Director of Mixing & Compounding; Rubber

Director of Mixing & Compounding (Rubber)

The Director of Mixing & Compounding will oversee rubber production including milling & textile operations across two manufacturing plants with 200 total employees, 6-8 Direct Reports (Department Managers), responsible for safety, quality, delivery, and cost accountability, acting as leader for both operations.

Location
:
Columbia, MO (Relocation offered for candidates moving).

Compensation
: $175,000 - $210,000 base salary + 15% bonus.

Benefits
:
Medical, Dental, Vision, STD, LTD, 401k Match 6%, 3 weeks vacation, Tuition Assistance, etc.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership & Plant Management

• Hold full P&L, safety, quality, delivery, and cost accountability for both mixing and cord production sites, acting as the plant manager for each operation.
• Lead, develop, and hold accountable a team of 6-8 managers who in turn lead roughly 200 salaried and hourly employees across multiple shifts.
• Develop and execute annual operating plans, capital plans, and budgets; manage conversion cost, yield, scrap, rework, material variance, and overhead against targets.
• Balance production schedules and capacity across both sites to meet downstream Belt and Hose demand, optimizing changeovers, inventory, and material availability.
• Partner with the VP of Manufacturing, plant managers of downstream operations, supply chain, and commercial teams on demand planning, capacity strategy, and make-versus-buy decisions.
• Spend meaningful time on the floor at each site (approximately 30% travel), maintaining a visible presence on all shifts and engaging directly with operators and supervisors.

Compound Quality, Technology & Process Control

• Own end-to-end compound consistency, using rheology (Mooney, MDR/RPA), physical properties, and downstream processing and molding results as the measures of success.
• Reduce process variation through structured methods such as design of experiments (DOE), statistical process control, capability studies, and root cause analysis.
• Develop, standardize, and improve mixing programs (load order, ram pressure, rotor speed, mix time, dump temperature, energy-based and multi-stage mixing) for new and existing compounds, including EPDM, CR, HN , N , S , and .
• Oversee textile operations (cord unwinding, coating, and rewinding) and raw material handling, heating, and cooling to ensure consistent adhesion and reinforcement performance in finished belts and hoses.
• Lead cross-functional troubleshooting with chemists, the materials lab, process and manufacturing engineers, and downstream operations, leading investigations through disciplined experimentation.
• Establish a single, controlled system of work instructions, batch cards, and process parameters across both sites so that the same compound is produced the same way regardless of site, shift, or operator.
• Evaluate and recommend mixing equipment, automation, weighing/batching, and tooling options for current and new processes and products.

Mill: raw materials are received and handled, then weighed, mixed, heated, and cooled to produce uniform rubber compound for downstream belt and hose production.

Textiles: cord is carefully unwound, coated, and rewound to specification, giving finished products consistent strength and adhesion.

Safety, Compliance & Culture

• Champion a zero-harm safety culture, including lockout/tagout, machine guarding, mill nip and pinch-point hazards, hot surfaces, combustible dust, and chemical handling.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, environmental permitting, SDS requirements, and applicable customer, ISO/IATF, and corporate standards.
• Drive 5S, standardized work, and lean manufacturing practices; treat housekeeping as both a safety and a quality requirement.
• Build a culture of accountability in which following the documented process is the standard and deviations are surfaced openly.

Talent Development & Organizational Capability

• Build a bench of operators, leads, supervisors, and managers through structured training, skills matrices, cross-training, and succession planning.
• Set clear expectations, conduct performance reviews, and partner with HR on coaching, corrective action, recognition, and labor relations.
• Capture experienced operators' tribal knowledge and convert it to documented, teachable standards.
• Attract, hire, and retain top technical and operational talent in a competitive labor market.

Strategy & Continuous Improvement

• Work with the plant leadership and engineering leadership to define annual improvement initiatives, then…