Acoufelt creates holisticsoundscapingsolutions with sustainable soft architectural interior acoustic products. Making Quiet™ where people work, learn, and connect is what we do. We partner with designers to develop materials and strategies to soundscape any environment, making its experience healthier and more productive for people and the planet.
About the Role
Acoufelt is growing fast – across markets, geographies, and product complexity. To meet that demand, we need a Manufacturing & Operations Manager who can build the team, systems, and capabilities that will power our next stage of growth.
This is a manufacturing leadership role first, with a strong emphasis on building for speed and quality. The focus is on creating a high‑performing production environment that consistently exceeds market expectations and supports Acoufelt’s competitive strategy.
You will own the shop floor, the people on it, and the processes that run through it. You will be responsible for building a high-performance production culture – one that delivers on speed, quality, and scalability – while partnering across the business to keep operations aligned with commercial reality.
You'll bring together product quality, operational excellence, procurement, and supply chain under a single mandate: make Acoufelt's manufacturing capability a genuine competitive advantage.
This role will initially report to the General Manager, transitioning to report directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) as the function and business scale.
What You'll Be Accountable For
Manufacturing Leadership & Team Development
* Build, lead, and develop the manufacturing team – recruiting the right people, setting clear expectations, and creating a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement.
* Establish structured onboarding, training, and skills development frameworks to grow team capability and reduce key-person dependency.
* Set the standard for how work gets done on the floor – from daily routines and shift management through to escalation protocols and performance conversations.
* Drive a manufacturing culture that prioritises speed, quality, and safety in equal measure.
* Act as a hands‑on leader who is present, visible, and invested in the development of every team member.
* Maintain a strong on‑floor presence, spending significant time in production to observe processes, support teams, and lead improvement at the source.
Production & Manufacturing Excellence
* Oversee all production processes, ensuring output targets are consistently met with the right quality, at the right cost, and on time.
* Identify and eliminate bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and waste across the production operation.
* Implement lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives that remove bottlenecks, reduce waste, improve changeover times, and increase throughput across production.
* Drive automation and technological advancement where it meaningfully improves throughput, quality, or safety.
* Manage plant, equipment, and facility performance – ensuring reliability, maintenance schedules, and capital planning are proactively managed.
* Implement and enforce health, safety, and environmental policies, maintaining full regulatory compliance.
* Own production planning and capacity management across manufacturing sub‑departments, ensuring demand is met through balanced workloads, sustainable shift patterns, and minimal reliance on reactive overtime.
* Plan equipment, tooling, and space requirements in line with forecast demand, working with senior leadership on capital and site planning as the operation scales.
Product Quality & Assurance
* Ensure all products delivered to clients are fit for purpose, meet Acoufelt's quality standards, and reflect our brand values.
* Develop and implement a proactive quality assurance strategy covering standard production, new product development, and custom samples.
* Embed quality at the point of production – not as an end‑of‑line check, but as a discipline built into every step of the process.
* Establish risk reduction frameworks to eliminate defects and anticipate failure points before they reach the customer.
* Own the monthly KPI reporting cycle – tracking quality metrics, investigating slippage, and driving corrective action.
* Drive high equipment availability through preventive maintenance, reliability planning, and disciplined operating routines.
* Champion a safety‑first manufacturing culture, with proactive risk identification, training, and incident prevention.
Procurement & Supply Chain
* Develop and execute procurement strategies for raw materials, fixings, hardware, and consumables – balancing cost, quality, and supply reliability.
* Build strong supplier relationships, negotiate commercial terms, and implement risk mitigation to ensure supply chain continuity.
* Optimise inventory levels to support production flow while minimising working capital exposure and waste.
What We're Looking For
* Proven experience in a senior manufacturing or operations leadership role, with mandatory experience in a product‑based manufacturing environment.
* Comfortable operating at pace in a hands‑on manufacturing environment, with a leadership style grounded in visibility on the production floor.
* Demonstrated ability to build and develop high‑performing production teams – not just manage them.
* Strong working knowledge of lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and quality assurance frameworks.
* Commercial awareness and the ability to connect operational decisions to business outcomes.
* Experience managing procurement, supply chain, and inventory in a fast‑moving production environment.
* A track record of improving speed‑to‑market and quality outcomes through people, process, and technology.
* Confident communicator and collaborator – able to work across functions and influence without authority.
* Hands‑on leadership style with the credibility to earn respect on the floor and in the management team.
Why This Role
Acoufelt is at an inflection point. Our products are increasingly specified across domestic and international markets, and our manufacturing capability needs to scale to match. This is a rare opportunity to shape how we build – the team structure, the systems, the culture – and leave a lasting mark on a business that's genuinely going places.
#J-18808-Ljbffr