Director of Operations

Hercules OEM • Burnsville, MN

36d • Hybrid

About The Position

This is a builder's and doer's role focused on end-to-end operational performance across four US sites. The Director of Operations will own plant layout, workflow design, and production scheduling with a continuous improvement mindset, while developing strong, autonomous site managers. This role partners closely with the Supply Chain Director to integrate capacity planning and the SIOP cycle with floor-level realities. The ideal candidate will be hands-on, spending time on the production floor to optimize labor planning and capacity utilization, and will be responsible for converting the supply plan into daily and weekly work sequences, prioritizing orders to protect on-time performance, and driving key KPIs. A significant part of the role involves building a continuous improvement culture, harmonizing processes across sites, and evaluating systems, capital investments, and automation opportunities. The Director will act as the operational engine for the company's growth, translating strategic priorities into floor-level capabilities, and leading cross-functional alignment. They will also partner with the President on operational KPIs and reporting rhythms, and build a high-performing team with clear accountability and a culture of safety and engagement.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive operations leadership in value-added distribution, light manufacturing, or assembly-oriented environments — multi-site preferred
• Demonstrated recent, direct floor-level leadership — regularly present on the production/warehouse floor, personally engaged in plant layout and workflow design, not solely directing through layers of site management
• A track record of OTD improvement, labor efficiency gains, cost reduction, and throughput
• Comfort leading in close partnership with a Supply Chain function
• Strong ERP background (D365 preferred)
• Lean/CI implementation experience
• A developer of people, not just processes — someone who builds trust across functions and levels, and grows strong, autonomous site leaders

Nice To Haves

• Lean/Six Sigma certification
• Sealing, rubber, or industrial products experience

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end operational performance across all four US sites (MN, NC, CA, AL) — warehousing, distribution, work order execution, and light manufacturing/assembly
• Engage in plant floor design, facility layouts, workflow optimization, and equipment uptime across the network
• Ensure 97%+ on-time performance (OTSIF) and adherence to quality, cost, and safety standards network-wide
• Optimize labor planning and capacity utilization at the site level
• Convert the supply plan into daily and weekly work sequences at each site
• Prioritize orders to protect OTIF performance, driving OTSIF, late shipments, inventory position, and operating cost KPIs
• Build a continuous improvement culture and practice across the team — coaching site managers and their teams to lead root cause analysis and structured problem-solving
• Harmonize processes across all four sites and reduce waiting and rework, driving safety, OTSIF, and quality KPIs
• Evaluate and implement systems, capital investments, and automation opportunities that strengthen operational scalability
• Act as the operational engine behind where HOEM is headed — translating the company's growth and strategic priorities into the floor-level capability, capacity, and discipline required to deliver them
• Lead cross-functional alignment across Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, and Sales to ensure integrated planning and execution
• Partner with the President on operational KPIs, reporting rhythms, and the performance standards that define what "good" looks like across sites
• Model bagging/kitting/assembly throughput and signal when labor or equipment capacity must change
• Actively participate in the full, monthly SIOP cycle — aligning forecast, supply, capacity, finance, and operations into a single, unified plan
• Jointly own SIOP-driven KPIs with the Supply Chain Director: forecast accuracy, inventory position, OTSIF, and revenue plan adherence
• Build and develop a high-performing team with clear accountability, succession depth, and a culture of safety, engagement, and operational ownership

Benefits

• Three PPO medical plan options (Florida Blue)
• Dental with preventive care covered at 100% (Principal)
• Vision at no cost to you (EyeMed)
• FSA for healthcare and dependent care expenses (HealthEquity)
• Company-paid Short-Term Disability and Basic Life & AD&D ($50,000)
• EAP (LifeCare)
• Supplemental accident, critical illness, hospital, and cancer plans available
• 401(k) through Empower with company match up to 4% (50% match on first 6%, 25% match on 7–10%)
• Roth option
• Auto-enrollment starting at 6%
• Generous PTO
• 8 company holidays
• A floating holiday
• Flexible work environment
• Direct access to leadership
• Real autonomy to get things done

What This Job Offers

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