Director, Enterprise Systems

Workhorse•Wixom, MI

11d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Enterprise Systems reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer and is the single leader of Workhorse’s business systems. This hands-on leadership role owns the full business systems framework, including the applications that support quote-to-cash, the data and controls within those applications, and the underlying infrastructure, cybersecurity and plant technology. Information Technology and desktop support are part of the broader remit. The Director sets business systems strategy and budget, manages and develops the ERP toolchain, leads a small team and a committed year-end plan, and builds the organization in phases through 2027. The role partners closely with Operations, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Engineering, Sales, Service and Finance, and requires frequent travel to the Union City plant. During the first six months, the Director will take ownership of the year-end plan and five business outcomes due by December 31, 2026, deliver a phased hiring plan and sequenced 2027 roadmap to the Chief Financial Officer by January 31, 2027, reduce single points of failure, and establish a weekly scorecard, portfolio intake and master data ownership. The role sets and maintains enterprise architecture across QAD, Salesforce, CPQ, PLM (3DEXPERIENCE) and reporting tools; improves MRP planning; leads system integrations and model-year changes; and develops roadmaps for additional business systems. It also leads infrastructure and IT support across offices, the Union City plant and R&D facilities, including production-critical systems, disaster recovery, business continuity, user support and account administration. The Director leads cybersecurity across IT and OT environments, including risk assessments, vulnerability management, incident response, segmentation, awareness training and supplier technology risk. The role manages a prioritized technology portfolio, establishes master data governance and system-of-record ownership, oversees IT general and business application controls, and supports SOX and external audit testing. Additional responsibilities include building the enterprise systems team, managing budgets and vendors, establishing steering committees, partnering across the business, managing deployments, and setting policies and controls for responsible AI and analytics use.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, Supply Chain, Accounting or equivalent experience.
12+ years of progressive experience in business applications and technology in discrete or automotive manufacturing.
5+ years leading teams across applications, infrastructure and security.
Hands-on ownership of MRP, production orders, procure-to-pay and order-to-cash in QAD, Epicor, Plex, Infor, SAP or a comparable ERP.
Experience running infrastructure and a cybersecurity program in a manufacturing environment, including incident response and disaster recovery.
Track record of running a portfolio of business systems initiatives with owners, hours, dates and scope trade-offs, and building a team in phases against a budget.
Experience with IT general controls, application controls and master data governance in a SOX-compliant public company.
Experience managing implementation partners and technology vendors, including contract negotiation and budgets.
Strong business acumen and ability to explain technology issues in operational and financial terms.
Excellent communication skills and ability to build teams and lead across functions without direct authority.
Ability to work on-site in Wixom, Michigan, and travel frequently to the Union City, Indiana plant.

Nice To Haves

QAD Adaptive ERP or QAD Enterprise Edition experience, ideally at an automotive supplier or vehicle manufacturer.
Salesforce and CPQ integration experience.
PLM-to-ERP integration experience, such as 3DEXPERIENCE, Teamcenter or similar.
Knowledge of IT/OT security standards such as IEC 62443.
Experience in an early-stage, turnaround or high-growth manufacturing company.
APICS/ASCM CPIM or CSCP, PMP or CISSP certification.

Responsibilities

Take ownership of the year-end plan and five business outcomes due by December 31, 2026, working with the current team and QAD implementation partner.
Deliver a phased hiring plan and sequenced 2027 roadmap to the Chief Financial Officer by January 31, 2027.
Reduce single points of failure in QAD administration, plant infrastructure and program management by strengthening internal capabilities and using contractors as needed.
Establish a weekly scorecard, portfolio intake process and master data ownership.
Plan for current and future enterprise infrastructure needs and ensure infrastructure can scale with expected growth.
Develop implementation and integration roadmaps with departmental leaders for business systems, including P&L, human resources, customer service and warranty tracking systems and databases.
Set and maintain the enterprise architecture and roadmap across QAD, Salesforce, CPQ, PLM (3DEXPERIENCE) and reporting tools.
Improve MRP as a trusted planning tool, including forecast consumption, planning parameters, lead times, production order release and exception management.
Lead integrations between Salesforce and QAD for forecast, capacity, build slots and customer due dates, and between PLM and QAD for items and bills of material.
Deliver the annual model-year changeover in QAD and CPQ on time, including costing, pricing, configuration, finished goods and VIN updates.
Lead design, operation and support of networks, servers, cloud platforms including QAD on AWS, and end-user computing across offices, the Union City plant and R&D facilities.
Ensure high availability of production-critical systems, including MES, quality systems, line-side labeling and printing, and industrial networks.
Own disaster recovery, backup and business continuity planning to minimize production downtime.
Manage user accounts, toolchains and platforms, including the M365 suite, through desktop support, a ticketing system, escalation protocols, full working-hours coverage and emergency response protocols; manage onboarding and offboarding.
Maintain responsive IT support with clear service levels for plant and office users.
Lead the cybersecurity program using internal and external resources, scaled to company risk, people and budget.
Manage cybersecurity risk assessments and dashboard reporting, including support for SOX reporting and public company audit, and lead risk planning and threat assessment exercises.
Own vulnerability management and patching across office and plant environments, including tested releases of business applications.
Own the incident response lifecycle, including monitoring, triage and response across IT and OT environments.
Advance IT/OT segmentation, zero-trust principles and secure remote access, and protect intellectual property in vehicle design and manufacturing processes.
Run cybersecurity awareness training and phishing testing, and manage third-party and supplier technology risk.
Lead one prioritized technology portfolio, including QAD Phase 2, with named owners, estimated hours, dependencies and committed dates.
Run intake, prioritization and capacity planning so work is sequenced to available resources and trade-offs reach leadership with a recommendation.
Translate business requirements into designs, test plans and training, and establish go-live criteria for every release.
Report progress to the Chief Financial Officer and executive team through a scorecard of dated milestones and operating measures.
Establish master data governance for items, bills of material, routings, lead times, planning parameters, customers and suppliers, with named owners and regular audits.
Develop policies and procedures for the design and maintenance of Workhorse’s enterprise infrastructure.
Define the system of record and reporting ownership for every critical data element across QAD and Salesforce.
Own IT general controls and business application controls, including user access, role design, segregation of duties and delegation of authority workflows, and support SOX and external audit testing.
Maintain technology and cybersecurity policies aligned with recognized frameworks such as NIST and ISO 27001, and cyber insurance requirements.
Standardize order-to-cash in QAD with Finance, including deposits, invoicing, cash application and customer statements.
Build and lead the enterprise systems team in phases, covering business applications, infrastructure and support, security, project management and contract resources.
Own the business systems budget, forecast and cost optimization, and negotiate and manage vendor, partner and software contracts.
Establish and lead corporate steering committees, including cybersecurity and AI oversight and management.
Serve as business partner to Operations, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Engineering, Sales, Service, Human Resources and Finance leaders.
Provide cross-functional project management for enterprise systems integrations and deployments, with increasing emphasis in 2027 and beyond.
Set policies and controls for responsible use of AI and analytics across the company.