Executive Director, Project Management, Industrialization

Blue Bird Careers•Detroit, MI

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Blue Bird Corporation is seeking an Executive Director, Project Management, Industrialization, to lead manufacturing and production readiness for its next-generation F53/F59 chassis platform. The role integrates Plan for Every Part (PFEP), continuous improvement, Lean manufacturing, and operational excellence into an industrialization plan supporting production in Q1 2028 within approved budget, schedule, safety, and quality requirements. This hands-on position coordinates facilities, tooling, equipment, materials flow, process capability, quality systems, workforce readiness, and production ramp. The director personally develops and maintains detailed project plans, resolves plant-level execution issues, and influences cross-functional action without direct reports. After launch, the role continues to sustain PFEP, improve operating performance, and develop repeatable manufacturing and supply chain practices. The position works in both office and production environments, including manufacturing areas with exposure to heat, cold, noise, moving objects, and sheet metal. Appropriate PPE is required where specified. The role involves frequent communication throughout the day and frequent weeks of 40+ hours.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, operations, manufacturing, supply chain, or a related field.
10+ years of project management, manufacturing launch, industrialization, operations, plant engineering, or production-readiness experience.
8+ years of demonstrated experience implementing PFEP or comparable part-level materials-planning systems and leading Lean, continuous-improvement, or operational-excellence initiatives in a manufacturing environment.
Strong knowledge of manufacturing launch, capital projects, equipment installation, process validation, quality readiness, workforce planning, and production-ramp execution.
Practical expertise in PFEP, material-flow design, inventory management, replenishment systems, and integration of materials processes with production requirements.
Ability to apply Lean and continuous-improvement methods to solve operational problems and sustain measurable results.
Ability to lead through influence, secure cross-functional commitments, resolve competing priorities, and escalate issues with clear recommendations.
Strong planning, documentation, analytical, and project-management skills, including the ability to build and maintain detailed schedules, trackers, and performance reports.
Ability to work between leadership discussions and detailed production-floor work, adapting to changing requirements while maintaining accountability for results.
Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and authorized to work in the United States; proof of employment eligibility is required at hire.
Must wear appropriate personal protective equipment when and where required.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to difficult or complex projects.
Ability to anticipate and understand customer needs and provide guidance.
Excellent interpersonal and customer-relationship skills, including handling difficult and sensitive matters.
Ability to influence stakeholders and communicate complex details clearly.
Ability to work in flexible workspaces and work hours.
Ability to collaborate and balance individual stakeholder needs while delivering corporate objectives.

Responsibilities

Develop, document, and maintain the integrated industrialization plan, including milestones, dependencies, owners, resource needs, readiness criteria, and recovery actions.
Drive production readiness across facilities, tooling, equipment installation, line layout, manufacturing processes, quality readiness, staffing, training, materials management, and chassis shipping.
Track capital milestones, budget commitments, capacity assumptions, process validation, and production ramp readiness; coordinate gap closure and escalate launch-related decisions.
Work with plant teams on the production floor to validate readiness, resolve execution issues, and manage safety, quality, cost, delivery, and business-continuity risks.
Lead development, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of PFEP with supply chain, materials, manufacturing engineering, and production teams; establish effective data ownership and change controls.
Ensure PFEP defines part requirements, supplier and lead-time information, packaging, storage locations, inventory parameters, replenishment methods, and point-of-use delivery requirements.
Translate PFEP into receiving, storage, kitting, line-side delivery, and replenishment processes.
Validate material availability and flow against production demand, space, handling, safety, and capacity requirements.
Use PFEP data to identify and reduce shortages, excess inventory, unnecessary handling, and production interruptions; coordinate corrective actions.
Support inbound and outbound logistics planning with plant teams and third-party vendors, including delivery schedules, transportation capacity, staging, and finished chassis shipping.
Develop and execute a prioritized continuous-improvement and operational-excellence roadmap with baselines, owners, milestones, and measurable benefits.
Lead Lean initiatives such as value stream mapping, standard work, 5S, visual management, line balancing, and structured problem-solving.
Facilitate improvement events and coach plant teams in root-cause analysis and corrective action.
Establish follow-up routines and measures to confirm that improvements are adopted and sustained.
Document repeatable manufacturing and supply chain practices, lessons learned, and standard processes; support their application across other Blue Bird operations as assigned.