Director of Manufacturing Excellence

What This Role Owns The Director of Manufacturing Excellence owns the manufacturing system, not production headcount. This role builds and enforces a system that defines what is physically possible, so operations can execute without heroics. You will own: Manufacturing schedulability gates (what is / isn’t allowed onto the schedule) Process definition and standard work Routing accuracy and sequence definition Capacity truth across fabrication, welding, finishing, and assembly Manufacturing risk classification (standard vs high-risk work) Corrective action creation for repeat failures Maintenance planning & reliability (PM discipline, uptime protection) Manufacturing engineering standards (cutting, welding, forming, flow) This role does not manage production supervisors or run shifts. It exists to make execution predictable. Who You’ll Work With Production Managers and Planning & Scheduling Maintenance Planning & Reliability Welding and Laser Engineers Quality Systems & Compliance Business Systems / ERP Ownership and Operations leadership This role sits at the center of manufacturing decision-making. What Success Looks Like Within 6–12 months: Schedules stop slipping due to “surprises” Engineering releases are buildable Maintenance becomes proactive instead of reactive Training ties directly to process permission Owners are no longer the escalation path If you like clean whiteboards but not messy shops, this is not the role for you. What We’re Looking For We are intentionally not looking for a traditional continuous-improvement consultant or a corporate Six Sigma role. The right candidate has: 10+ years in manufacturing or fabrication environments Hands-on experience in metal fabrication, welding, cutting, forming, or industrial assembly Proven ability to define processes that actually work on the shop floor Comfort saying “this job is not schedulable yet” Experience turning tribal knowledge into enforceable standards Bonus (not required): Job shop or contract manufacturing background #J-18808-Ljbffr