Senior Director Manufacturing Operations

We’re recruiting for a client with a global manufacturing capability. The company is seeking a Director / VP Level Professional to lead teams responsible for manufacturing Operations, New product launches and operational performance across large contract manufacturing sites.

In addition to managing the Contract Manufacturing Sites...the scope covers the full path to production:
Preparing Site Management Team from Plant Managers down, preparing suppliers and components, confirming capable manufacturing processes, bringing automation into operations and ensuring team is holding ramp to volume. Once products are in production, the focus continues on OEE, quality, capacity and delivery.

Location is flexible, with approximately 20% of time spent at one of their locations - IN or NC or CA or TX and balance effort requires 30% travel.

Lead manufacturing teams and partners through launch preparation, production ramp and ongoing operations.

Key responsibilities include:

• Establish readiness across the manufacturing supply chain, from component suppliers through final assembly, with clear milestones and ownership.
• Assess whether materials, tooling, equipment, processes and staffing are ready to support planned production volumes.
• Work with engineering, quality, supply chain and manufacturing partners to close readiness gaps before they affect the launch schedule.
• Manage the operational impact of design changes, component variability, equipment delays and shifting volume requirements.
• Lead automation improvements that deliver reliable production performance and can be supported by site teams.
• Use overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) to identify losses, prioritize corrective actions and verify sustained improvements.
• Address capacity and delivery constraints across suppliers and manufacturing sites, including recovery plans when performance falls short.
• Build consistent operating practices across global sites while responding to the specific needs of each operation.

• 15+ years of experience leading manufacturing and operations teams
  , with increasing responsibility for people, production operations and results.
• Experience leading teams and experts (Engineers, SME's - Subject Matter Experts, Quality, SQE's, & others) through high volume launch processes (consumer electronics experience is a huge plus),from development builds through production ramp and sustained operations.
• Experience evaluating the full contract manufacturing supply chain, including component suppliers, incoming-part quality and availability, tooling, equipment and process readiness.
• A record of proactively resolving supplier capacity constraints, component issues, manufacturing process limitations and delivery impediments ahead of production.
• Solid understanding of Manufacturing & Process Engineering along with a track record of managing subject matter experts brought into the launch process.
• Strong experience introducing manufacturing automation into production, including equipment qualification, ramp support and ongoing performance improvement.
• Demonstrated improvements in OEE, supported by measurable gains in availability, performance and quality.
• Experience leading teams across large contract manufacturing sites and securing follow-through from partners outside the direct reporting structure.
• Sound judgment when balancing launch timing, quality, capacity and cost, with the ability to explain issues clearly and bring teams to a decision.
• Availability for the headquarters presence and travel outlined above.

Relevant experience we need to establish a fit includes is the right manufacturing operations experience, a sophisticated understand of automation, global manufacturing operations challenges, understanding of high volume manufacturing, new product introduction (NPI) processes, supplier readiness, contract manufacturing, capacity planning, production ramp and OEE.