Operations Manager

Mesa Central Research

Houston, TX

Phoenix, Arizona

Los Angeles, CA

GCNO New Orleans Area

Denver, CO

Full time

2026_17727

Company Overview

Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and Bridgestone Europe, Middle East and Africa (BSEMEA), headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, operate collectively as a “Bridgestone West” strategic region. This region services the strategic business needs of teams across the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. BSAM and BSEMEA are subsidiaries of Bridgestone Corporation, globally headquartered in Japan. Bridgestone and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand products and solutions to address the needs of a broad range of customers and industries.

Job Category

Engineering & Science

Position Summary

The realistic useable salary range for this position is in the $120,000 to a maximum of $160,000 range.

This position is located at Bridgestone’s Bio-Rubber Process Research Center (BPRC) in Southeast Mesa, Arizona. This is not a remote or work from home position. The BPRC is a PSM regulated 24/5 continuous Pilot Plant facility for developing the processes necessary to extract natural rubber from Guayule shrub, producing samples for product testing and gathering engineering data for commercial scale-up. The role is not just a management role as this role has both management and technical responsibilities and at a high level the Operations Manager will:

• Be responsible for safe operations of the plant

• Manage the process team (Sr. process engineer, process supervisors and process technicians) to meet site goals

• Collaborate with and assist other departments (EHSS, maintenance, engineering, lab) and contractors to fulfill the above

• Assist/perform advanced process troubleshooting in the plant, experiment design & execution in the plant, process development & design

Pay Range: $122,200.00 - $195,500.00Pay Range: $122,200.00 - $195,500.00

Responsibilities

Specific Responsibilities

EHSS & PSM

• Responsible for EHSS & PSM compliance of the process team

• Provide data to EHSS for reporting and compliance

• Lead, participate in and document risk assessments, PSSR’s, MOC’s, root cause investigations and HazOp’s

• Serve as an emergency contact for the site

Operations

• Responsible for generating production/sample/trial schedules and executing to the schedule

• Schedule raw materials

• Provide supervision and direction to the process team

• Oversee day-to-day activities within the process area

• Lead continuous improvement of production methods/procedures, equipment performance and team efficiency

• Manage process and/or equipment trials

• Provide input on annual operating budgets for the process area and manage to the budget

Collaboration

• Interface with the Maintenance department to coordinate plant maintenance and project work and to plan the annual shutdown

• Interface with Corporate Research & Development teammates to develop new products

• Provide input to scale processes from lab to pilot to commercial

• Provide technical input for capital projects

Leadership Skills

• Lead by example

• Lead via routine genba walks

• Demonstrate honesty and high integrity consistently to build respect and trust

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering

• PSM experience: MOC, PSSR, PHA, MI, SOP’s, root cause investigations, safety programs

• Basic understanding of process control logic – ladder and function block

• Five years operations management experience in a PSM plant

• Ten years overall experience in a PSM plant

• Process scale-up experience

• Must have good engineering technical skills

At Bridgestone, you are Free to Be

We believe people can only provide superior service and quality to others when they feel safe bringing their chosen version of themselves to work. We believe in championing all perspectives, individuals and teams because we understand the importance of seeing the world and our business through many different lenses. So, show us what you are made of, because who you are is what we need.

What we offer

At Bridgestone, what really matters is to foster co-creation opportunities and empowering you to be creative and curious to make mobility safer, more efficient, and more sustainable for future generations. Whatever role you fill, when you represent Bridgestone, you are a valued teammate, and part of our larger mission to “Serve Society with Superior Quality”, for that, we offer you more than just a competitive compensation; we will provide you:

• A supportive and engaging onboarding experience to ensure a smooth transition into our team.

• The opportunity to develop and grow, through training and regular mentorship.

• Corporate Social Responsibility activities.

• A truly global, dynamic and challenging work environment.

• Agility and work/life effectiveness and your long-term well-being.

• An effective and inclusive team.

Bridgestone is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. It is our policy to consider all individuals for employment based on their unique merit and without regard to age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

Employment Eligibility

If hired, a Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification must be completed at the start of employment. Temporary work authorization or the need for sponsorship may disqualify you from employment.

Based in Nashville Tennessee, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tire and rubber company. Bridgestone Americas and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies are also engaged in retreading operations throughout the Western Hemisphere and produce air springs, roofing materials, and industrial fibers and textiles. The Bridgestone Americas family of companies also operates the world’s largest chain of automotive tire and service centers. Guided by its global corporate social responsibility (CSR), commitment Our Way to Serve, Bridgestone embraces its responsibility as a global leader by striving to improve the way people move, live, work and play.