirm the exempt classification before setting a salary, since misclassification creates overtime liability.
Exempt or Non-Exempt? FLSA Rules for Production Managers
A production manager is often exempt from overtime, but not automatically, and getting this wrong is a common and costly small-business mistake. The exemption depends on duties and salary, not the job title.
The practical risk is a working production manager at a small shop who mostly runs a machine and occasionally directs one helper. That person may not meet the test, which means overtime is owed. Confirm the classification against the actual duties and the salary before you post the pay, and check your state, since several set higher thresholds than the federal floor. The small-business template includes this note built in.
How to Write a Production Manager Job Description
A strong production manager posting takes about fifteen minutes once you settle the operation, the duties, the classification, and the pay. Here is the process the templates are built around. If you are building out your team, the small business hiring guide covers the steps around the posting itself.
Hiring a Production Manager for a Small Manufacturer
A large manufacturer hires a production manager through an HR team with classification and safety programs in place. A small manufacturer makes the same hire directly, usually the owner, often without anyone checking the FLSA classification or who owns OSHA recordkeeping. The posting carries stakes a generic template ignores. Here is how to do it well.
After You Hire: Onboarding a Production Manager
Production manager onboarding combines standard new-hire steps with operational setup, and getting a new leader productive fast matters in a high-turnover production environment. The basics come first: the offer with the pay and FLSA classification stated, the I-9 completed within three business days, tax forms, and state new-hire reporting. Then comes role setup: an orientation on your production process, equipment, quality and safety standards, the team, and the reporting structure, plus access to any production or inventory systems. For the broader flow, the new hire paperwork guide covers the documents and the onboarding checklist template covers the first weeks.
The documents around the hire follow the usual sequence, starting with the offer letter template for the terms before the orientation and system setup begin.
FirstHR fits this directly: e-signature for the offer letter and employment agreement, document management to store the signed job description and certifications, training assignments with completion records for safety and process orientation, and an HRIS with an org chart and employee profiles to map your structure, all built for manufacturers without an HR department, which helps in a role with constant production-floor hiring. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR; today the platform handles onboarding and document tracking once the candidate signs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a production manager do?
A production manager oversees the day-to-day operations of a manufacturing or production facility. The core duties are planning and scheduling production, leading and training the production team, managing output, quality, and cost, monitoring efficiency, and keeping the floor safe and compliant. In a small manufacturer the production manager is hands-on, planning the day and working alongside the team; at a larger plant the role owns throughput across shifts with formal lean and quality systems. The role is sometimes called an industrial production manager, and it sits at the center of hitting production targets while maintaining quality and safety. It is a leadership role responsible for what the floor produces and how efficiently and safely it runs.
What is the difference between a production manager and a production supervisor?
The difference is scope and seniority. A production manager owns the overall production operation: planning, scheduling, budget, quality, staffing, and performance across the floor or plant. A production supervisor is a more focused, often lower-tier role that leads a specific team, line, or shift and reports to the production manager. In a small company one person may do both, but as a team grows the supervisor handles the floor day to day while the manager handles planning, cost, and cross-department coordination. When you write a job description, decide whether you need someone to own the whole operation, which is a manager, or to lead a shift or line under a manager, which is a supervisor, since the responsibility and pay differ.
Is a production manager exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
A production manager is often exempt from overtime under the executive exemption, but not automatically; it depends on duties and salary, not the title. Under federal law, the executive exemption applies only if the employee's primary duty is management, the role regularly directs at least two full-time employees, and the salary is at least $684 per week, which is $35,568 per year. The Department of Labor is explicit that job titles do not determine exempt status. A working production manager at a small shop who mostly operates equipment and occasionally directs one helper may not meet the test, which means overtime is owed. Confirm the classification against the actual duties and salary before posting the pay, and check your state, since several set higher salary thresholds than the federal floor.
What should a production manager job description include?
A strong production manager job description includes a clear job summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications and skills, the FLSA classification, safety responsibilities, the pay range, and how to apply, all matched to your operation. List the concrete duties: production planning and scheduling, team leadership, quality and cost management, and safety and compliance. Because the role spans a small shop to a multi-shift plant, match the posting to your operation rather than using a generic corporate template. State the exempt or non-exempt status carefully against the duties and salary, note OSHA and safety responsibilities, and give an honest pay range, since several states require it. The templates on this page are each written for a specific operation, including a small-business version with built-in FLSA and safety notes.
How much should I pay a production manager?
Federal data gives a useful anchor. The median annual wage for industrial production managers was about $121,440 in May 2024, roughly $58.39 per hour, with the lowest 10 percent under about $74,900 and the highest 10 percent over about $197,310. Pay varies widely by industry, plant size, and region, and a small manufacturer typically pays below the national median while a large multi-shift plant pays at or above it. An assistant or shift production manager sits below the production manager, and a food or beverage role varies by sector. For a small business, anchor on your local market and the scope of your operation, set an honest range, and state it in the posting. Remember to confirm the exempt classification before setting a salary, since misclassification creates overtime liability.
What is the difference between a production manager and an operations manager?
A production manager focuses specifically on the production or manufacturing floor: planning output, leading the production team, and managing quality and efficiency of what gets made. An operations manager has a broader scope that can include production but also extends to supply chain, logistics, purchasing, facilities, and overall business operations. In a small manufacturer the two roles can overlap or be combined into one person, while a larger company separates them, with the production manager reporting up to operations. When you post, decide whether you need someone focused on the production floor or someone running broader operations, since the operations role requires wider business and supply-chain experience. Naming the right role attracts candidates with the right background.
Does a production manager handle safety and OSHA compliance?
Often yes, especially in a small manufacturer where the production manager is the senior person on the floor. Safety and OSHA recordkeeping are commonly part of the role. Employers with more than ten employees generally must keep records of serious work-related injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300, 300A, and 301 forms and retain them for five years. Any worker fatality must be reported to OSHA within eight hours, and an amputation, loss of an eye, or hospitalization within twenty-four hours. Because someone has to own this, writing safety and recordkeeping responsibility into the production manager job description makes the expectation clear. For a small business without a dedicated safety officer or HR department, putting it in the role is what ensures compliance is actually handled rather than assumed.
What happens after I hire a production manager?
Once a candidate accepts, the hire moves into onboarding, which for a leadership role combines standard new-hire steps with operational setup. The first steps are the offer and paperwork: the offer letter with the pay and FLSA classification stated, the I-9 completed within three business days, tax forms, and state new-hire reporting. Then comes role setup: an orientation on your production process, equipment, quality and safety standards, team, and reporting structure, plus access to any production or inventory systems. Because production roles sit in a high-turnover environment, a structured onboarding matters. FirstHR fits this directly: e-signature for the offer letter and employment agreement, document management to store the signed job description and certifications, training assignments with completion tracking for safety and process orientation, and an HRIS with an org chart and employee profiles, all built for manufacturers without an HR department. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR; today the platform handles onboarding and document tracking once the candidate signs.