Job Description
Job Description
Position Production Manager Reports to Management Team; accountable to the Collective (Board of Directors)
Hours 40 hours per week,
on-site in Santa Cruz, California Classification
Union position -PPPW membership, with company-paid dues and initiation fee Compensation Benefits $25 to $31.50 per hour plus overtime
Target start Full medical, dental and vision (Kaiser, Dental, VSP); 28 days paid time off; 8 paid holidays; 401(k) with 2.31% employer contribution Contact October 1 – November 30, 2026 (Position is available now): with overlap and training from the outgoing Production Manager
Company is a Print shop mid-size offset, digital, wide format printing and bindery, packaging and fulfillment company with deep relationships in the Santa Cruz Community and around the country.
Required
▪ Substantial commercial print production and/or production management experience in a related field — typically five or more years — including experience leading or supervising others. We will consider a strong trainee candidate with less tenure who demonstrates the work ethic, judgment, organizational skills and tech background the role requires.
▪ Working knowledge of digital operations, production equipment, and the ability to make sound capability and capacity decisions.
▪ Knowledge of offset, finishing and bindery operations and related equipment a plus.
▪ Knowledge of paper types and sizes. Ability to assess appropriate substitutions when necessary.
▪ Demonstrated fluency with a print MIS — Pace/ePS, PrintIQ or comparable — including job costing, estimating, order entry, report production and analysis.
▪ Proven ability to schedule mixed technologies against competing deadlines and to keep commitments to customers.
▪ Ability to read production data and act on it, rather than managing by impression alone.
▪ Clear communication and a collaborative leadership style. This shop responds to explanation and respect; it does not respond to command and control.
▪ Willingness to work within a union contract and a worker-collective governance structure, including bringing significant decisions to the Collective.