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Vice President, Operations - Metals Division Position Summary The Vice President, Operations - Metals Division is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership for the company's metal operations. This position has overall accountability for the safety, quality, delivery, productivity, cost, and financial performance of the metal divisions and its manufacturing facilities. The VP, Operations will lead the development and execution of operational strategies that support the company's business objectives while ensuring the Metals Division consistently meets or exceeds customer expectations. This leader will establish a culture of operational excellence, accountability, continuous improvement, employee engagement, and disciplined execution across all casting facilities. The successful candidate will possess extensive experience in metal divisions manufacturing operations, with a strong understanding of metal processes, production management, quality systems, maintenance, engineering, supply chain, cost management, and customer requirements. Key Responsibilities Strategic & Operational Leadership Develop and execute the overall operational strategy for the Metals Division in alignment with the company's strategic objectives. Provide leadership and direction to Plant Managers, Operations Managers, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, and other functional leaders within the division. Establish clear operational goals, performance expectations, and accountability throughout the organization. Develop and implement standardized operating practices across metal facilities to improve consistency, efficiency, quality, and profitability. Evaluate manufacturing capacity, capabilities, equipment, technology, and workforce requirements to support current and future business needs. Lead operational planning for new programs, product launches, plant expansions, equipment investments, and capacity requirements. Identify and execute opportunities for organic growth, process improvements, vertical integration, and operational optimization. Safety & Environmental Establish safety as a core organizational value and maintain a culture in which every employee is responsible for a safe workplace. Ensure compliance with all applicable OSHA, EPA, environmental, and regulatory requirements. Drive continuous improvement in safety performance, including incident reduction, near-miss reporting, corrective actions, and employee engagement. Ensure appropriate environmental controls and practices are maintained throughout all casting operations. Hold leadership accountable for safety performance and corrective-action execution. Manufacturing & Production Provide leadership to ensure production requirements are consistently achieved while maintaining safety, quality, and cost objectives. Drive improvements in OEE, throughput, labor efficiency, equipment utilization, scrap, downtime, and overall manufacturing productivity. Establish and monitor key performance indicators for each facility and ensure timely corrective action when performance falls below expectations. Identify production constraints and develop plans to improve capacity, flow, staffing, equipment reliability, and manufacturing efficiency. Ensure effective production planning and scheduling practices are implemented across the division. Promote the use of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, and other continuous-improvement methodologies where appropriate. Casting Process Excellence Provide executive-level oversight of metal processes, including melt operations, molding, core making, pouring, shakeout, finishing, heat treatment, machining interfaces, and related processes. Drive process stability and standardization across facilities. Establish best practices for process control, defect prevention, yield improvement, and productivity. Lead efforts to reduce defects, including porosity, inclusions, mis-runs, dimensional variation, defects, and other quality issues. Ensure robust process-control methods are established for critical metal characteristics. Promote the use of data, statistical process control, process capability analysis, and root-cause methodologies to improve performance. Evaluate and implement new technologies, equipment, automation, materials, and process improvements. Quality & Customer Satisfaction Partner with Quality leadership to establish and maintain a culture of prevention rather than reaction. Ensure facilities consistently meet customer quality requirements, specifications, and delivery expectations. Drive rapid and effective resolution of customer concerns, including root-cause analysis and permanent corrective actions. Monitor quality metrics including PPM, scrap, rework, customer returns, warranty issues, and internal defects. Ensure effective use of structured problem-solving methodologies such as 8D, 5-Why, Fishbone, DOE, and other appropriate tools. Establish accountability for corrective and preventive actions and verify their effectiveness. Support customer audits, quality reviews, and strategic customer relationships as required. Financial & Business Performance Have overall accountability for the financial performance of the metal division. Develop and manage annual operating budgets, capital plans, and cost-reduction initiatives. Drive improvements in gross margin, EBITDA, conversion cost, labor efficiency, material utilization, scrap, energy consumption, and overhead. Analyze operational and financial performance to identify opportunities for improvement. Ensure capital expenditures are justified through sound financial analysis and aligned with strategic priorities. Develop and execute cost-reduction programs without compromising safety, quality, or customer satisfaction. Establish clear financial accountability for plant and functional leadership. Maintenance & Asset Reliability Partner with Maintenance and Engineering leadership to improve equipment reliability and availability. Establish preventive and predictive maintenance strategies for critical production assets. Reduce unplanned downtime and improve equipment uptime. Develop long-term capital and asset-replacement