Plant Director – Aerospace Manufacturing

Location: Arkansas
Employment: Full-Time | Permanent | On-Site
Industry: Aerospace / Advanced Manufacturing

We’re partnering confidentially with an established aerospace manufacturing organization seeking an accomplished Plant Director to lead a large, complex manufacturing operation in Arkansas.

This is a senior site leadership mandate with responsibility for approximately 300 employees across multiple facilities
, with broad accountability for operational performance, people leadership, financial results, quality, delivery, productivity, and continuous improvement.

The operation is entering an important period of growth and transformation. We’re looking for a manufacturing leader who can strengthen operational discipline, develop the leadership team, improve performance, and build the organizational capability required for the next stage of growth.

The successful leader will be equally comfortable on the manufacturing floor and at the executive table.

• Lead overall performance and day-to-day manufacturing operations

• Lead, coach, and develop the site's management team

• Establish clear priorities, KPIs, operating rhythms, and accountability

• Align people, capacity, processes, and resources with production and customer requirements

• Partner across Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, HR, Finance, IT, Sales, and executive leadership

Own and improve performance across:

• Safety

• Quality

• On-time delivery

• Productivity and throughput

• Manufacturing cost and efficiency

• Inventory

• Customer commitments

Identify operational bottlenecks, strengthen performance management, and implement sustainable improvements throughout the operation.

• Lead operational transformation and continuous improvement initiatives

• Strengthen standardization, accountability, and execution

• Apply Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma principles

• Identify opportunities for automation and manufacturing modernization

• Improve processes, systems, and operating discipline

• Build the capacity required to support future growth

This role carries meaningful responsibility for the financial performance of the operation.

• Own and influence site-level P&L performance

• Develop and manage operating budgets

• Review financial performance and key variances

• Manage headcount, operating expenses, productivity, and capital requirements

• Make operational decisions with a clear understanding of their impact on cost, margin, cash, and business performance

• Build a high-performance culture centered on accountability and execution

• Maintain a visible leadership presence on the manufacturing floor

• Develop managers and strengthen leadership succession

• Partner with HR on workforce planning, organizational development, and employee relations

• Operate effectively within a unionized manufacturing environment

• Progressive leadership experience within complex manufacturing operations

• Experience leading managers and multidisciplinary operational teams

• Strong plant/site leadership capability

• Strong understanding of P&L, budgeting, manufacturing costs, productivity, and financial performance

• Demonstrated success improving manufacturing performance

• Experience leading through growth, transformation, integration, or organizational change

• Experience with in a unionized manufacturing environment

• Strong executive communication and decision-making ability

• Hands-on leadership style with strong shop-floor credibility

• Aerospace and/or defense manufacturing

• Large-site manufacturing leadership

• Lean Manufacturing / Six Sigma

• AS9100 or comparable…