Plant Manager

Director of Operations (Site Leader – Manufacturing Facility)

Position Overview

A rapidly scaling manufacturer of advanced industrial cooling and thermal management systems is seeking a Director of Operations (Site Leader) to lead a high-growth manufacturing operation with full ownership of manufacturing, supply chain, and warehouse functions.

This role is designed for a leader currently operating at—or ready to step into—the scope of a $100M manufacturing site. The Director of Operations will have broad authority to shape operational strategy, scalability, and execution while driving immediate performance improvements.

The ideal candidate will build a disciplined, scalable operating model capable of supporting significant growth while improving cost, quality, delivery, productivity, and throughput.

This is a highly visible leadership role with the opportunity to build a best-in-class manufacturing operation in a rapidly growing environment.

Key Responsibilities

Full Site Leadership

• Own end-to-end site performance across safety, quality, delivery, and cost
• Lead manufacturing, supply chain, and warehouse operations as an integrated organization
• Establish performance expectations, accountability, and operating discipline across all functions
• Serve as the site leader, setting pace, priorities, and execution standards

Build & Scale Operations

• Design and implement systems and operating structures to support a $100M manufacturing operation
• Build scalable processes, management routines, and operational discipline to improve consistency and predictability
• Develop capacity planning strategies aligned with aggressive growth objectives
• Lead capital planning and investments focused on throughput, efficiency, and return on investment

Drive Operational Performance

• Improve on-time delivery, schedule adherence, and production reliability
• Increase throughput without proportional increases in cost
• Improve labor productivity and operational cost efficiency
• Identify and eliminate bottlenecks, constraints, and inefficiencies

Supply Chain & Material Flow

• Develop and optimize a production-aligned supply chain strategy
• Improve material planning, availability, and supplier coordination
• Optimize inventory accuracy, inventory turns, and working capital performance
• Oversee warehouse operations to ensure efficient flow from receiving through shipping

Continuous Improvement & Industrial Engineering

• Lead continuous improvement and industrial engineering initiatives as core performance drivers
• Implement Lean manufacturing principles focused on measurable business outcomes
• Establish structured problem-solving and root cause analysis processes
• Reduce Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ), including scrap, rework, and inefficiencies

Leadership & Team Development

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing leadership team
• Strengthen organizational capability through coaching, talent development, and succession planning
• Upgrade talent where necessary to support operational scale and performance
• Foster a culture of accountability, urgency, safety, and execution

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Engineering to improve manufacturability and support new product introduction (NPI)
• Align production with commercial demand and supply chain planning
• Ensure operational commitments are realistic, executable, and consistently delivered

Safety & Quality

• Champion a safety-first culture with zero tolerance for unsafe practices
• Drive quality improvements, process capability, and operational consistency
• Ensure systems, standards, and procedures are implemented and followed

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Supply Chain, or a related field required

Experience

• 12–20 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience
• Demonstrated success leading large-scale manufacturing operations ($100M preferred)
• Minimum 5 years of full site leadership/ownership experience
• Experience leading manufacturing, supply chain, and warehouse operations
• Proven ability to:
• Build scalable operational structure in evolving environments
• Drive measurable operational and financial performance improvements
• Experience in high-growth or scaling environments strongly preferred
• Experience supervising heavy industrial manufacturing operations preferred

Desired Leadership Traits

• Operates as a business leader, not solely a functional leader
• Builder mindset with the ability to create systems, structure, and teams
• Strong operator who drives disciplined execution and measurable results
• Hands-on, visible, and engaged on the manufacturing floor
• High accountability and ownership mentality
• Pragmatic, data-driven, and results-oriented

Success Metrics (KPIs)

• On-time delivery and schedule adherence
• Labor productivity and cost performance
• Throughput and capacity utilization
• Inventory accuracy, turns, and working capital
• Warehouse efficiency and shipping performance
• Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ)
• Leadership team performance, retention, and succession readiness