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Manager Operations Engineering

Generac · Belvidere, IL · $119,300–$178,000 a year · Full time

Posted Aug 18, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Walk me through a process improvement initiative you led on a plant floor, from spotting the problem to seeing the results.

What they are checking: whether the candidate has actually driven continuous improvement work end to end, not just supported it

Tell me about a time you had to hit a safety goal that seemed out of reach. What did you change and what happened?

What they are checking: track record of actually moving safety metrics, not just talking about safety culture

Tell me about a time you had to defend a resource or budget request to keep a project moving. How did you make the case?

What they are checking: comfort working within budget and staffing constraints while still delivering results

Tell me about a decision you made that you knew wouldn't be popular with your team but that you believed was right for the business.

What they are checking: willingness to make and own unpopular calls rather than avoid conflict

Describe a time you had to develop or turn around an underperforming member of your engineering or operations team.

What they are checking: people management and development skills, since this role leads facility resources directly

What would you do

Say you inherit a facility where recordable injury rates are above the National Safety Council average for similar operations. What's your first 90 days look like?

What they are checking: ability to prioritize and build a credible improvement plan rather than list generic safety slogans

You've got two facility priorities competing for the same engineering team's time this week, one is a customer commitment and one is an internal KPI target. How do you decide?

What they are checking: judgment under competing pressures and ability to protect customer outcomes

How do you translate a SMART goal from the director level down into something a shift supervisor can actually act on?

What they are checking: ability to cascade strategic goals into operational execution

If you found out midway through a process improvement rollout that the data behind your original plan was wrong, what would you do?

What they are checking: intellectual honesty and ability to course-correct without losing momentum or credibility with the team

About the work

How do you apply lean manufacturing principles day to day, and can you give an example where lean tools directly changed an outcome on the floor?

What they are checking: depth of hands-on lean experience versus buzzword familiarity

Describe your experience acting as a super user in Epicor or SAP. What kinds of issues did people come to you with?

What they are checking: real system fluency versus surface-level exposure to the ERP tools this role depends on

How do you go about synchronizing material, product, and information flow across a value chain when one part of it is consistently the bottleneck?

What they are checking: understanding of demand-driven and flow-based operations thinking, not just textbook knowledge

What financial measures do you track regularly in an operations role, and how have you used them to justify a change on the floor?

What they are checking: genuine fluency with cost, efficiency, and financial tradeoffs rather than just engineering metrics

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The full job description

As published by Generac.

We believe power is a promise - a shared commitment to be there for others when it matters most. For more than 65 years, we've turned big ideas into solutions that help protect homes, strengthen businesses and build a more resilient, efficient, sustainable energy future. Ready to Power a Smarter World with us? Work with the leader in the power industry! Our new office in Belvidere, IL is seeking an Operations Engineering Manager. The Operations Engineering Manager is responsible for providing leadership to ensure ongoing process improvement initiatives that deliver excellence across entire value chain. This role is responsible for coordinating and leading facility resources and employees to meet or exceed company business objectives. The Operations Engineering Manager will organize strategic initiatives and utilize enterprise standards. This position reports directly to the Operations Director. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: • Oversees, directs and assigns activities and responsibilities that ensure the highest level of operating standards regarding facility appearance/cleanness/orderliness and Environmental, Health and Safety • Drives facility operations priorities to meet or exceed customer expectations, meet goals identified through SMART goal deployment, achieve KPI’s and maximize employee contribution and development. • Ensures ongoing success of process improvement initiatives by implementing policies, procedures and process documentation. • Deploys demand driven principals and strategies that supports operational excellence and long range plans. (Flexibility, Speed & Responsiveness) • Ensures product, material and information streams flow and are synchronized to produce maximum efficiencies and lowest cost of operation. • Responsible for creation of innovative ideas to improve business results. • Responsible for creating a safe and healthy work environment by establishing practices, policies and initiatives that allow us to surpass the National Safety Council average for Recordable Injuries and Lost Work Days when compared to companies with similar operations. • Evaluates situations objectively and demonstrates the ability to make decisions that are intended to have a positive impact on work performance or area and the total business. • Organizes and prioritizes work assignment to complete assignments/tasks on time, with quality, and has the ability to anticipate problem areas in advance. Applies creative problem approaches and ideas to solve problems for area of responsibility. • Accountable for defining resource needs and works within budget and staffing parameters to accomplish objectives for area of responsibility. • Act as Epicore or SAP Super User within functional area as assigned. Minimum Qualifications: • Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Business or Industrial Technology OR 8 years related experience in the Operations function within a similar working environment; • 5 years of progressive Engineering management experience in similar work environment. • Demonstrated understanding of financial measurements and goals; • Demonstrated understanding and application of lean manufacturing principles; • Effective verbal and written communication skills; • Strong project leadership skills; Physical Demands : While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear; and use hands to manipulate objects or controls. The employee is regularly required to stand and walk. On occasion the incumbent may be required to stoop, bend or reach above the shoulders. The employee must occasionally lift up to 25 - 50 pounds. Specific conditions of this job are typical of frequent and continuous computer-based work requiring periods of sitting, close vision and ability to adjust focus. Occasional travel. Generac is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices . The salary range for this role based in Belvidere, IL is $ 119,300 - $ 178,000 USD . This compensation will ultimately be in line with the location in which the position is filled . Final compensation for this role will be determined by various factors such as a candidate’s relevant work experience, skills, certifications and geographic location . This role is eligible for variable compensation including short-term and long-term incentives. This position includes a comprehensive benefit package that includes medical, dental and vision plans; life, long-term disability, flexible spending and health savings accounts, accrued paid time off, 8 paid Holidays and 401(k) retirement benefits . “We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.”

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