Director of Operations

Operations Director

Department: Operations Management

Location: Chicago Area, Illinois

Reports To: General Manager / Plant General Manager

Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Summary

The Operations Director is responsible for leading and coordinating key operational functions of the manufacturing facility, including Production Planning, Supply Chain, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), and Infrastructure/Construction Engineering .

This position plays a critical role in ensuring production readiness, material availability, operational continuity, regulatory compliance, facility development, and cross-functional execution.

The Operations Director will work closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Finance, Human Resources, and other functional leaders to support safe, efficient, and scalable operations of the Chicago manufacturing facility.

Key Responsibilities

1. Production Planning & Operations Coordination

• Lead the plant's production planning and scheduling function based on customer demand, production capacity, material availability, and operational priorities.
• Develop and oversee short-term and long-term production plans.
• Coordinate production capacity, manpower, equipment readiness, and material availability to support production targets.
• Monitor production plan attainment and identify risks that may impact delivery.
• Lead cross-functional coordination to resolve production planning and operational bottlenecks.
• Establish and monitor operational KPIs, including production plan attainment, inventory levels, material availability, delivery performance, and operational efficiency.
• Support Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) and capacity planning activities.

2. Supply Chain Management

• Provide overall leadership for plant-level supply chain operations, including:
• Production Planning
• Material Planning
• Procurement coordination
• Warehouse and Inventory Management
• Logistics and Transportation
• Ensure materials and components are available to meet production schedules while maintaining appropriate inventory levels.
• Optimize inventory turnover and reduce excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory.
• Improve supplier delivery performance and supply continuity.
• Identify supply chain risks and establish contingency and recovery plans.
• Coordinate domestic and international logistics activities as required.
• Drive continuous improvement in supply chain cost, efficiency, and delivery performance.

3. Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS)

• Provide leadership and management oversight for the facility's EHS organization.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local environmental, health, and workplace safety requirements.
• Promote a strong safety culture across the manufacturing facility.
• Oversee EHS programs, inspections, risk assessments, corrective actions, emergency preparedness, and employee safety initiatives.
• Monitor key EHS performance indicators and ensure timely corrective actions.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Engineering, HR, and other departments to continuously improve workplace safety.
• Support regulatory inspections, audits, permitting, and environmental compliance activities.

4. Infrastructure & Construction Engineering

• Provide leadership for infrastructure, construction, and facility engineering activities supporting plant development and operations.
• Oversee plant construction, expansion, renovation, and infrastructure improvement projects.
• Coordinate contractors, engineering firms, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
• Monitor project scope, schedule, budget, quality, safety, and execution.
• Ensure infrastructure projects meet manufacturing requirements and applicable building, fire, environmental, and safety standards.
• Oversee critical facility systems and infrastructure readiness, including utilities, electrical systems, HVAC, compressed air, water systems, fire protection, and other plant support systems.
• Support production line installation, commissioning, and facility readiness activities in coordination with Engineering and Manufacturing teams.

5. Operational Excellence & Cross-Functional Management

• Establish operating mechanisms and management processes across Production Planning, Supply Chain, EHS, and Infrastructure.
• Lead regular operational reviews and drive closure of key action items.
• Identify operational risks and escalate critical issues to the Plant General Manager.
• Develop and implement continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, cost, delivery, inventory, and operational efficiency.
• Drive data-based decision-making and improve operational visibility through KPI dashboards and performance reviews.
• Support ERP/MRP and manufacturing digitalization initiatives related to planning, materials, warehouse, and operations.
• Build effective collaboration among Operations, Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Finance, HR, and IT.

6. Team Leadership

• Lead and develop managers and professional teams across assigned operational functions.
• Establish organizational structure, responsibilities, performance objectives, and succession plans.
• Recruit, coach, and develop key operational talent.
• Establish accountability and performance management mechanisms across the organization.
• Build a collaborative, execution-focused, safety-oriented culture.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related field required.
• Master's degree or MBA preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing operations, supply chain, production planning, engineering, or related functions.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing managers and/or multiple operational functions.
• Strong experience in large-scale manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated experience in production planning, supply chain management, and plant operations.
• Working knowledge of EHS management and U.S. regulatory requirements.
• Experience supporting facility construction, plant expansion, infrastructure, or manufacturing engineering projects strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of ERP/MRP systems; SAP experience preferred.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and cross-functional coordination skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in lithium-ion battery, EV, automotive, energy storage, electronics, or advanced manufacturing .
• Experience supporting the launch or ramp-up of a new manufacturing facility in the United States.
• Experience managing complex global supply chains.
• Familiarity with high-volume automated manufacturing environments.
• Experience working with international and cross-cultural teams.
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, S&OP, inventory optimization, and operational excellence methodologies.
• PMP, APICS/CPIM/CSCP, Six Sigma, or related professional certification is a plus.

Key Performance Indicators

Key performance measures may include:

Production Planning: Production Plan Attainment | Capacity Utilization | Schedule Adherence

Supply Chain: On-Time Delivery | Material Availability | Inventory Turns | Inventory Accuracy | Logistics Cost

EHS: Safety Incident Rate | Corrective Action Closure | Regulatory Compliance | Environmental Performance

Infrastructure: Project Schedule | Project Budget | Construction Safety | Facility Readiness | Utility Reliability

Overall Operations: Cost Reduction | Operational Efficiency | Risk Management | Cross-Functional Execution

Leadership Scope

The Operations Director provides leadership and management oversight for:

Production Planning / PMC

Supply Chain & Logistics

Warehouse & Inventory

Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS)

Infrastructure / Construction / Facility Engineering