Director, Field Service Operations (Industrial Equipment Support and Repair)

Position: Field Operations Director

Location: Candidates can be located in or around one of the following metro areas: Milwaukee WI, Charlotte NC, Atlanta GA, Chicago Il or Indianapolis Indiana.

Employment Type: Full time

Compensation: $140,000 – $160,000 bonus

Travel: 25% or less (after initial ramp up) occasional overnight trips as needed to HQ, RM reviews, Sales presentations to key accounts.

Manages Others: Yes, 7 direct reports and approximately 60 indirect reports

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field preferred; equivalent professional experience considered.

Required Experience: 10 years of progressive leadership experience within a billable‑hours field operations or service organization supporting automation, material handling, or integrated electro‑mechanical systems (e.g., conveyors, robotics, automated packaging, or similar technologies), including at least 5 years in a manager‑of‑managers capacity with responsibility for leading Regional Managers or equivalent leaders, driving performance, and developing teams across geographically distributed regions.

About This Opportunity:

The Field Operations Director is a senior operating leader responsible for driving consistent, high‑quality execution across national field operations supporting automation and material handling systems at customer sites. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, this role oversees field service delivery, installations, subcontracted technical work, and complex escalations for integrated mechanical, electrical, and automation solutions.

Field operations include service, maintenance, and installation support for conveyor systems, robotics, automated packaging equipment, material handling technologies, and related integrated systems operating in live customer environments.

This role is best suited for a hands‑on field operations leader who excels at partnering across Sales, Back Office, and Operations teams to drive reliable execution, reinforce accountability, and support Regional Managers through day‑to‑day operational challenges. Success in this role is defined by strong operational leadership, sound judgment, and the ability to translate organizational priorities into effective field execution across a geographically distributed organization.

What You’ll Do:

Field Operations Leadership & Execution

• Provide operational leadership for national field service and installation activities supporting automation and material handling systems, including service delivery, subcontracted technical work, and complex field escalations.
• Ensure consistent execution standards across regions, with a strong focus on safety, quality, responsiveness, and customer experience.
• Act as a primary escalation point for cross‑functional field issues requiring coordination between Operations, Sales, Engineering, and Back Office teams.
• Ensure field teams are appropriately skilled, equipped, and supported to service integrated mechanical, electrical, and automation systems operating in live customer environments.

Regional Management & Team Support

• Lead, coach, and mentor a team of Regional Managers responsible for frontline field operations.
• Support RM effectiveness through clear expectations, performance review cadence, and practical problem‑solving.
• Reinforce accountability for technician utilization, productivity, service responsiveness, and compliance with operational and safety standards.

Service Delivery & Customer Alignment

• Partner closely with Sales and National Accounts to align field capacity and service response with customer SLAs and contractual commitments.
• Support key customer interactions and service recovery efforts where field execution directly impacts satisfaction, retention, or contractual outcomes.
• Contribute to the development and oversight of subcontractor models and national service partner relationships supporting automation and material handling systems.

Operational Processes & Execution Enablement

• Support the refinement of field technician capability visibility and skill alignment to enable more effective dispatching, training coordination, and resource planning.
• Partner with Operations and Dispatch teams to improve service response workflows, balancing technician capability, geography, urgency, and customer service commitments.
• Reinforce consistent service documentation, work order closure, and operational handoff practices to support service quality, reporting accuracy, and billing consistency.
• Collaborate with Sales and Back Office teams to ensure field execution aligns with customer agreements, SLAs, and service expectations.
• Support adoption of evolving service systems and tools designed to improve dispatch efficiency, documentation standards, and operational visibility.

Performance Measurement & KPIs

• Monitor performance across key metrics including safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, utilization, and service‑related sales.
• Use operational data to identify trends, surface risks, and support informed decision‑making.
• Partner with leadership to ensure performance expectations are realistic, understood, and achievable within current operational systems.

Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Work collaboratively with Sales, Back Office, Operations, Engineering, and Systems teams to support field execution and remove operational barriers.
• Act as a stabilizing connector between field teams and internal stakeholders during periods of growth or operational change.

What You Bring:

Required Experience

• 10 years of progressive leadership experience within a billable‑hours field operations or service organization supporting automation, material handling, or integrated electro‑mechanical systems (e.g., conveyors, robotics, automated packaging, or similar technologies),
• 5 years in a manager‑of‑managers capacity with responsibility for leading Regional Managers or equivalent leaders, driving performance, and developing teams across geographically distributed regions.
• Demonstrated experience leading multi‑region or national field operations, balancing execution consistency, resource utilization, and customer service commitments.
• Strong background in service execution, technician utilization, escalation management, and SLA‑driven operating environments.
• Experience operating effectively in organizations where systems, processes, and operating models are still evolving, requiring judgment, adaptability, and practical leadership.

Leadership & Operating Skills

• Proven ability to lead through operational credibility, execution focus, and influence.
• Comfortable balancing hands‑on operational leadership with cross‑functional coordination.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to set expectations, reinforce accountability, and navigate competing priorities.
• Willingness to engage directly with field leaders, customers, and internal partners when needed to support execution.

Functional & Technical Knowledge

• Solid understanding of field service delivery models, preventive maintenance programs, service agreements, and customer SLAs within automation or material handling environments.
• Working knowledge of automation, material handling systems, robotics, conveyors, and integrated electro‑mechanical technologies.
• Familiarity with dispatch workflows, work order management, and field service documentation practices.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field preferred; equivalent professional experience considered.

In compliance with pay transparency requirements, the wage range for this role is $140,000 – $160,000/yr. The rate range provided is a general guideline. When extending an offer, Adaptec Solutions considers factors including, but not limited to experience and geographic location. Adaptec Solutions also offers a variety of benefits including generous paid time off (PTO), 11 paid company holidays including your birthday, generous health plans, dental and vision insurance, HSA/FSA accounts, generous 401(k) match and immediate vesting, short-term/long term disability coverage and basic life/AD&D insurance and education assistance.

Adaptec Solutions, LLC is an equal opportunity organization. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.