Manager, Americas Productivity and Cost Engineering

Vertiv•Westerville, OH

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Americas Productivity and Cost Engineering is dedicated to accelerating productivity and efficiency across Americas manufacturing plants and major operations projects. The role owns the regional productivity pipeline and benefit-realization process, translating plant actions into verified cost and capacity outcomes and providing leadership visibility into performance, risks, and required decisions. It works closely with plant managers, finance, the Vertiv Operating System, planning, quality, safety, supply chain, manufacturing engineering, and project leaders. The role establishes operating standards, evaluates improvement opportunities, validates financial benefits, tracks execution, and partners with operations and finance to improve labor efficiency, conversion cost, capacity utilization, and project returns. The expected activity mix is approximately 60% regional productivity governance and benefit realization, 25% targeted site intervention, and 15% capability building and standardization. The preferred location is Westerville, Ohio, though another major Americas manufacturing location may be considered. There are no direct reports and no special physical requirements. Travel is 25%, including regular visits to manufacturing sites in the United States and Mexico.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering, systems engineering, or a closely related field.
Seven or more years of progressive experience in industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, operational excellence, cost reduction, or productivity leadership.
Demonstrated success delivering measurable productivity and cost improvements in a complex manufacturing environment.
Experience supporting multiple plants and influencing plant leaders without direct reporting authority.
Strong working knowledge of labor standards, work measurement, line balancing, capacity analysis, manufacturing cost structures, and financial benefit validation.
Ability to connect operational metrics to financial results and distinguish cost avoidance, capacity creation, and realized savings.
Advanced analytical capability using Microsoft Excel, enterprise data systems, and data-visualization tools.
Strong project-management, problem-solving, facilitation, and executive-communication skills.
Professional proficiency in English.
Legally authorized to work in the United States; sponsorship is not provided.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in engineering, operations, or business administration.
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or comparable advanced continuous-improvement certification.
Training or demonstrated knowledge in manufacturing cost accounting, standard costing, and capital-project financial analysis.
Experience in engineered-to-order, configure-to-order, or complex assembly manufacturing.
Spanish language capability.

Responsibilities

Establish and own a consistent regional productivity governance process covering all Americas plants and major operations projects.
Maintain a prioritized pipeline of productivity and efficiency initiatives with accountable owners, milestones, risks, investment requirements, and monthly benefit realization.
Develop plant productivity baselines, annual targets, and forecasts using agreed operational and financial measures.
Evaluate proposed initiatives and validate expected labor, material, overhead, capacity, inventory, quality, lead-time, and cash impacts before approval.
Partner with plant and regional finance to ensure savings are measurable, auditable, and appropriately reflected in budgets, forecasts, and standard costs.
Conduct targeted industrial engineering studies with Advanced Manufacturing Engineering and manufacturing sites, including time studies, labor standards, staffing models, line balancing, layout, material flow, equipment utilization, and capacity analysis.
Standardize industrial engineering methods, templates, assumptions, and benefit-calculation rules across the region.
Ensure productivity improvements are sustainable and do not compromise employee safety, product quality, customer delivery, or regulatory compliance.
Review plant and project performance, identify gaps and root causes, and drive recovery plans when benefits or milestones are at risk.
Prepare concise monthly reporting for operations leadership covering performance to target, projected outcomes, major variances, risks, and decisions required.
Establish regional productivity methods and governance requirements, challenge or return unsupported benefit claims, and escalate materially off-plan initiatives; financial recognition remains subject to finance approval.
Deliver the annual Americas productivity commitment, finance-validated approved benefits, adequate qualified pipeline coverage, accurate and timely monthly forecasts, improved labor efficiency and conversion cost, and recovery or escalation of initiatives falling behind plan.