Chief Operations Officer

We have been retained by Protolabs (NYSE: PRLB), a fast-growing, global publicly-traded digital manufacturing company, to identify their next Chief Operations Officer (COO). Reporting directly to President & CEO, this position is one of the most important hires at the organization as Protolabs continues evolving its global manufacturing and fulfillment capabilities to support the next phase of growth.

With approximately $550M in annual revenue, 2,300 global employees, nine manufacturing facilities across the United States and Europe, and a rapidly expanding global manufacturing network, Protolabs has built one of the most differentiated software-enabled manufacturing platforms in the industry. Through CNC machining, injection molding, 3D printing, sheet metal fabrication, and proprietary manufacturing software systems, the company helps many of the world’s leading aerospace, defense, medical device, robotics, and industrial companies accelerate product development and scale production globally.

This COO role is broader than a traditional manufacturing operations leadership position. The selected executive will oversee Protolabs’ global manufacturing, fulfillment, supply chain, operational strategy, and manufacturing partner network across internal factories and approximately 250 manufacturing partners worldwide. Leading over 1,700 employees globally, this individual will play a critical role in helping evolve Protolabs from a market-leading prototype manufacturer into a more scaled production-capable manufacturing partner serving highly demanding OEM customers across regulated end markets.

The company is exceptionally well-positioned in the market and continues to experience strong momentum across both its prototyping and production manufacturing offerings. This hire will help drive operational scalability, lean transformation, production readiness, global fulfillment optimization, quality systems enhancement, and long-term operational strategy globally.

The selected candidate will receive a highly competitive executive compensation package including strong base salary, annual bonus, long-term incentives/equity participation, relocation assistance, and excellent executive benefits.

This organization is headquartered in the Minneapolis / Twin Cities area, and this individual will be expected to operate onsite regularly as a highly visible member of the Executive Leadership Team.