Director of Operations, NA

JOST International Corp•Grand Haven, MI

About The Position

The Director of Operations – North America is a senior operational leader responsible for driving manufacturing excellence, operational discipline, and transformational performance across JOST’s North American footprint, including facilities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This leader will oversee end-to-end operations—including production, safety, quality, supply chain, engineering, continuous improvement, and capital planning—to ensure world-class performance in safety, delivery, quality, and cost. The ideal candidate is a proven architect of lean transformation, known for humility, team-first leadership, and the ability to build high-performance cultures. This individual brings a servant-leadership mentality, strong analytical acumen, and the credibility to influence at all levels while maintaining a low-ego, highly disciplined approach to leadership.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, or related field (MBA or MS preferred).
10–15+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience within Tier-1 automotive, commercial vehicle, heavy equipment, or industrial manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated success leading large multi-site operations (U.S. and Mexico experience strongly preferred).
Proven track record of end-to-end lean transformation—not just incremental improvements.
Expertise in implementing structured operating systems (lean/TPS, LSW, tiered meetings, Gemba leadership).
Strong experience with safety programs, quality systems, and regulatory compliance.
Demonstrated capability to lead automation, robotics, and digitization initiatives.
Financial acumen with experience managing multi-site budgets, CapEx, inventory, and operational KPIs.
Exceptional leadership presence—confident yet humble, disciplined yet collaborative.

Nice To Haves

Experience with high-mix, medium-volume manufacturing; metal fabrication, welding, machining, or complex assemblies is highly beneficial.

Responsibilities

Lead all operations across North America with full P&L accountability for manufacturing performance (safety, quality, delivery, cost, and inventory).
Build and maintain a disciplined operating system including daily management, tiered accountability, and standardized leader work.
Drive operational stability, repeatability, and adherence to robust processes, ensuring that improvements sustain.
Serve as the senior champion for Lean, Operational Excellence, and waste elimination across the region.
Lead Kaizen events, value-stream mapping, standardization, and deployment of lean tools consistent with TPS-based methodologies.
Embed CI culture into every department with measurable gains in productivity, cost reduction, and quality.
Drive simplification of processes and organizational design to improve flow, reduce lead times, and optimize working capital.
Ensure a world-class safety culture built on proactive hazard identification, mitigation, and employee engagement.
Strengthen quality systems and lead systemic problem solving using structured methodologies (8D, PDCA, A3).
Ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements, internal standards, and customer specifications.
Build, mentor, and develop a high-performing operational leadership team across all sites.
Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and cross-functional collaboration.
Demonstrate humility, emotional intelligence, and strong interpersonal skills—leading without ego and enabling others to succeed.
Promote talent development, succession planning, and leadership pipeline growth at all levels.
Develop and implement long-term manufacturing strategies aligned with Americas and Global business objectives.
Lead footprint optimization including capacity planning, automation/digitization initiatives, vertical integration opportunities, and local-for-local sourcing.
Participate in capital planning and capital appropriation requests (CAR) with strong business case development and ROI methodology.
Support M&A integration including operational due diligence and post-closing synergy realization.
Collaborate closely with Supply Chain, Purchasing, and Logistics to ensure on-time material availability, supplier performance, and efficient flow of product.
Improve S&OP maturity, forecasting accuracy, and production scheduling discipline.
Optimize transportation, inventory levels, and warehouse operations to improve cost and service.
Engage with OEM and Tier-1 customers to support audits, business reviews, capacity analyses, and launch readiness.
Partner with Engineering and Program Management to ensure flawless new product introduction (APQP, PPAP, launch readiness).
Support Sales and Commercial teams in customer negotiations by providing accurate operational cost models, manufacturing scenarios, and capacity plans.