Production Supervisor, Cell Manufacturing

What to Expect

As Production Supervisor, you are the first-line leader on the trial floor: assign daily work, coach technicians through changing standard work, and own shift performance on safety, quality, and trial output. You will partner with Engineering, NPI, Quality, and Material Flow to close issues in real time. This is a hands-on role. Trial results inform whether a product is ready for factory introduction, so execution quality and feedback discipline matter as much as units completed.

Kato Road is where Tesla runs manufacturing trials for new product introduction — proving process, equipment, and build sequence before volume ramp at the factories.

What You’ll Do

• Lead a team of production technicians and associates through daily NPI trial builds — assign work, balance labor, coach in real time on build sequence, quality checks, 5S, and problem-solving, and hold the team to the trial plan

• Own shift-level safety, quality, and throughput — stop work when conditions are unsafe or out of standard and document incidents promptly

• Execute established trial processes and standard work, escalating gaps in process, parts, or equipment rather than inventing unapproved workarounds

• Track and communicate shift KPIs (safety, first-pass yield, units vs. plan, downtime) and run a structured shift handover

• Support Engineering and NPI during trials by capturing build issues, feeding back process observations, validating work instructions, and implementing engineering changes, new equipment, and updated work instructions

• Drive small, local process improvements in layout, sequencing, and visual controls that improve trial repeatability without changing product or process intent

• Partner with Quality and Material Flow to contain defects, confirm part readiness, and keep the trial line supplied while documenting trial execution, deviations, and operator feedback so downstream factories inherit a proven process

What You’ll Bring

• 2+ years of manufacturing, operations, or production leadership, or equivalent hands-on leadership of hourly technical teams, with proven ability to assign daily work, coach on process, and hold a team accountable to safety, quality, and output
• Comfortable operating in a changing NPI environment where product, process, and work instructions iterate frequently
• Working knowledge of standard manufacturing practices including 5S, standard work, layered audits, and basic problem-solving (5-Why / Pareto) Ability to follow work instructions, interpret quality data, and communicate issues clearly to Engineering and peer supervisors
• Strong floor presence and bias to action, spending the shift on the line with the team Flexibility to work the shifts required by trial schedules, including nights, weekends, and off-shift coverage
• Experience in automotive, electronics, battery, or high-mix prototype / NPI manufacturing