What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director Of Automotive Upfit position at Pennsylvania Life?
Description
Director Of Automotive Upfit
This role owns the end-to-end performance of Spiffy's Van Factory—our physical production engine for mobile service. The Director is accountable for throughput, quality, cost, scalability of all upfit operations, including dealer vans and proprietary device assembly with some hands on mechanical assistance if needed.
This is not a shop manager role. This is a production leader responsible for building a repeatable, high-quality manufacturing system that can scale from 10–15 vans/month today to 30 vans/month with consistent margins and delivery timelines.
The ideal candidate brings hands-on automotive mechanical experience—someone who has worked on vehicles at a technical level, understands how they're built and modified, and can credibly lead a team of skilled technicians from the shop floor up.
What does success look like in the first 12 months of this role?
Director Of Automotive Upfit
This role owns the end-to-end performance of Spiffy's Van Factory—our physical production engine for mobile service. The Director is accountable for throughput, quality, cost, scalability of all upfit operations, including dealer vans and proprietary device assembly with some hands on mechanical assistance if needed.
This is not a shop manager role. This is a production leader responsible for building a repeatable, high-quality manufacturing system that can scale from 10–15 vans/month today to 30 vans/month with consistent margins and delivery timelines.
The ideal candidate brings hands-on automotive mechanical experience—someone who has worked on vehicles at a technical level, understands how they're built and modified, and can credibly lead a team of skilled technicians from the shop floor up.
What does success look like in the first 12 months of this role?
- Increase production capacity from ~15 ? 25 vans/month
- Reduce labor hours per van by 15–25%
- Achieve >95% on-time delivery
- Reduce rework/defects by 50%
- Establish fully documented, repeatable build process
- Mechanical Experience
- At least 5 years working experience as an Automotive Mechanic with a strong understanding of vehicle systems and components
- Proficiency in using diagnostic equipment and specialized tools.
- In-depth knowledge of automotive repair and maintenance techniques
- Production & Throughput
- Deliver 10–15 vans/month with a clear path to 25–30 vans/month without degradation in quality or margin
- Own production scheduling, labor planning, and capacity modeling
- Implement standardized build processes, time standards, and work instructions
- Quaility & Standardization
- Establish and enforce a factory-level quality system (checklists, QA gates, sign-offs)
- Drive zero-rework culture; track defects per build and continuously reduce
- Ensure every van meets Spiffy brand, safety, and dealer delivery standards
- Cost & Margin Ownership
- Own upfit P&L: labor efficiency, materials cost, vendor pricing, and waste reduction
- Drive continuous improvement in unit economics (target: cost per van down, margin up)
- Manage vendor relationships and negotiate pricing for key component
- Iventory & Supply Chain
- Build a reliable inventory and procurement system (no stockouts, no excess)
- Improve logistics: vehicle intake, staging, build flow, and outbound delivery
- Implement basic MRP-style discipline appropriate for current scale
- Device Assembly & Light Manufacturing
- Oversee assembly of proprietary Spiffy devices
- Standardize assembly processes and ensure consistent quality/output
- Integrate device production into overall factory workflow
- Team Leadership
- Lead and develop a 5-person team (mechanics inventory/logistics)
- Build a high-accountability culture with clear daily/weekly production targets
- Hire and scale team as throughput increases
- Systems & Continuous Improvement
- Implement lean manufacturing principles (5S, visual management, flow optimization)
- Establish KPIs and operating cadence:
- Vans completed per week/month
- Labor hours per van
- Defect/rework rate
- On-time delivery
- Cost per unit
- Drive ongoing process improvements that enable scale without adding linear headcount
- Executive & Dealer Interface
- Serve as the operational face of the factory to internal leadership and key dealer partners
- Provide clear production forecasts, delivery timelines, and issue escalation
- 5 years in automotive operations, upfit, manufacturing, or production environments
- 3 years leading teams in a production or shop setting
- Demonstrated ownership of output metrics (throughput, quality, cost)
- Strong operational discipline with ability to build structure where it doesn’t exist
- Financial fluency: understands unit economics, labor efficiency, and cost drivers
- High accountability leader—sets targets and consistently delivers
- Direct experience in vehicle upfitting, fleet builds, or specialty vehicles
- Experience scaling production from small batch to repeatable volume
- Lean manufacturing or Six Sigma exposure
- Experience working with dealer or OEM programs
- Familiarity with light manufacturing or assembly environments