Director of Operations - Manufacturing - Base Salary to 175k/year - Fort Lauderdale, FL
8 days ago
Fort Lauderdale
Job Description Director of Operations - Manufacturing - Base Salary to 175k/year - Fort Lauderdale, FL • Provide direct leadership across all manufacturing operations within a precision machine shop environment., • Maintain a consistent presence on the shop floor, monitoring throughput, workflow, machine utilization, labor efficiency, and quality performance., • Partner closely with engineering and production teams to resolve technical challenges impacting cost, quality, or delivery., • Understand machining strategies, tooling, fixturing, programming considerations, cycle time optimization, and inspection requirements to ensure production goals are met., • Drive schedule adherence and on-time delivery while balancing capacity, labor planning, and equipment availability., • Lead structured continuous improvement initiatives grounded in Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and practical process optimization., • Own and manage the site P&L, including budgeting, forecasting, cost control, and margin improvement initiatives., • Analyze operational and financial metrics to identify performance gaps and implement corrective action plans., • Communicate clearly and confidently with executive leadership regarding performance trends, capital needs, productivity opportunities, and risk mitigation strategies., • Support pricing, quoting, and cost modeling discussions with both internal teams and corporate leadership., • Lead a cross-functional leadership team including Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Supply Chain/Planning, and Customer Support., • Foster accountability while maintaining a collaborative culture built on respect for experienced, tenured team members., • Provide coaching and mentorship to managers and engineers to strengthen bench depth and technical capability., • Promote a culture of ownership, urgency, and operational discipline without disrupting what is already working effectively., • Maintain open communication channels between shop floor personnel and executive leadership., • Serve as the primary operational point of contact for customers, especially when technical, quality, or delivery issues arise., • Participate in customer visits, audits, and performance reviews with confidence and technical credibility., • Engage regularly with executive stakeholders, translating shop-level realities into clear financial and strategic insights., • Collaborate with corporate sales and leadership teams to align operational capacity with growth initiatives., • Evaluate existing processes and identify opportunities for targeted improvement rather than broad, disruptive overhauls., • Implement data-driven improvements in throughput, scrap reduction, setup reduction, inventory control, and workflow optimization., • Lead operational transformation efforts thoughtfully, preserving institutional knowledge while elevating performance standards., • Champion safety, quality, and process discipline as foundational elements of operational excellence., • Maintain a strong safety-first culture and ensure regulatory and customer compliance standards are met., • Drive defect reduction, root cause analysis, and corrective action initiatives., • 15+ years of progressive leadership experience within precision machining, CNC manufacturing environment., • Deep understanding of machining processes, fabrication workflows, tooling strategies, inspection methods, and production flow., • Engineering background strongly preferred; advanced business education is a plus., • Experience operating within regulated industries is highly desirable., • Hands-on and visible leader who is comfortable on the shop floor, not behind a desk., • Comfortable stepping in to support production during high-demand periods when necessary., • Skilled at balancing operational discipline with cultural sensitivity in environments with long-tenured teams., • Demonstrated P&L ownership and strong financial acumen., • Capable of presenting operational and financial performance to C-suite stakeholders., • Able to translate manufacturing metrics into strategic business insights., • Comfortable managing competing priorities in a performance-driven environment. Compensation: • Base salary in the 165k - 175k/year range, • Benefits #INDALL