Area Manager - Factory-Built Housing

About Us

Reframe Systems is on a mission to build resilient housing for all, at massive scale. To achieve our mission, we need to make high-performance carbon housing more affordable by re-imagining how housing is designed and built. Our volumetric module platform and agile production system drive down cost, delivery time, and embodied carbon for multifamily housing. With our software-driven microfactory in the greater Boston area and a national scaling roadmap underway, we are disrupting assembly line manufacturing for housing production, and we’re backed by leading VC firms in the industrial and construction space.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for an Area Manager to lead day-to-day execution for a defined production area in our factory. This is a floor leadership role for someone who thrives in high-velocity operations and can build the management system that keeps teams safe, productive, and improving every week.

This is not a role for someone who wants to supervise a steady-state line. We are building the infrastructure to scale and we need leaders who can bring rigor, systems thinking, and a technology-forward mindset to a genuinely novel manufacturing challenge.

Responsibilities

Daily Management & Execution

• Own daily/weekly plan attainment for your area: throughput, minutes/SF, schedule attainment, and rework hours
• Run start-of-shift and end-of-shift routines; ensure the team always knows the plan, priorities, and constraints
• Coordinate labor, materials, and readiness so work is staged and flow is protected
• Surface blockers early with clear options and tradeoffs (bring “2–3 ways to solve it,” not just problems)

Safety, Quality & Standards

• Own safety performance for your area: hazard escalation, audits, incident response, and corrective actions
• Ensure adherence to SOPs / standard work and quality gates; stop and correct out-of-standard work
• Partner with Ops Engineering / training owners to ensure training and certification are completed for tasks performed in the area

People Leadership & Crew Development

• Lead, coach, and develop team leads and operators; set expectations and drive accountability
• Address issues directly and respectfully; hold the line on standards
• Implement a lightweight rotation / cross-training plan that grows versatility and reduces burnout

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Partner with Ops Engineering / CI to identify, prioritize, and execute improvements that move throughput/efficiency metrics
• Support kaizen events, time studies, and standardization; ensure impact is measured and captured (not just ideas generated)
• Convert recurring issues into standard work, training content, and improved material flow so the system becomes self-improving

Metrics, Visibility & Systems (“Scoreboard”)

• Own the area “scoreboard”: targets vs actuals, downtime/constraints, quality escapes, and improvement actions
• Participate in weekly leads/metrics reviews; report what happened, why, what changed, and what support you need
• Partner with Factory Orchestration / Sidekick stakeholders to improve dashboards and information displays when current metrics don’t drive behavior

Qualifications

Required

• 3–7+ years leading teams in a fast-paced operations environment, with a strong preference for manufacturing / production / fulfillment / industrial operations
• Proven track record hitting output targets while maintaining safety and quality
• Strong people leadership: coaching, conflict management, accountability, and performance conversations
• Strong data orientation: you run a scoreboard, identify gaps, and drive actions to close them
• Ability to operate in ambiguity and build structure where it doesn’t exist yet
• Clear communicator who can escalate issues with crisp context and options

Nice to Have

• Experience with Lean / TWI / continuous improvement systems (daily management, standard work, 5S, kaizen)
• Experience building training and certification programs (“train the trainer,” sign-offs, skills matrices)
• Familiarity with tech-enabled operations (digital work instructions, dashboards, workflow tools)
• Construction / building experience (prefab/modular, wood framing, MEP, finishes, installation sequencing); helpful but not required

Ideal candidate profiles (examples)

• Experienced Area Manager / Supervisor from a high-velocity factory or fulfillment environment who can quickly learn the “product” (homes/modules)
• Lead / foreperson from prefab/modular or construction who has already adopted a metrics-driven daily management system (targets, standard work, CI cadence)

30 / 90 / 1 year outcomes

First 30 days

• Build trust and operating rhythm with Production, Ops Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing and adjacent area leaders
• Establish baseline area performance (throughput, minutes/SF, quality escapes/rework, safety, schedule reliability) and identify the top 3 constraints
• Stand up or tighten daily management: pre-shift planning, visual management, end-of-shift learning loop, and clear escalation paths
• Define the area scoreboard (targets vs actuals) and ensure it is visible and used consistently

First 90 days

• Deliver measurable performance lift against the primary constraint (cycle time, labor efficiency, quality escapes, or schedule attainment) with a repeatable CI mechanism behind it
• Implement a stable cross-training / rotation cadence that reduces single points of failure and burnout
• Improve standard work adherence and quality gating so repeat issues begin to decline
• Establish a reliable weekly cadence for reporting metrics, actions, and improvement progress

First year

• Your area consistently hits predictable throughput and efficiency with strong safety and quality performance
• The area runs a durable operating system (tiered daily management + CI cadence) that continues to improve without heroics
• Training/certification and standard work are mature enough to support hiring ramps and scaling to additional facilities

About the Role

The position is full-time, exempt, and based on-site in the greater Boston area.

Reframe Systems is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team.