A custom closet production manager runs manufacturing in the shop, where approved designs are cut, edged and drilled into parts, and answers for output, quality and safety. They plan capacity around the machines, set quality checks at each station, and run the safety program and injury records for shop and install staff.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building finishing contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $64,640, middle half $75,410 to $109,220, 90th percentile $145,470. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Chief Operating Officer
Department
Operations
Schedule
Weekdays, longer in peak periods · Standard shop hours, with extra hours and on-call time in peak production, and trips between the shop and install sites.
Also called
Plant manager · Manufacturing manager · Shop production manager · Director of manufacturing
Custom closet production manager job description template
This is our Role Blueprint, word for word. Replace the highlighted fields and adjust the example targets and pay to fit your company.
On-Time Delivery: Achieve on-time project completion for 95% of orders.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Business, or a related field.
Minimum 3 years of experience in manufacturing management.
Strong leadership and team management capabilities.
Excellent communication and problem-solving skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the custom closets or home services industry.
Background in lean manufacturing or continuous improvement processes.
Proven record in quality control and regulatory compliance.
Hands-on experience in both shop floor and on-site production settings.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs and work in a physically active shop environment.
Standing or walking for prolonged periods during shifts.
Ability to work in environments with varying temperatures and confined spaces.
Capability to safely operate production machinery.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours with additional hours during peak production periods.
Occasional travel between the shop and on-site locations as required.
On-call duties during critical production periods may be expected.
Fast-paced, collaborative, and safety-focused work environment.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Base salary range: $65,000 - $85,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
Performance-based bonus structure aligned to production and quality targets.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company is committed to excellence, innovation, and growth while fostering an inclusive environment where every team member is empowered to achieve their full potential. We value collaboration, transparency, and a forward-thinking approach that turns challenges into opportunities and builds lasting success.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
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In most trades this title schedules crews on job sites. In a closet company it runs a small factory, and a mistake made there may not surface until it's in a customer's home.
Built in the shop or on site
Each closet company decides how much leaves the shop already put together. Drawer boxes with slides fitted, pre-hung doors and assembled wall bed cabinets save install hours and get checked under good light. They also take more truck space and are easier to damage on the way. The production manager draws that line product by product, and moves it when remakes or install times show it's in the wrong place.
The slowest machine sets the pace
The shop's output is capped by whichever station falls behind, whether that's the panel saw, the CNC router or the edgebander. Measure capacity in machine hours, not head count, and keep the slowest station fed first. Planned upkeep, spare tooling and a trained backup operator protect it, since a day down there pushes back every install that depends on it.
Quality is checked at each station
A bad part caught at the saw costs a sheet; caught in a customer's closet, it costs a remake trip. Put checks where defects start: the first part after any program or tooling change, edge band that lifts or chips, holes drilled off their line, and labels that don't match the order. Log each defect by station, so the cause gets fixed and not only the part.
Freestanding pieces can fall under the tip-over rule
CPSC's clothing storage unit rule leaves out built-in units meant to be permanently attached to the building. A freestanding dresser, chest or loose island your shop builds to hold clothing may be covered if it has drawers or doors, stands at least 27 inches tall, and meets the rule's weight and storage size floors. Covered pieces must pass stability tests, carry warning labels, ship with an anti-tip device and have a certificate of compliance. Check before you sell one. Source: CPSC: Clothing storage units business guidance.
Injury logs cover installers too
Under OSHA's recordkeeping rule, most companies with more than ten employees keep an injury log at each location that will operate for at least a year. When an installer is hurt inside a house, the case is logged at the shop or branch where they usually work. The yearly summary stays posted between February 1 and April 30. Sites in construction or manufacturing with 20 to 249 workers file it online by March 2, and some furniture and cabinet makers with 100 or more file the full log too. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR Part 1904, recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses.
How much custom closet production managers make
The closest BLS group for custom closet production managers is industrial production managers. Industrial production managers who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $89,490 a year ($43.02 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $126,060 median for industrial production managers in all industries. About 270 of the 246,250 industrial production managers in that survey work for building finishing contractors.
Salary plus a bonus on production and quality results, per the template. This page uses BLS figures for industrial production managers, because the job runs a factory floor rather than job sites. Weigh remakes the shop caused as heavily as output in the bonus, so speed never beats quality.
Building finishing contractors
$89,490$89,490 median Middle half $75,410–$109,220 10th–90th $64,640–$145,470
All industries
$126,060$126,060 median Middle half $98,160–$161,880 10th–90th $78,000–$205,520
$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k$200k$225k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building finishing contractors
$64,640
$75,410
$89,490
$109,220
$145,470
All industries
$78,000
$98,160
$126,060
$161,880
$205,520
BLS doesn’t publish pay for closet companies on their own. These figures cover building finishing contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has managed a cabinet, closet, millwork or furniture shop floor
Plans output around the slowest machine and its upkeep
Builds quality checks that find the cause of a defect, not only the bad part
Runs a safety program, an injury log and incident reviews
Settles problems with designers and installers without blame
Teach these on the job
Your design program and how its files reach the CNC router
Each machine's service history and vendors
Your remake codes and the operations manager's log
Which products leave the shop assembled
Your injury log and how incidents get reported
The production manager works from the shop's cutting schedule, machine status and maintenance records, plus the remake log the operations manager keeps. A board or screen at each station showing today's orders and defects lets the floor and the office work from one plan.
Custom closet production manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Remakes
Remakes have climbed this month. What do you do?
A strong answer: Logs each remake by cause such as design, measuring, cutting or damage, finds the biggest source and fixes it with the right team.
Behavioral · Leading shop staff
Tell me about a time you improved shop output without adding people.
A strong answer: Names a specific change, such as nesting, setup time or part flow, and measured output before and after.
Track these for a few months before setting targets, and keep defects caught in the shop on a separate line from those found on install.
Production Efficiency
Hours the machines actually cut, edged and drilled, divided by the hours they were staffed and available, for the whole shop and for its slowest station. Log downtime by cause.
Quality Rating
Defective parts, found in the shop or on install, divided by parts made. Break the count down by station and by cause, such as a program error, worn tooling or handling.
Safety Compliance
The share of safety-walk findings in the shop and on install sites closed by their due date, read beside the injury log and near-miss reports.
On-Time Delivery
Orders cut, edged, kitted and staged complete by the date operations needs them, out of all orders due. An order missing one part counts as late.
Career path
Machine operatorRuns the router or edgebander and learns the quality checks.
Shop managerKeeps the saws busy and every order staged on time.
Production managerOwns output, quality and safety for the whole shop.
Does a closet production manager need lean training?
The template lists lean or continuous improvement as a plus, and it fits a closet shop well. Ask finalists for one change they made and what it did: a cleaner layout around the edgebander, standard steps at the drilling station, or less waiting between machines. Someone who can name the before and after numbers has done the work.
How much does a custom closet production manager make?
Industrial production managers who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $89,490 a year ($43.02 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $75,410 and $109,220 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What should a closet production manager report each week?
Output against plan, defects by station and cause, remakes the shop caused, downtime by machine, and any injuries or near misses. Add how many days of approved orders are waiting to be cut. The COO and operations manager need that last number to set the lead times designers give customers.
What must a closet shop do after a serious injury?
Call or file online with OSHA fast. A worker's death on the job has an 8-hour deadline. For an in-patient hospital stay, a lost eye or an amputation, which includes losing a fingertip at the saw, the deadline is 24 hours. Small companies that skip the injury log still have to report. A state with its own OSHA plan can add to these rules.
What physical work should a closet production manager ad mention?
The tasks behind the template's lines: hours on a concrete shop floor, lifting parts and boxes as heavy as 50 pounds, running and checking the machines, a building that swings between cold and warm with the seasons, and tight spaces at install sites. Add that you'll consider reasonable accommodation.
