Director Operations III

Overview

The US Operations Director III is a senior manufacturing leadership role with enterprise accountability for the performance, strategic direction, and operational excellence of multiple manufacturing facilities across the United States.

• Manufacturing Leadership:
  Provide strategic and operational leadership for multiple U.S. manufacturing plants, ensuring consistent execution, strong governance, and alignment to corporate objectives.
• Strategy Execution & Performance Management:
  Develop and lead the execution of manufacturing strategies that drive continuous improvement in operational performance, employee engagement, environmental health and safety, sustainability, quality, and supply‑chain effectiveness.
• Operational Excellence & Lean Transformation:
  Champion scalable, standardised manufacturing operating models and global lean initiatives. Ensure plants become leaders in lean manufacturing and quality systems, driving measurable improvements in productivity, throughput, and overall manufacturing effectiveness.
• Financial Stewardship:
  Maintain rigorous oversight of financial and operational performance to ensure achievement of profit‑plan expectations, including management of incremental and decremental performance. Lead cost‑reduction initiatives and disciplined capital‑investment planning.
• Cross‑Functional Alignment:
  Partner with commercial, product‑management, and enterprise‑operations leaders to ensure manufacturing strategies support market demand, customer satisfaction, and on‑time delivery performance while reducing past‑due shipments.
• Talent & Organizational Capability Development:
  Build strong leadership pipelines and operational capability through targeted employee development programs, succession planning, and cultural reinforcement of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Governance, Compliance &
  
  Risk Management:
  
  Ensure full compliance with all corporate policies, regulatory requirements, and local laws while proactively managing operational risk across all reporting plants.
• External Benchmarking & Thought Leadership:
  Continuously strengthen organisational capability through industry benchmarking and active participation in relevant professional and industry forums.

Up to 30% travel required.

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing operations or plant‑management experience.
• 5+ years of senior leadership experience overseeing and influencing performance across multiple manufacturing locations.

• Demonstrated success leading multi‑site manufacturing organisations.
• Strong track record in strategic process design and enterprise deployment.
• Deep expertise in Operational Excellence, including cross‑functional integration.
• Lean / Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
• Advanced capability in goal deployment, strategic planning, and organisational transformation.
• Broad technical knowledge across manufacturing management, supply‑chain, and quality systems.
• Proven ability to lead, influence, and align senior cross‑functional stakeholders.

Annual Salary Range: $169,700 – 227,1000. Actual salaries will vary based on several factors including, but not limited to, applicable work experience, training, education, and performance.

Annual incentive plan based on performance and company growth.

Long‑Term Incentive (LTI) Plan.

• Health benefits.
• Retirement plan (401k).
• Paid time away.
• Paid leaves (including paid parental leave).
• More comprehensive benefits as part of Donaldson’s competitive total rewards package.

Not available. Applicants for this position must be currently and legally authorised to work in the United States without the need for current or future sponsorship (e.g., H‑1B, J‑1, F‑1, CPT, OPT, etc.). Donaldson will not offer immigration sponsorship or assume sponsorship of an employment visa for this position. International relocation or remote work arrangements outside of the U.S. will not be considered.

Donaldson Company is an equal opportunity employer, including Disability and Veterans Employment opportunities for positions in the United States. These positions may require the use of information which is subject to the export control regulations of the United States. Hiring decisions for such positions are required by law to be made in compliance with these regulations. Applicants for employment opportunities in other countries must be able to meet the comparable export control requirements of that country and of the United States.

Donaldson Company helps solve some of the world's most complex filtration and contamination control challenges and is one of the largest global providers of unique filtration technologies and high‑quality filters and parts.…