Senior Director of Operations, Optical Systems (US)

Gooch & Housego•Trinity, FL

About The Position

G&H is seeking a Senior Director of Operations to provide strategic and operational leadership across its Tampa, Florida, and Keene, New Hampshire manufacturing facilities within the Optical Systems US Business Unit. The role is accountable for manufacturing execution, operational performance, resource optimization, and continuous improvement in support of business growth objectives. The Senior Director will work with Business Unit leadership and cross-functional partners to establish disciplined operating processes, strengthen performance management, and align manufacturing capabilities with customer requirements and financial objectives. Extensive travel to the Keene and Tampa locations is required. The successful candidate will lead complex, highly engineered manufacturing operations; strengthen manufacturing capabilities; and deliver sustainable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity. Responsibilities include setting operational strategy and priorities across both sites, leading Lean and other improvement initiatives, managing financial performance and capacity, and developing site operations leadership teams. The position also champions safety, quality, collaboration, employee engagement, and G&H’s core values.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, or a related discipline.
15+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including significant responsibility for multisite operations in complex, highly engineered manufacturing environments.
Demonstrated success leading operations in aerospace, defense, photonics, precision optics, or similarly sophisticated manufacturing industries.
Proven ability to develop and execute operational strategies that measurably improve profitability, productivity, quality, delivery, and manufacturing efficiency.
Strong expertise in Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, operational excellence, and continuous improvement methodologies, with a track record of leading transformational initiatives.
Strong financial and commercial acumen, including experience managing manufacturing budgets, capital investments, cost structures, and operational performance against financial targets.
Experience developing and implementing operational KPIs, performance dashboards, and structured accountability frameworks across multiple manufacturing locations.
Comprehensive understanding of production planning, capacity management, supply chain integration, manufacturing systems, and quality management requirements.
Ability to lead, develop, and influence high-performing teams across geographically dispersed operations, including through organizational change and business growth.
Strategic thinking, communication, problem-solving, and executive-level influencing skills, with the ability to balance long-term operational priorities with hands-on execution.
Ability to travel extensively to the Keene, New Hampshire, and Tampa, Florida locations.

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced technical degree.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic and operational leadership across the Tampa and Keene manufacturing facilities, aligning operations with Business Unit priorities, customer commitments, and long-term growth objectives.
Develop and execute operational strategies to strengthen manufacturing capabilities, optimize capacity and resources, and improve efficiency, scalability, and business performance.
Establish operating priorities, performance expectations, and accountability across both sites, with consistent execution against safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity objectives.
Lead operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives using Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and other methodologies to improve throughput, reduce waste, and enhance manufacturing performance.
Establish standardized operating processes, performance management routines, and operational KPIs across both facilities.
Partner with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and commercial leadership to strengthen manufacturing readiness, support new product introductions, resolve operational challenges, and improve customer delivery performance.
Drive operational financial performance, including manufacturing costs, labor efficiency, productivity, inventory, capital expenditures, budgets, and business targets.
Lead capacity planning, resource optimization, and capital investment recommendations, including development of business cases supporting profitable growth and operational scalability.
Partner with Finance and Business Unit leadership to evaluate performance, identify risks and improvement opportunities, and implement corrective actions to strengthen margins, cost competitiveness, and financial predictability.
Lead, coach, and develop site operations leadership teams, building organizational capability, succession readiness, accountability, and high performance.
Champion a proactive safety and quality culture and ensure compliance with applicable environmental, health, safety, and regulatory requirements.
Foster collaboration across sites and functions, employee engagement, organizational effectiveness, and G&H’s core values.
Undertake other reasonable and related tasks allocated by the employee’s manager.