Director of Operations

DescriptionKforce has a client that is seeking a Director of Operations in Santa Ana, Woodland Hills, and Truman Cold Storage (Southern California). This person reports to the Chief Executive Officer.Summary:The client is hiring a VP of Operations to take full operational ownership across its three site network. Production, Maintenance and Engineering, Procurement, Logistics and Inventory Control, and Manufacturing Assurance all report through this role. Today these functions report separately to the CEO. The VP will consolidate them into a single accountable operating structure and lead the company's culture transformation, including a regular cadence of town halls and frontline engagement.Core Responsibilities:* Own daily production at Santa Ana and Woodland Hills, including schedule attainment, throughput, and downtime, and apply lean principles to reduce waste and improve first pass yield* Build equipment reliability as a dedicated function across all three sites, with a standalone MRO program, spare parts targets, and maintenance spend controlled to budget* Direct procurement for on time raw material supply, and oversee logistics and inventory across the network, including outbound frozen shipments from Truman Cold Storage* Ensure Manufacturing Assurance maintains SOPs for every production process and that food safety and QA compliance hold from the shift floor up, meeting FDA, OSHA, HACCP, and SQF standards* Lead and develop site and functional managers, establish a KPI scorecard operating cadence, and assign single owner accountability for every core function* Manage the full operations budget, drive automation and efficiency initiatives, build the capital pipeline for reliability gaps, and design an operating system that scales with growth and future site consolidationRequirements* Ideal background: senior operations leadership in food manufacturing across multiple sites, with proven results in reliability, cost discipline, and food safety complianceJob TypeDirect HireCompensation200000 - $220000