Plant Director

Phoenix Tailings • Rochester, NY

3d

About The Position

Phoenix Tailings is seeking an experienced plant and operations leader to become the future Plant Director of its Rochester Freedom Facility, a commercial-scale rare earth separation operation designed to produce thousands of tons of separated rare earth oxides annually. The facility is being developed to expand U.S. capacity to process and separate rare earth materials and support domestic supply chains and industries that depend on these materials.

The Plant Director will build and lead the facility’s operating organization, prepare the site and workforce for commissioning and startup, and lead site safety, production, quality, staffing, environmental performance, and overall plant performance once operations begin. The role will help develop the people, systems, and operating culture needed to run the facility successfully. Phoenix Tailings is building toward operations in 2027 and 2028, and this posting is intended to connect with potential future candidates as facility plans and hiring needs evolve.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Management, or a related field.
• Significant leadership experience in chemical manufacturing, refining, mining, metals, specialty chemicals, or another continuous-process industrial environment.
• Demonstrated success leading plant operations or a complex manufacturing organization, with accountability for safety, quality, production, and operating performance.
• Experience supporting commissioning, facility startup, operational readiness, or major production scale-up, including coordination with project teams and equipment partners.
• Ability to build operating organizations, develop site leaders, and establish procedures and training systems for a growing workforce.
• Working knowledge of industrial safety, environmental performance, process equipment, maintenance reliability, and the controls needed for consistent production.
• Experience managing staffing and operating budgets and using production, cost, and reliability metrics to prioritize improvements in a developing facility.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the site operating organization, establishing departmental responsibilities, staffing plans, and leadership routines for startup and sustained operations.
• Prepare the workforce and plant systems for commissioning and startup, coordinating readiness reviews and turnover with the capital projects organization.
• Establish operating procedures, workforce training, maintenance coordination, and performance systems for safe and reliable continuous production.
• Own site safety, environmental performance, product quality, and production results, with clear accountability for operating priorities.
• Manage site budgets and staffing against the operating plan, using cost, uptime, throughput, and quality information to guide decisions.
• Resolve production bottlenecks and reliability issues with operations, engineering, maintenance, and support teams, turning performance data into practical improvements.
• Develop site leaders and a culture of safe execution, accurate reporting, operator capability, and timely follow-through on operating problems.

Benefits

• 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for the employee.
• Stock options and ownership in a fast-growing venture-backed company.
• Unlimited PTO.
• Learning and development opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director