About Us
At Avio Aero, a GE Aerospace Company, we invent the future of flight, lift people up, and bring them home safely. We are a world-leading provider of jet engines, components, and integrated systems for commercial and military aircraft. At Avio Aero, respect for people is core to our culture and commitment to FLIGHT DECK, our proprietary lean operating model. We attract, develop, and retain industry-leading talent from all backgrounds and cultivate communities where people are respected and empowered to reach their fullest potential. For the people of GE Aerospace, their work isn't just a job. It's their passion and purpose. We work and win as one team, accountable to each other and our customers, and we are always finding a better way to climb higher together. We were meant to fly.
Job Description Summary
The Value Stream Manager (VSM) is accountable for the end-to-end performance of assigned manufacturing value streams at the Chicago site. This leader translates customer demand and approved operating plans into safe, quality-compliant, achievable daily, weekly, and monthly production and shipment commitments. The VSM drives delivery, productivity, cost, and inventory performance through FLIGHT DECK, disciplined daily management, and continuous improvement in a unionized, three-shift operating environment.
This position leads assigned production supervisors and coordinates the work of cross-functional partners, including Quality, Engineering, Planning, Supply Chain, Maintenance, EHS, Finance, and Training. The VSM is responsible for removing constraints, developing qualified talent, and ensuring clear accountability across shifts; the VSM does not replace the independent decision authority of the Quality function. This position reports to the Plant Leader.
Assigned portfolio may include (1) Chinook and Apache / PW74 / Specialty product value streams or (2) Shared Processing Operations. For Shared Processing, the Quality supervisor responsible for Shared Processing 2 retains a solid-line reporting relationship within Quality, with a dotted-line functional alignment to the Shared Processing VSM. Supervisor assignments and employee headcount depend on the approved organization.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The essential duties and responsibilities of this position are listed below. This list is not all inclusive and may be amended by Avio Aero, from time to time.
Safety, Quality & Customer Commitment
- Make safety and quality the first priority: enforce EHS rules, safe working practices, applicable procedures, specifications, and compliance requirements across assigned operations.
- Ensure prompt containment, escalation, root-cause investigation, and closure of manufacturing defects and process issues in partnership with Quality and Engineering; preserve independent Quality disposition and release authority.
- Meet internal and external customer commitments through reliable flow, clear priorities, traceable performance, and timely communication of delivery risks.
- Maintain process discipline for assigned special processes, including plating and other controlled processes where applicable, in partnership with qualified technical and Quality personnel.
Value Stream Execution & Delivery
- Own the integrated execution plan for assigned value streams, from release and material readiness through machining, shared processing, rework / repair, inspection, and shipment readiness.
- Convert weekly and monthly shipment commitments into realistic daily work-center and operator-level targets based on qualified labor, routing requirements, machine availability, material, and schedule constraints.
- Lead daily tier reviews and shift handoffs; measure plan versus actual by day, week, and month; investigate misses, assign corrective actions, and ensure follow-through.
- Maintain visibility to overdue work, WIP, work-center queues, MRR / MRB constraints, rework, supplier-related holds, and other barriers to meeting customer priorities.
- Coordinate cross-value-stream capacity sharing and priority decisions without compromising required process controls or the independence of Quality.
Capacity, Cost, Inventory & Performance
- Continuously analyze work-center load, available machine hours, qualified labor, skills coverage, attendance, overtime, and bottlenecks to determine practical capacity and staffing needs.
- Monitor and improve manufacturing efficiency, direct labor productivity, schedule attainment, first-pass yield, rework, scrap, WIP aging, inventory flow, and controllable operating cost.
- Partner with Planning, Supply Chain, Quality, and Finance to assess material constraints, inventory exposure, working capital impacts, and schedule trade-offs; escalate risks requiring site-level decisions.
- Develop business cases and submit recommendations for capital equipment, tooling, maintenance, staffing, training, and process improvements that increase effective capacity or reduce risk.
People Leadership & Accountability
- Lead, coach, develop, and hold assigned front-line supervisors accountable for execution of standard work, employee development, operating results, and timely issue escalation.
- Build skills matrices, cross-training plans, qualification coverage, succession plans, and performance coaching routines with HR and Training to strengthen each shift.
- Lead fairly and consistently in a unionized environment; administer company policies and the collective bargaining agreement, and participate in grievance resolution and bargaining support when requested.
- Build a culture of proactive problem solving, respect for people, teamwork, and transparent performance reporting across all shifts.
FLIGHT DECK, Lean & Cross-Functional Improvement
- Deploy FLIGHT DECK / Lean fundamentals, including daily management, visual controls, standard work, 5S, root-cause problem solving, and sustainable corrective action.
- Own a disciplined operating scorecard covering Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Inventory, and People & Productivity, with clear targets, leading indicators, actions, and owners.
- Partner with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Continuous Improvement to improve process capability, flow, equipment reliability, and right-first-time execution.
- Communicate risks, resource needs, countermeasures, and results to the Site Leader and functional leadership; lead recovery actions when performance falls short of plan.
Qualifications / Requirements
- Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university (or a high school diploma/GED with a minimum of 8 years relevant experience).
- Experience Required: Minimum of 4 years of supervisory or management experience in aerospace, tight-tolerance machining, or a comparable manufacturing environment, or equivalent training/experience.
Desired Characteristics
The knowledge, skills and abilities required and/or preferred for this position are listed below. This list is not all inclusive and may be amended by Avio Aero, from time to time.
- Experience leading supervisors, managing production schedules, and coordinating complex or multi-shift manufacturing operations strongly preferred.
- Strong front-line leadership, coaching, accountability, and conflict-resolution skills.
- Demonstrated skill in Lean Manufacturing, FLIGHT DECK or similar daily-management systems, 5S, problem solving, and continuous improvement.
- Working knowledge of aerospace quality systems, special processes, statistical process control (SPC), and engineering drawings / specifications.
- Ability to translate ERP / MRP, labor, routing, inventory, work-center, and delivery data into practical production decisions.
- Sound judgment in balancing customer delivery, quality, safety, cost, and resource constraints.
- Strong Microsoft Office / analytical skills, written and oral communication, and cross-functional collaboration.
Physical Requirements
The physical requirements of this position are listed below. This list is not all inclusive and may be amended by Avio Aero, from time to time. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties of the position.
- Frequent sitting, standing, walking, talking, hearing, seeing, writing and typing
- Occasional lifting of up to 40 pounds
- Occasional reaching, climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, pushing, pulling, fingering, grasping, feeling, twisting, bending and repetitive motion
- Frequent exposure to moving mechanical parts, fumes or airborne particles
- Frequent exposure to moderate to heavy noise
- The ability to wear proper personal protective equipment, including earplugs, safety glasses, safety shoes, etc.
What We Offer
Smart working and work life-balance
Avio Aero, when possible, promotes smart work in hybrid mode, and encourages a good, healthy and satisfying work-life balance. We value our employees’ wellbeing; hence we offer a variety of improvement programs aimed to preserve anyone’s psychological safety and daily needs.
Total Rewards
At Avio Aero, we understand the importance of Total Rewards. As a new joiner to Avio Aero we are pleased to offer the following welcome benefit plan:
- Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
- Life and injury insurance
- Performance-related bonuses and local bonus scheme
- Employee assistant program
- Employee special awards (service and recognition)
- Local special agreements and discounts
- Technical, Leadership and development training
Inclusion & Diversity
Avio Aero is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we are strongly committed to maintain an inclusive and diverse environment. Every employment decision is taken regardless to national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, etc. We are not all the same. Just be Yourself Avio Aero!