How to hire a senior production manager

How to hire a senior production manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior production manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior production manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior production manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior production manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior production manager hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect senior production manager also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of senior production manager salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Production Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Production Manager	Industrial production managers oversee the daily operations of manufacturing and related plants. They coordinate, plan, and direct the activities used to create a wide range of goods, such as cars, computer equipment, or paper products.	$43-87
   Plant Superintendent	Plant superintendents must have skills in operations, productions, and management. They also need a 4-year degree in business or industrial management... Show more	$32-64
   Director Of Manufacturing Operations	A director of manufacturing operations is responsible for overseeing the overall manufacturing operations, strategizing techniques to maximize productivity and efficiency, and monitoring the adequacy of supply inventories for production. Directors of manufacturing operations coordinate with trusted suppliers and vendors for resources that meet high-quality standards with minimal costing... Show more	$49-94

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Lean Manufacturing
   • SR
   • Production Schedules
   • Sigma
   • Production Operations
   • OSHA
   • Quality Standards
   • Direct Reports
   • Logistics
   • ISO
   • Corrective Action
   • On-Time Delivery

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Train all plant departments in following them in the IBM AS400 system achieving a significant reduction in transaction errors.
   • Manage and direct production QA and QC managers to ensure top quality product ships on time and with proper packaging.
   • Organize and manage daily activities of design studio; including financials, operational expenses, creating BOM charts and product costing.
   • Manage product booking to multiple overseas business partners seasonally.
   • Manage all booking and costing negotiations including seasonal costing and forecasting.
   • Coordinate logistics, and manage entire shipping department including warehouse and employees.

   More senior production manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the senior production manager job description is a good way to get more applicants. A senior production manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a senior production manager in Arkansas may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level senior production manager. Additionally, a senior production manager with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average senior production manager salary

   $128,721yearly

   $61.89 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior production manager salary

   $91,000 yearly salary

   Updated February 1, 2026

   Average senior production manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$143,009	$69
   2	North Carolina	$138,891	$67
   3	Kansas	$136,772	$66
   4	New York	$133,506	$64
   5	Michigan	$132,587	$64
   6	Illinois	$132,041	$63
   7	Ohio	$130,704	$63
   8	Massachusetts	$129,894	$62
   9	Texas	$128,680	$62
   10	New Jersey	$126,411	$61
   11	Georgia	$120,053	$58
   12	Tennessee	$119,536	$57
   13	District of Columbia	$118,493	$57
   14	Colorado	$118,285	$57
   15	Alabama	$117,446	$56
   16	Indiana	$112,794	$54
   17	Missouri	$108,452	$52
   18	Iowa	$105,498	$51

   Average senior production manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	The Walt Disney Company	$147,217	$70.78	26
   2	Apple	$145,022	$69.72	6
   3	United States Institute of Peace	$140,671	$67.63
   4	QuantumScape	$138,020	$66.36
   5	FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies	$136,608	$65.68	7
   6	Koch Industries	$135,850	$65.31	42
   7	ViacomCBS	$133,710	$64.28
   8	Amneal Pharmaceuticals	$133,637	$64.25	2
   9	PVH	$131,725	$63.33	6
   10	Tesla	$130,566	$62.77
   11	Michael Kors	$129,674	$62.34
   12	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$127,938	$61.51	27
   13	Cargill	$127,056	$61.08	114
   14	Intuitive Surgical	$124,911	$60.05	5
   15	Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.	$124,861	$60.03	2
   16	Early Warning	$121,880	$58.60
   17	American Eagle Outfitters	$121,283	$58.31	1
   18	Waters	$120,668	$58.01	10
   19	Yahoo	$120,425	$57.90
   20	DSM Services USA Inc	$120,410	$57.89	7

4. Writing a senior production manager job description

   A job description for a senior production manager role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a senior production manager job description:

   Senior production manager job description example

   Sr Investor Claims Production Manager - Remote
   
   Location
   Work From Home United States
   
   Job Summary
   The Sr Investor Claims Production Manager manages our investor claim filing team, which includes the invoice processing & claim preparation, claim filing, and quality control groups, and is responsible for ensuring the timely and accurate filing of FHA, VA, USDA, FNMA, FHLMC and private mortgage insurance claims. This position will serve as the primary point of contact with Flagstar's subservicing customers regarding claim filing, and with Flagstar's Loss Analysis, Property Preservation, Auction & Title, and Loss Mitigation groups to ensure processes are aligned to ensure timely and accurate claim filing. This position will manage, coach, and develop a team of claim filers, ensuring the mitigation of losses and the retrieval of qualified claim proceeds. This position will also assist the Director of Investor Claims in providing strategic direction for the department; reviewing, analyzing and implementing changes to investor/insurer guidelines; and overseeing technology improvements.
   
   Job Responsibilities:
   Lead and oversee the claim filing, invoice payment and quality control staff to ensure that FHA, VA, USDA, FHLMC, FNMA and MI claims are filed correctly and timely by reviewing work product, claim assignments, escalated issues and analyzing reporting data.Keep abreast of changes to investor/insurer rules and technology upgrades, train team members on these changes, and design testing to ensure changes have been implemented successfully.Develop and implement strategic initiatives to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the claim filing process, including overseeing enhancements to reporting and technology.Provide regular updates to, and serve as the department's primary point of contact to subservicing customers, regulators, auditors, and other Flagstar departments regarding the claim filing process and results.
   
   Job Requirements:
   
   7-10 years of experience in filing FHA, VA, USDA, FHLMC, FNMA and MI claims, 3-4 of which may include property preservation, loss analysis, post-sale title, second chance auctions, or other areas of default servicing.5 years of experience in effectively leading a team preferred HS Diploma, GED or Foreign EquivalentStrong analytical and technical skills.Direct experience with MSP, VALERI, YARDI, FHA Connection/Catalyst, Loansphere/Property 360, PAID, Black Knight Invoice Management, and Black Knight ClaimsExceptional verbal and written communication with all levels of the organization;Demonstrated success in working in a fast paced, distributed environment;Excellent leadership skills, team building, and consensus building skills;Demonstrated ability to collaborate successfully with cross functional teams;Proficiency with Excel and Word.
   
   Internal Use Only: Job Band D

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior production managers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior production manager job on Zippia to find and recruit senior production manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting senior production managers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior production manager

   Once you've selected the best senior production manager candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new senior production manager. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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