Paper Machine Superintendent

The Opportunity:

The Paper Machine Superintendent provides day-to-day leadership and direction for paper machine operations, with accountability for safety, quality, productivity, reliability, cost, and people performance. The role leads Assistant Superintendents, Shift Supervisors, and hourly operating teams to deliver safe, stable, and efficient production while driving continuous improvement in machine performance, operating discipline, workforce capability, and team effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead safe, reliable, and efficient paper machine operations, ensuring compliance with safety standards, operating procedures, and environmental requirements.
• Drive production, quality, and cost performance to achieve operating objectives and customer requirements.
• Monitor and improve key paper machine performance indicators, including production rate, machine efficiency, quality performance, downtime, waste, and operating cost.
• Partner with Maintenance, Reliability, Engineering, Technical, and other mill functions to plan outages, address chronic equipment and process issues, and improve equipment reliability.
• Lead troubleshooting and root-cause problem solving for production, quality, process, and equipment performance issues.
• Establish and reinforce operating discipline, standard work, housekeeping, and accountability across crews and shifts.
• Lead, coach, and develop Assistant Superintendents, Shift Supervisors, and hourly employees to strengthen frontline leadership and operating capability.
• Manage employee performance through clear expectations, timely feedback, development planning, recognition, and consistent accountability.
• Support workforce planning, skills development, qualification progression, and succession planning to maintain a capable and sustainable operating organization.
• Promote effective communication and coordination across shifts to ensure consistent execution of operating priorities.

Key Performance Expectations

Safety & Operational Discipline

• Achieve annual safety objectives and demonstrate visible safety leadership across all crews.
• Ensure timely completion of safety actions, investigations, corrective actions, and required training.
• Maintain consistent compliance with operating procedures, housekeeping, and safety standards.

Paper Machine Performance

• Deliver production, quality, efficiency, and cost performance at or above annual operating plan targets.
• Reduce controllable downtime, waste, quality losses, and recurring process disruptions.
• Maintain effective daily and weekly performance review routines with clear ownership and follow-up.

Reliability

• Improve paper machine reliability through effective partnership with Maintenance, Reliability, and Engineering.
• Ensure operating involvement in outage planning, equipment care, and root-cause corrective actions.
• Reduce repeat failures and chronic production losses through sustainable corrective actions.

People & Leadership

• Build capability of Assistant Superintendents and Shift Supervisors through documented coaching, development plans, and regular performance feedback.
• Maintain qualified staffing and training progression for critical operating positions.
• Build internal bench strength and readiness for key supervisory and operating roles.
• Address performance and accountability issues consistently and timely.

Continuous Improvement

• Maintain an active pipeline of improvement opportunities tied to safety, throughput, quality, reliability, waste, and cost.
• Lead significant improvement initiatives to measurable, sustained results.
• Use operating data and structured problem-solving to identify and eliminate recurring performance gaps.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to successfully perform the role. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Strong knowledge of papermaking processes, paper machine operations, and manufacturing fundamentals.
• Demonstrated ability to identify, troubleshoot, and resolve process, quality, and equipment performance issues.
• Strong safety leadership and commitment to operational discipline.
• Ability to interpret operating data and use performance measures to identify problems, establish priorities, and drive improvement.
• Strong leadership capability with demonstrated ability to coach employees, develop supervisors, build effective teams, and lead through others.
• Effective planning and organizational skills, including the ability to coordinate production, maintenance, and downtime priorities.
• Strong interpersonal, listening, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated follow-through with the ability to establish expectations, maintain accountability, and ensure timely completion of actions.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Engineering, Technical, Safety, and other mill functions.

Experiences / Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in papermaking, paper machine operations, pulp and paper manufacturing, or a comparable continuous-process manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated progression into positions involving operational leadership, process ownership, or supervision of manufacturing employees preferred.
• Experience leading safety, production, quality, reliability, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Experience developing frontline leaders and operating teams preferred.
• Bachelor\u2019s degree in Engineering, Paper Science, Operations Management, Business, or a related discipline preferred. Equivalent relevant manufacturing and leadership experience may be considered.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) is the go-to leader and partner of choice in sustainable packaging. We are dedicated to creating efficient and scalable paper and packaging solutions to help solve complex packaging challenges. Guided by our values of safety, loyalty, integrity and respect, we are committed to delivering meaningful value for shareholders, customers, employees and the communities where we operate.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by state or federal law.