Production Supervisor-Crystal Growing
SolarWorld

Operations

Location: Hillsboro Region: North America Job Category: Operations

Salary: Competitive Website: Link

The Opportunity

Do you want to save the world? You can be a hero by joining one of the world's leading solar photovoltaic (PV) companies! At SolarWorld, you will have the opportunity to help develop one of the world's cleanest and most environmentally-responsible forms of sustainable energy production.

We are looking for everyday heroes who are highly-motivated to grow North America's largest Solar PV production capability under one company! If you are a proactive, entrepreneurial and enthusiastic about sustainable energy, we invite you to "Come Shine with Us!"

The Company

The SolarWorld Group of companies is a world leader in high quality solar power products and technology. SolarWorld is involved in every step of the solar value chain from raw silicon to turn-key solar power systems and is active in growing solar markets around the world. The group is exclusively dedicated to the core business of solar photovoltaic products and technology, operating production facilities in Germany and the USA. These factories supply sales offices in Germany, Spain, USA, South Africa and Singapore. SolarWorld is currently tooling up the USA's largest solar wafer and cell production facility in Oregon to help serve the growing demand in the Americas. SolarWorld supplies solar silicon wafers to the international solar cell industry as well as modules, kits and turnkey PV systems to distributors and retailers world-wide. The SolarWorld Group also sells off-grid solar power solutions that make an important contribution to the sustainable economic growth of developing countries. Under the name Solar2World the group has pooled this ethical commitment to a sustainable future through solar energy.

The SolarWorld Group employs more than 2,000 people worldwide. The company's stock (SWV.de) trades on the Frankfurt and Xetra exchanges and is included in the technology index TecDAX, in the �koDAX, in the Dow Jones STOXX 600, in the international MSCI index as well as in the sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.

 

Responsibilities:

In this critical role you will act as the people and production manager for a specific work cell in North America's leading Solar PV manufacturing facility. This position will supervise and coordinate activities of an entire shift of production technicians and maintenance technicians in the manufacturing area using established procedures and polices.

As a member of a growing team in a start-up environment you will work with your peers to develop core processes, practices, applications, and methodologies to enable rapid growth. You will participate in a variety of core projects aimed at cost reduction, continuous improvement of manufacturing and processes and organizational effectiveness initiatives.

Specific deliverables associated with this position include:

• Train and develop your production team members to ensure that appropriate certification exists for all aspects of defined work within the work cell. Work to ensure that operators and technicians have sufficient job knowledge to achieve quality and productivity goals in a safe manner.
• Develop the work cell to function as an integrated team, incorporating best known practices. Ensure long term consistency with all actions of the shift with other shifts and departments. Establish and maintain a strong, positive working relationship with other supervisors as well as engineers.
• Actively support and maintain a safe working environment by teaching and monitoring the use of established company safety programs on the manufacturing floor. Supervisors may be expected to participate in ERT activities; and will be expected to manage appropriate responses to workplace safety incidents.
• Make decisions to shutdown equipment or processes when safety or quality is compromised.
• Support and drive Quality by engaging with established company quality programs, ensuring continuous improvement in manufacturing processes. Partner with engineering and quality to drive continuous improvements in area operations to improve overall Equipment Efficiency. You will be responsible for executing programs in cost, yield, quality, cycle time and productivity improvements.
• Coach, develop and monitor progress of trainees, operators and work cell leaders.
• Administer company policies and procedures as a member of the management team.
• Develop periodic objectives, personnel plans and requirements based on company objectives and targets. And, ensure that agreed upon team and cell goals are met for quality, capability, productivity, yields, cost and cycle time. Communicate objectives, priorities and expectations to all team members.
• Conduct formal employee performance evaluations.
• Effectively train and develop work cell members to ensure adequate certification exists for all aspects of defined work within the cell. Ensure operators have sufficient job knowledge to achieve quality and productivity goals in a safe manner.
• Drive use and conformance of statistical process control tools.
• Plan staffing to ensure production targets are met. Develop and sustain with support groups proper on-boarding systems. Conduct interviews ensuring proper match of candidates to cell requirements.
• Responsible for corrective actions to address problems associated with processing or operating machines or equipment.
• Lead employee information meetings as needed both on and off the production floor.

Qualifications:

This position is ideal for a candidate who is enthusiastic about being a "green collar" worker in the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry. Successful candidates should demonstrate a desire for personal development, communicate easily, enjoy working in a team environment and be highly flexible. The successful candidate will possess the following combination of education and experience:

• Associate's degree in Science, Engineering Technology, Manufacturing Technology or related discipline.
• Preference for a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, Manufacturing Technology or related discipline.
• Minimum of 2 - 5 years leadership experience as a Production Technician or Maintenance Technician leader in a high-volume solar or semiconductor technology manufacturing setting.
• Advanced knowledge of the following equipment and/or production processes is required:
o Crystal Growing - Crystal Growing Equipment (CZ Growers).
• Prior experience with the operation of such equipment and performance of basic PM's, minor and major equipment maintenance is required.
• Must possess excellent communication skills (written and verbal) as you will be working in a team environment that is very data-driven.
• Prior experience as a shift lead, supervisor or manager is preferred and required at the higher grades for this position.
• Advanced computer skills are required including familiarity with windows-based programs such as Microsoft productivity tools (e.g., Excel, Word). A strong working knowledge of manufacturing or ERP systems and data entry and/or collection from such systems is required.
• An in-depth knowledge of problem solving methodologies and lean manufacturing concepts is required for entry into this level.
• Experience with SPC (Statistical Process Control) is highly preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of equipment and manufacturing safety procedures is required (e.g., lock-out / tag-out, electrical / high-voltage, chemical, reading MSDS, incident response procedures).
• Prior experience as a peer trainer for manufacturing operation certifications is required.
• Must demonstrate and ability to conduct data collection and measurement activities utilizing standard and metric systems.
• Must possess a valid driver's license and have the ability to obtain a passport for international travel.
• Must have the ability to lift up to 40 lbs.
• Knowledge in TPM, Lean Manufacturing is required.
• Demonstrated ability in leadership, decision making, problem solving and team building.

Benefits

SolarWorld offers a competitive benefits package, designed for the "green collar" worker including a minimum of 4 weeks annual vacation, 401k, medical, dental, life, employee referral bonus, and more!

Equal Opportunity Employer - M/F/D/V

All offers of employment are contingent upon a candidate's successful completion of Solar World's pre-employment drug testing, and background investigation, which includes employment and criminal histories.

To apply for this position please visit our Career Center at http://www.solarworld-usa.com/Job-Career.173.0.html