Director Regional Manufacturing

Advanced Drainage Systems•Hilliard, OH

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Advanced Drainage Systems is a leading manufacturer of stormwater and onsite septic wastewater solutions, committed to sustainability and innovation. With a vast manufacturing and distribution network, we deliver high-quality products across multiple industries while recycling over half a billion pounds of plastic annually. At ADS, we foster a culture where diverse perspectives drive better ideas, ensuring every employee feels valued, heard, and empowered to make an impact. The Director of Regional Manufacturing provides strategic and operational leadership for an assigned manufacturing region, ensuring excellence in safety, quality, service, productivity, employee engagement, and financial performance. This role translates enterprise manufacturing objectives into regional strategies and execution plans while driving a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence. The Director serves as the senior regional manufacturing leader and business partner to Plant Managers, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Environmental Health & Safety, Human Resources, Sales, Customer Service, and Finance. Through strong leadership and disciplined execution, the Director ensures the region consistently achieves business objectives while supporting company growth and core values. This position champions the Green Line Operating System (Lean), develops organizational capability, and fosters a metrics-driven culture that delivers sustainable results across all facilities within the region. This position requires approximately 50% travel.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or related field required.
Minimum 10 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
Minimum 5 years leading multiple manufacturing facilities or complex manufacturing operations.
Demonstrated success leading Lean transformations and continuous improvement initiatives.
Strong financial acumen, safety leadership, and organizational development experience.
Excellent communication, change management, and relationship-building skills.

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced degree preferred.
Lean Six Sigma and/or Black Belt certification.
Experience leading multi-site manufacturing operations.
Experience with logistics, warehousing, fleet operations, and inventory management.
Experience implementing enterprise-wide operational excellence initiatives.
Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

Responsibilities

Establish and maintain a world-class safety culture; ensure regulatory compliance; lead risk reduction initiatives; partner with EHS to improve safety performance.
Proactively uses leading indicators to drive regional performance across safety, quality, productivity, cost, delivery, inventory, and retention metrics; lead Green Line Operating System deployment and continuous improvement efforts.
Partner with Supply Chain and Logistics teams to achieve exceptional customer service and OTIF performance while improving inventory and distribution efficiency.
Manage regional financial performance, operating plans, budgets, capital investments, labor costs, and profitability initiatives.
Build high-performing teams through clear coaching of strengths and areas of opportunity, succession planning, workforce planning, leadership development, and employee engagement initiatives which support professional growth.
Translate enterprise manufacturing strategy into regional execution plans; establish accountability systems; lead change management and transformation initiatives.
Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, HR, IT, Sales, and Customer Service to achieve company objectives.