Illusion Production Manager

About the position

Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) is the master planning, creative design, engineering, production, project management, and research and development arm of Disney's Parks and Resorts business segment. Representing more than 150 disciplines, its experienced teams of Imagineers are managing the creation of Disney resorts, theme parks and attractions, hotels, water parks, real estate developments, regional entertainment venues, cruise ships and new media technology projects. The Show Systems studio is where we produce, make, and build the magic. Our processes and tool sets take us from concept design or mock-ups all the way through to full-on production, assembly, and installation. Our Production team plays a vital role in this process by leading the manufacturing phase of our project across a variety of disciplines and methods, ensuring that our products meet the highest standards of quality while maintaining schedules and budgets.

Responsibilities

• Primarily responsible for leading the Production teams focused on the fabrication and mechanical & electrical assembly of Audio-Animatronics figures.
• Lead the charge to build a culture of continuous improvement within the team, constantly identifying and actioning opportunities to improve quality, efficiency, and cost.
• Partner closely with mechanical and electrical engineering leaders to build relationships across organizations to foster standard practices, collaboration and feedback between groups.
• Work cross-functionally between engineering, procurement, scheduling, and project management teams to communicate progress and develop/maintain schedules for all of the projects supported by the Show Systems studio.
• Support the financial performance of the organization by developing and executing systems for project estimating, cost forecasting & tracking, and communicating earned value.
• Engage in the early stages of product development to provide guidance and steer on the feasibility, cost, and risk of designs from a production perspective.
• Mentor and coach direct reports in their career growth by developing and facilitating a structure for cross-training both internal and external to production.

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of experience directly leading production and/or manufacturing engineering teams in a low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environment.
• Strong leadership fundamentals, able to positively motivate and influence a team to produce the best results possible.
• Able to provide effective feedback, coaching, and mentorship to cast members at all experience levels.
• Demonstrated experience in a collaborative and innovative work environment, able to communicate and collaborate with individuals and leaders across multiple technical disciplines both within and outside the organization.
• Deep knowledge of traditional and emerging manufacturing techniques, able to steer discussion and decision-making regarding production of various mechanical and electrical components/assemblies.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to think creatively.
• Demonstrated experience of driving significant change into a manufacturing organization.
• Basic familiarity with analysis techniques and tools used to compile and communicate data across disciplines (i.e. Microsoft Excel, SQL, Tableau, etc.).

Nice-to-haves

• Strong familiarity supporting the design and production of new products, able to offer guidance and perspective during the design process as it relates to quality, cost and/or risk in the production process.
• Direct experience managing procurement and/or production control teams, ability to independently plan, schedule, analyze, and lead the execution of multi-year projects across a variety of value streams.
• Experience with establishing and driving adoption of effective standards for production performance, including safety, quality, delivery and cost.

Benefits

• Health and savings benefits
• Educational opportunities
• Special extras that only Disney can provide