Director of Manufacturing

Recruiter notes: (must read before sending resumes) Director of Manufacturing – Aerospace Manufacturing Compensation: $165K–$200K base | 10–15% bonus (company and individual performance) | Prorated bonus in year one Location: Montgomery, IL. | Onsite | Approximately 5% travel Relocation: provided on a case by case basis About the Role This is a Director of Operations role at a small aerospace parts manufacturer, part of a publicly traded aerospace and defense holding company. Job is open because the VP is going to retire and they need to hire someone who can step into that role by the end of the year. The operation has 37 employees total. This person will have 11 direct reports across manufacturing. It is a lean team with real responsibility. Engineering, Quality, Finance, Sales, HR, and Materials/Supply Chain are peer functions. The Quality Director is a peer, not a report. The reports will increase as they expand and grow Keys to Hire

• Aerospace experience is now a hard requirement
• Can be making parts for the aerospace industry
• Title is flexible, so this can be a step-up opportunity for the right candidate with applicable leadership scope
• Engineering degree is a plus, not required — experience carries more weight than education. Degree is not even required
• Mechanically inclined candidates have an advantage given the nature of the work
• Candidates coming exclusively from large corporate environments may struggle here — this is a 37-person operation and requires someone who is comfortable with ambiguity and limited infrastructure

Personality Fit Collaborative, resourceful, and comfortable making decisions without perfect information. This is not a role for someone who needs layers of support or a large team to delegate through. The right person thrives in a smaller environment, builds trust quickly with a hands-on workforce, and balances regulatory rigor with operational urgency. High EQ is genuinely important here — the team dynamic matters and they are looking for a leader who elevates it.

IMPORTANT:

• Note before you work this job or any of my jobs – I strongly suggest you read all these notes and reach out to me to confirm that this job is still open and hot. I leave all my jobs posted until its filled so we very well could be in the end stages or something could have changed with the client. Right now, this job is RED HOT but things change
• I ask that you do not ask for the name of the company – you need to earn that trust. If you send good candidates and prove to me you are a good recruiter then I will share the names of the companies before you ask, but in the meantime, I can share any information with you to help you successfully find candidates for me
• Once a recruiter, YOU, send me a candidate, I expect that you will not continue to have any further contact with that candidate about this role.
• I take full control of the process from that poi