Assistant Shift Leader

Role details

Position Summary

The Assistant Shift Leader supports the Shift Leader in coordinating people, production, quality, safety, and technical activity across the assigned shift. This is a hands-on floor leadership role that helps keep production running, provides direction and support to employees, completes required documentation, and responds to routine equipment and process issues within the employee's training and authorization. When the Shift Leader is absent, this position assumes assigned day-to-day shift leadership responsibilities within established procedures and management direction.

Essential Duties

and ResponsibilitiesShift Leadership and Employee Support

• Help organize daily production activity, align staffing with the production schedule, communicate priorities, and support an effective shift handoff.
• Provide work direction, coaching, and on-the-job training to assigned employees while reinforcing safe work practices, quality standards, and production expectations.
• Monitor staffing, attendance, housekeeping, safety, quality, productivity, scrap, downtime, and schedule performance throughout the shift.
• Address routine floor issues and elevate disciplinary matters, sensitive employee concerns, or unresolved operating problems to the Shift Leader or appropriate manager.
• Make sure employees have the tools, materials, instructions, and personal protective equipment needed to perform their work safely and effectively.

Production Quality and Documentation

• Complete or verify first-piece inspections, required in-process inspections, work-order packages, job-change paperwork, downtime records, and shift reports.
• Enter and verify required production information in PlantStar, RFID, and other assigned systems accurately and on time.
• Respond to safety, quality, or compliance concerns by stopping or containing work when required, protecting employees and product, and notifying the appropriate support function.
• Support stable production and timely recovery from interruptions while following approved process limits and escalation procedures.

Machine Mold and Process Support

• Start, stop, and safely cycle assigned injection molding machines; verify controls, operating modes, interlocks, emergency stops, system pressure, oil temperature, and safe operating condition.
• Support machine and mold start-up by confirming approved programs, mold and barrel heats, water, hydraulics, cores, ejectors, valve gates, robots, end-of-arm tooling, and auxiliary equipment.
• Perform approved shutdown, purging, resin, regrind, additive, and color-change procedures for job changes, contamination control, and planned or unplanned shutdowns.
• Support mold sets and pulls, including leveling, clamping, magnetic holding systems, water and hydraulic connections, die height, tool versions, approved programs, and required documentation.
• Apply approved process knowledge to help maintain consistent production, including pressure, temperature, fill, decompression, nozzle timing, transfer, runners, heaters, clamp requirements, and established process limits.

Robotics Hot Stamp and Auxiliary Equipment

• Support robots and end-of-arm tooling by referencing robots, selecting approved programs, adjusting authorized setpoints, using permitted manual functions, and completing dry-cycle verification when required.
• Complete hot-stamp setup and changeover support, including dies, guides, backstops, temperatures, dwell, pressure, stroke, foil pull, setup security, and finished-stamp quality.
• Complete foil changeout and adjustment by verifying the correct foil type, size, routing, direction, alignment, tension, temperature range, and pull timing.
• Provide first-line troubleshooting for assigned machines, molds, processes, robots, end-of-arm tooling, hot-stamp equipment, dryers, conveying systems, heaters, programs, and auxiliary equipment within demonstrated qualification.
• Do not bypass safeguards or change validated processes outside approved limits. Stabilize the condition, document the issue, and escalate when a problem is beyond the employee's qualification or authority.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position provides daily work direction and technical support to an assigned shift or team of 30 or fewer employees, including temporary and seasonal employees. It supports coaching, training, staffing coordination, and performance feedback but does not independently administer formal discipline. When assigned to cover for the Shift Leader, the Assistant Shift Leader carries out day-to-day shift leadership duties within established policy and management direction.

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• At least one year of production leadership, team lead, or comparable manufacturing experience.
• Working knowledge of manufacturing safety, quality, production documentation, and standard operating procedures.
• Intermediate computer skills, including Microsoft Office and the ability to learn required production systems.
• Ability to read and apply safety rules, procedures, work orders, operating instructions, diagrams, and production schedules.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly, organize work, coach employees, make sound decisions, and solve routine production problems.
• Documented training, qualification, and authorization for each machine, mold, robot, hot-stamp system, material system, crane or rigging activity, lockout/tagout activity, and process performed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in plastics manufacturing or injection molding.
• Technical training, certification, or an associate degree in manufacturing, plastics, industrial technology, maintenance, or a related field.
• Experience with PlantStar, RFID, production monitoring systems, or similar manufacturing software.
• Hands-on experience with mold changes, robots, end-of-arm tooling, hot-stamp equipment, resin handling, or injection molding process support.

Core Competencies

• Safety and quality focus
• Floor leadership and employee coaching
• Planning, organization, and follow-through
• Clear communication and effective shift handoffs
• Sound judgment and timely escalation
• Technical problem-solving within approved limits
• Teamwork, professionalism, and adaptability
• Continuous improvement and accountability

Physical Demands and Work Environment

This position regularly requires standing, walking, communicating, and observing production activity in a manufacturing environment. The employee may be required to bend, reach, climb, handle materials, and lift or move up to 50 pounds. The role involves work around operating machinery, moving equipment, heat, and elevated noise levels. Required personal protective equipment and all applicable safety procedures must be followed. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Why Join Schaefer Plastics

Schaefer Plastics offers the opportunity to build manufacturing leadership and technical skills in a growing, family-owned organization. Employees work with experienced operations and technical teams, contribute directly to safety, quality, and production performance, and have opportunities to grow as their skills and qualifications develop.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Schaefer Plastics North America is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to any status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Applicant Data & Privacy Notice: Schaefer Plastics North America, LLC collects and uses the personal information you provide during the application and recruiting process to evaluate your qualifications, communicate with you, schedule interviews, make hiring decisions, and, if selected, complete offer and onboarding activities. Applicant information may include your resume, contact information, work history, education, skills, interview notes, references, and other information you choose to provide or that is needed for the position.

Please do not submit sensitive personal information irrelevant to the role, such as Social Security numbers, banking information, medical information, copies of identification, or other unnecessary personal documents, unless specifically requested at the appropriate stage of the hiring process. Your information will only be shared with individuals who have a legitimate need to know for recruiting and hiring purposes, such as Human Resources, recruiters, hiring managers, interview participants, and approved service providers or systems used in the recruiting process.

Applicant information will not be forwarded to other departments, locations, or legal entities, or considered for unrelated future openings unless permitted by law or you have provided the required consent. Applicant records will be retained only as long as necessary for recruiting, legal, compliance, and recordkeeping purposes, and then deleted or destroyed in accordance with applicable retention requirements. If we would like to keep your information on file for future opportunities, we will request your consent where required. Questions about how applicant data is handled may be directed to Human Resources or to the appropriate SSI SCHAEFER data protection contact.