JOB SUMMARY
We are seeking an experienced, hands-on, and highly organized RTA Assembly Department Manager to oversee the daily operations of our Ready-to-Assemble (RTA) cabinetry assembly department. This position is responsible for leading the assembly team and managing the day-to-day flow of production, including employee supervision, production scheduling, work ticket creation, material readiness, inventory movement, quality control, and completed product transfers. The RTA Assembly Department Manager will ensure cabinetry and related products are assembled accurately, efficiently, safely, and on schedule while maintaining high standards for quality and customer satisfaction. The RTA Assembly Department Manager will work closely with warehouse, inventory, purchasing, shipping, and operational leadership to ensure the assembly department has the people, materials, tools, and information necessary to meet production goals and customer delivery expectations. This individual will be responsible for identifying production challenges, resolving workflow issues, and continuously improving processes to reduce delays, errors, rework, and unnecessary costs. A successful RTA Assembly Department Manager is a strong people leader who is comfortable working in a fast-paced production environment. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, accountable, proactive, and capable of balancing employee leadership with operational and production responsibilities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead, train, coach, and develop assembly department employees to meet daily and weekly production goals.
• Maintain accountability for employee performance, attendance, productivity, quality, and adherence to established department expectations.
• Assign work based on employee skill level, production priorities, workflow requirements, and customer delivery deadlines.
• Ensure all assembly team members follow company safety procedures, quality standards, and established assembly requirements.
• Review customer orders and convert order requirements into clear, accurate, and actionable assembly work tickets.
• Identify and document all required cabinetry components, panels, hardware, fasteners, tools, and special instructions needed for each assembly.
• Prioritize and distribute work tickets to assembly teams based on production schedules, order deadlines, and department capacity.
• Create and manage daily and weekly production schedules to support customer order commitments and operational priorities.
• Adjust production schedules as needed due to delayed materials, rush orders, staffing changes, workflow challenges, or changing business priorities.
• Coordinate with warehouse and inventory teams to ensure raw materials, cabinetry components, panels, hardware, and supplies are pulled, staged, and available before scheduled production begins.
• Monitor the movement of materials and components from the warehouse to the assembly floor and ensure appropriate inventory transfers are accurately completed.
• Ensure completed RTA products are properly documented, staged, and transferred to shipping or the next phase of the delivery process.
• Maintain accurate inventory and production records in the appropriate company systems and ensure inventory movement is properly recorded.
• Monitor inventory and supply levels for screws, dowels, brackets, hinges, slides, adhesives, packaging materials, and other items required to support assembly operations.
• Communicate material shortages, damaged products, missing components, or supply concerns to warehouse, purchasing, and appropriate operational leadership before production is impacted.
• Inspect assembled cabinetry and related products for accuracy, alignment, secure hardware, finish quality, and overall workmanship before products move to shipping or installation.
• Verify completed assemblies against work tickets, customer orders, specifications, and required parts lists to ensure products are built correctly and completely.
• Identify quality concerns, assembly defects, damaged materials, missing components, and order discrepancies and coordinate corrective action before products leave the department.
• Train and coach assembly employees on proper assembly techniques, quality expectations, safe work practices, and consistent construction standards.
• Track recurring quality concerns and work with leadership and cross-functional partners to implement process improvements that reduce errors, rework, waste, and customer service issues.
• Evaluate assembly workflows and identify opportunities to improve productivity, reduce unnecessary movement, eliminate production bottlenecks, and improve turnaround times.
• Maintain a clean, organized, and safe assembly department, including work areas, tools, supplies, materials, and completed products.
• Partner with warehouse, shipping, purchasing, inventory, and operational leadership to resolve production challenges and support overall business objectives.
• Maintain production, quality, and operational records and provide updates to management as needed.
• Perform other operational and administrative duties as assigned.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS
Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience managing or leading employees in a manufacturing, warehouse, cabinetry, furniture assembly, or similar production environment.
• Demonstrated experience supervising, training, coaching, and developing production or assembly employees.
• Strong understanding of production scheduling, workflow management, quality control, and operational planning.
• Experience working with inventory tracking systems, production schedules, work tickets, or related operational software.
• Ability to read, understand, and accurately interpret customer orders, work instructions, product specifications, and parts lists.
• Strong leadership and communication skills with the ability to create accountability while maintaining a productive and respectful work environment.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Exceptional attention to detail and ability to identify quality defects, missing components, order discrepancies, and process gaps before they impact customers.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, adjust to changing production demands, and meet customer deadlines.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and collaboratively with cross-functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, or a related field preferred.
• 5–10 years of experience in cabinetry, furniture assembly, manufacturing, distribution, or building materials operations.
• Direct experience with RTA cabinetry, cabinet construction, furniture assembly, hardware, panels, and related production materials.
• Experience managing a high-volume production or assembly department.
• Experience with ERP, inventory management, or production scheduling systems.
• Experience implementing process improvements or Lean manufacturing principles.
• Experience developing production procedures, work instructions, training materials, or standard operating procedures.
• Experience tracking production metrics, quality trends, employee productivity, or operational performance.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Assembly and production operations management
• Employee leadership and development
• Production scheduling and workflow coordination
• Quality control and product accuracy
• Inventory and material readiness
• Process improvement and operational efficiency
• Problem-solving and decision-making
• Organizational and time management
• Communication and relationship building
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Attention to detail and accountability
• Adaptability and continuous improvement

PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The physical demands described below are representative of those required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.

• Ability to work in an active assembly and warehouse environment for extended periods.
• Frequent walking and standing while overseeing production, inspecting completed products, and supporting employees.
• Ability to bend, reach, stoop, kneel, and navigate assembly areas and warehouse spaces.
• Ability to occasionally lift and carry cabinetry components, boxes, hardware, tools, or materials, generally up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to safely work around standard warehouse and production equipment, including forklifts, pallet jacks, and other material-handling equipment.
• Ability to communicate effectively in person, by phone, and through electronic communication.
• Ability to visually inspect cabinetry and assembled products for alignment, finish quality, missing components, and other quality concerns.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those encountered while performing the essential functions of this position.

• Primarily an active assembly, warehouse, and production environment.
• Regular interaction with assembly employees, warehouse personnel, inventory teams, purchasing, shipping, and operational leadership.
• Exposure to standard warehouse and manufacturing conditions, including moving equipment, material-handling equipment, noise, dust, and varying temperatures.
• Required to follow all applicable company safety procedures and wear required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when working in designated areas.
• Fast-paced environment with changing production schedules, customer priorities, and operational demands.