General Manager, Material Testing

Overview

Element has an opportunity for a General Manager to lead our Huntington Beach location. Reporting directly to the Division Director, the General Manager will have full profit and loss (P&L) accountability and act as the chief business leader for the site. This role requires a results-driven individual with a strong focus on financial performance, operational excellence, and workforce leadership to consistently drive performance beyond budgeted expectations.

This Southern California facility has been in operation since 1982, providing materials testing services and consulting for clients worldwide. The multidisciplinary staff and state-of-the-art high capacity laboratory support diverse quality requirements--from routine high-volume testing to complex materials analysis and failure investigations.

Element's Nadcap-accredited testing capabilities at Element Huntington Beach supply the base for quality control and product improvement in West Coast aerospace, military, nuclear, and medical manufacturing industries among others. Our specialists are frequently called upon to provide experts witness testimony and litigation support.

Salary: $175,000 – 250,000/ year DOE Management Bonus Plan 

Responsibilities

• Own and exceed financial performance targets, including revenue, EBITDA, working capital, and cash flow.
• Act as a business owner for the site, responsible for all strategic, operational, and financial outcomes.
• Lead development and execution of business plans to drive profitable growth, operational scalability, and long-term sustainability.
• Rigorously manage budgeting, forecasting, cost controls, and performance metrics to optimize margin and maximize value.
• Ensure operational efficiency and workforce productivity through proactive planning, resource allocation, and continuous improvement.
• Lead workforce planning and management, including hiring, scheduling, performance evaluation, and resource development.
• Build and foster a culture of safety, accountability, and respect, where employees feel valued, included, and empowered to perform at their best.
• Champion employee engagement and well-being, ensuring a positive and professional work environment that supports retention and morale.
• Invest in people development by identifying talent, providing meaningful feedback, and supporting training, career paths, and internal advancement opportunities.
• Cultivate strong relationships with key accounts while pursuing strategic growth opportunities in alignment with market and customer needs.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Quality, EHS, Finance, HR, Sales, and Technical teams to drive integrated success.
• Serve as a visible, values-based leader, representing the company with professionalism to employees, customers, partners, and community stakeholders.
• Ensure full compliance with Element policies and applicable local, state, and federal regulations.

Skills / Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (BA/BS) from an accredited 4-year college or university; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience, with a strong background in managing full P&L operations.
• Proven track record of driving profitability, improving EBITDA, and leading business turnarounds or expansions.
• Strong financial acumen with the ability to interpret data, drive strategic decision-making, and take action to maximize performance.
• Experience in workforce planning and managing labor productivity to meet business needs and financial targets.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to lead teams and influence outcomes across all levels.
• Strong organizational and conflict resolution skills; ability to identify root causes, solve problems quickly, and implement sustainable solutions.
• Knowledge of safety, quality, and compliance in an industrial or laboratory setting is a plus.
• Ability to organize the lab as a whole in line with the strategic, operational and technical goals of the entire company
• Strong organizational, problem-solving and conflict resolution skills to effectively establish and maintain two-way communications to understand the needs and concerns of all departments
• Ability to effectively provide managerial guidance to all staff on all functions within the lab

Company Overview

Element is one of the fastest growing testing, inspection and certification businesses in the world. Globally we have more than 9,000 brilliant minds operating from 270 sites across 30 countries. Together we share an ambitious purpose to ‘Make tomorrow safer than today’.

When failure in use is not an option, we help customers make certain that their products, materials, processes and services are safe, compliant and fit for purpose. From early R&D, through complex regulatory approvals and into production, our global laboratory network of scientists, engineers, and technologists support customers to achieve assurance over product quality, sustainable outcomes, and market access.

While we are proud of our global reach, working at Element feels like being part of a smaller company. We empower you to take charge of your career, and reward excellence and integrity with growth and development.

Industries across the world depend on our care, attention to detail and the absolute accuracy of our work. The role we have to play in creating a safer world is much bigger than our organization.

Diversity Statement

At Element, we always take pride in putting our people first. We are an equal opportunity employer that recognizes diversity and inclusion as fundamental to our Vision of becoming “the world’s most trusted testing partner”.

All suitably qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment on the basis of objective work related criteria and without regard for the following: age, disability, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, race, religion, responsibility of dependents, sexual orientation, or gender identity or other characteristics in accordance with the applicable governing laws or other characteristics in accordance with the applicable governing laws.

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c) 

“If you need an accommodation filling out an application, or applying to a job,  please email Recruitment@element.com”

Salary : $175,000