Director of Operations

Key Responsibilities

• Set and execute the operating strategy for Medium Voltage Switchgear, Integrated Products, and Small Panels.
• Align production, capacity, labor, scheduling, materials flow, maintenance, and support priorities with business objectives and customer commitments.
• Translate backlog and forecasted demand into practical labor, equipment, facility, material, and production capacity plans.
• Lead critical customer deliverables, production recovery plans, new-product introductions, and major internal initiatives.
• Provide timely operational updates, risk assessments, and recovery plans to the Vice President of Operations and Executive Leadership Team.
• Champion a culture where safety is a core operating value and leadership responsibility.
• Improve safety performance through hazard reduction, employee engagement, and proactive risk mitigation.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory, internal, and customer requirements, including OSHA, ISO, UL, and product-specific quality standards.
• Drive root-cause analysis and corrective action for nonconformances, defects, and recurring operational issues.
• Maintain readiness for customer audits, regulatory reviews, certifications, and changing compliance requirements.
• Build a continuous-improvement culture grounded in operational discipline, accountability, and fact-based problem-solving.
• Champion Lean practices such as daily management, visual management, standard work, takt alignment, flow, pull systems, workplace organization, and structured problem-solving.
• Establish and monitor KPIs for safety, quality, delivery, cost, labor productivity, yield, schedule attainment, throughput, work-in-process, and asset utilization.
• Use real-time operating data and visual management to identify risks, prioritize resources, and accelerate decisions.
• Reduce manufacturing costs through effective use of labor, equipment, facilities, materials, and capital.
• Partner with Finance on operating plans, budgets, variances, and cost-improvement commitments.
• Lead and develop Value Stream Managers, Operations Managers, and senior manufacturing leaders across the assigned product lines.
• Build a high-performing organization through selection, onboarding, coaching, performance management, succession planning, and leadership development.
• Strengthen frontline leadership through clear expectations, management routines, decision rights, and accountability.
• Foster teamwork, engagement, and ownership through visible leadership and consistent involvement.
• Lead organizational and cultural changes needed to support IEM’s growth and increasing operational maturity.
• Partner with EHS, Planning, Engineering, Quality, Process Improvement, Supply Chain, Procurement, Human Resources, Finance, and other support teams.
• Coordinate cross-functional priorities to remove production barriers, improve manufacturability, resolve quality issues, and maintain production flow.
• Work with Engineering and Quality on new-product introductions, design changes, process qualification, corrective actions, and manufacturing readiness.
• Align production requirements with material availability, supplier performance, inventory objectives, and customer demand.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Business, or a related field required; master’s degree, MBA, or equivalent advanced education preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive manufacturing or operations experience, including 5+ years in senior leadership roles.
• Experience leading large-scale, high-mix, multi-stage, engineered-to-order, configure-to-order, or vertically integrated manufacturing operations.
• Background in medium-voltage switchgear, electrical distribution equipment, integrated power systems, industrial controls, panel manufacturing, or a comparable technical manufacturing environment strongly preferred.
• Proven success improving safety, quality, delivery, productivity, throughput, cost, and employee engagement.
• Strong knowledge of Lean manufacturing, daily management systems, visual management, standard work, capacity planning, production flow, and plant layout optimization.
• Experience scaling operations, leading plant-wide initiatives, implementing automation, and introducing digital performance-management tools.
• Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, cost management, capital planning, and operational performance analysis.
• Ability to lead through complexity, set priorities, manage change, communicate effectively, and hold teams accountable for measurable results.
• Demonstrated career progression and potential to assume broader leadership responsibilities in a fast-paced, growth-oriented organization.