strategies. Ensure critical equipment risks are identified and addressed before they impact customer commitments or operational performance. Engineering & Capital Projects Provide leadership and direction for manufacturing engineering and capital projects. Evaluate new equipment, automation, tooling, process technologies, and facility investments. Ensure capital projects are completed safely, on time, within budget, and to defined performance expectations. Support new product launches and ensure manufacturing processes are capable of meeting production, quality, and cost requirements. Promote automation and technology investments that improve safety, productivity, quality, and competitiveness. Supply Chain & Materials Work closely with Supply Chain, Purchasing, and Materials teams to ensure adequate availability of raw materials, consumables, tooling, and other critical production inputs. Drive improvements in material utilization, inventory management, supplier performance, and overall supply-chain reliability. Establish appropriate contingency plans for critical materials and suppliers. Ensure operational requirements are incorporated into supplier-selection and sourcing decisions. Leadership & Talent Development Build a high-performing operations leadership team capable of achieving the division's strategic and financial objectives. Recruit, develop, coach, and retain high-caliber operational leaders. Establish succession plans for key leadership positions throughout the division. Create a culture of accountability, ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Develop leadership capabilities at the Plant Manager, Operations Manager, and frontline-supervisor levels. Ensure employees have the training, resources, and support required to perform their jobs effectively. Promote employee engagement and open communication throughout the organization. Continuous Improvement Establish a disciplined continuous-improvement culture across the Casting Division. Develop and deploy division-wide improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity. Benchmark facility performance and share best practices across locations. Establish performance dashboards and regular operational reviews. Ensure improvement projects deliver measurable and sustainable financial and operational results. Challenge existing processes and practices to identify opportunities for increased competitiveness. Key Performance Indicators The VP, Operations will be accountable for establishing and improving performance across key operational metrics, including: Safety performance and recordable incidents Customer PPM and customer complaints Scrap and rework OEE and equipment utilization Production attainment On-time delivery Labor productivity Direct and indirect labor costs Conversion costs Material utilization Energy consumption Maintenance downtime Inventory levels EBITDA / operating profit Capital project performance Employee retention and engagement Continuous-improvement savings Qualifications Required Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Business, or a related field. 15+ years of progressive manufacturing and operations leadership experience. Significant experience in metal operations, or a closely related manufacturing environment. Proven experience leading multiple manufacturing facilities or a multi-site operation. Demonstrated success improving safety, quality, productivity, delivery, and financial performance. Strong knowledge of metal processes, manufacturing systems, quality management, and continuous-improvement methodologies. Proven ability to develop and execute strategic operational plans. Strong financial and business acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, capital planning, and cost management. Demonstrated ability to lead and develop high-performing management teams. Strong problem-solving, decision-making, communication, and organizational skills. Preferred Master's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Operations, or a related discipline. Experience with automotive, powertrain, heavy equipment, or other highly engineered metal applications. Experience with aluminum, iron, steel, or other relevant metal processes. Experience with IATF 16949 and/or ISO quality management systems. Lean Six Sigma certification or demonstrated Lean/continuous-improvement experience. Experience leading significant capital investment and automation projects. Experience with mergers, acquisitions, plant integrations, or organizational transformations. Experience working directly with major OEM and Tier 1 customers. Leadership Competencies The successful candidate will demonstrate: Strategic thinking and business judgment Strong operational discipline Financial and commercial acumen Decisiveness and accountability Data-driven decision-making Strong customer focus Excellent communication and interpersonal skills Change-management leadership Talent development and succession planning Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment Strong understanding of manufacturing economics Ability to balance short-term operational demands with long-term strategic objectives Travel This position requires regular travel between company manufacturing facilities, customers, suppliers, and other business locations. Travel requirements are expected to be approximately 25-50% , depending on business needs. Reporting Relationship The Vice President, Operations - Casting Division reports directly to the President/Chief Operating Officer/Chief Executive Officer and serves as a key member of the company's senior leadership team. Position Objective The primary objective of the VP, Operations - Metal Division is to build and lead a safe, high-performing, customer-focused, and financially successful metal forming organization . The position is responsible for transforming operational strategy into measurable results and ensuring the division has the people, processes, technology, and accountability necessary to achieve sustainable growth and profitability.

Pay:

From $200,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) 401(k) matching Dental insurance Health insurance Health savings account Life insurance Vision insurance

Work Location:

In person