Director of Manufacturing Operations

Quovis, Inc. • Gallatin, TN

2d • Onsite

About The Position

This is a high-visibility, transformational role for a growing, profitable automotive business that is part of a Fortune 500 diversified industrial manufacturer. The division, with approximately $160M in annual revenue, specializes in deep-draw stamping technologies and serves major OEMs and Tier suppliers across North America. The role requires an Operations leader who can manage current operations while driving future growth and modernization. The position offers the autonomy of a standalone business unit with the resources and stability of a global enterprise. The leader will be responsible for optimizing operations, modernizing the labor model, and strengthening the bond between Operations and Commercial to fuel organic growth. This is a leadership role with P&L responsibility and a seat at the Division Leadership Team.

Requirements

• Experience leading multi-site manufacturing operations.
• Experience in developing and executing operations strategy aligned with business growth.
• Experience driving optimization of manufacturing footprint.
• Experience partnering with Commercial, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, and HR.
• Experience championing operational excellence principles and continuous improvement.
• Experience leading initiatives to improve safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost.
• Experience building scalable systems, management routines, and standard work.
• Experience diagnosing performance gaps and driving corrective action.
• Experience leading and developing a team.
• Experience with succession planning, leadership development, and workforce planning.
• Experience modernizing labor models.
• Experience managing budgeting, forecasting, capital planning, and resource allocation.
• Experience establishing performance expectations, KPIs, and accountability systems.
• Experience engaging with customers and collaborating on new product development.
• Experience supporting new product launches and capacity expansion.
• Experience leading enterprise-level projects.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with deep-draw stamping technologies.
• Experience in the automotive industry serving OEMs and Tier suppliers.
• Experience with AI and digital tools in manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the division's operations strategy in direct alignment with business and growth objectives.
• Lead multi-site manufacturing operations to deliver growth, customer satisfaction, and profitability.
• Drive the optimization of the manufacturing footprint, building a clear current-state → future-state → glide-path plan.
• Partner closely with Commercial, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, and HR to ensure operations and growth strategy move in lockstep.
• Serve as a key voice on the Division Leadership Team, directly shaping strategic decisions.
• Champion enterprise-proven operational excellence principles and an 80/20 prioritization mindset across every site.
• Lead initiatives that meaningfully move the needle on safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost.
• Build scalable systems, management routines, and standard work that sustain results.
• Diagnose performance gaps quickly and drive disciplined, data-backed corrective action.
• Champion simplification, standardization, and value-stream optimization.
• Lead and develop a team of 9 direct reports, including a Plant Manager, two Production Managers, and functional leaders in Quality, Maintenance, Tooling, Supply Chain, Sourcing, and Customer Relations.
• Build bench strength through succession planning, leadership development, and workforce planning.
• Modernize the labor model for a new generation of manufacturing talent.
• Capture and institutionalize decades of hands-on process knowledge.
• Foster a culture of ownership and continuous improvement.
• Own performance across safety, quality, delivery, productivity, inventory, cost, and profitability.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting, capital planning, and resource allocation for the division's operations.
• Establish clear performance expectations, KPIs, and accountability systems, and act decisively when results lag.
• Ensure operations directly fuel profitable, sustainable growth for the business.
• Be the bridge between Operations and Commercial, providing customers with supply chain visibility.
• Engage with customers both digitally and in person, including early-phase new product development collaboration.
• Support new product launches, capacity expansion, and other growth initiatives.
• Lead enterprise-level projects that strengthen manufacturing and supply chain capability across the network.

Benefits

• Resources, stability, and global reach of a Fortune 500 diversified industrial manufacturer.
• Decentralized, entrepreneurial autonomy at the division level.
• Career runway within a global industrial leader.
• Opportunity to shape the future of a growing business.
• P&L relevant outcomes and a seat at the Division Leadership table.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed