Senior Manager, North America Technical Support Team

LG Energy Solution Michigan, Inc.•Troy, MI

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Manager, North America Technical Support Team is an ESMI-based leader responsible for directing specialized operational and technical support for LG Energy Solution and affiliated battery-manufacturing entities throughout North America. This position leads a cross-functional technical support team that helps North American sites plan and stabilize battery operations through production and capacity planning, factory and equipment scheduling, supply-chain coordination, inventory strategy, CAPEX planning, resource planning, process innovation, and new-line startup and ramp-up support. The Senior Manager serves as a central technical and operational interface among North American manufacturing sites, customers, parent-company organizations, joint-venture governance bodies, and internal functions. The position travels to affiliated sites to diagnose operational gaps, coordinate improvement initiatives, establish standardized planning practices, and transfer specialized battery-manufacturing knowledge to locally hired managers and employees.

Requirements

Specialized knowledge of lithium-ion battery manufacturing operations, production planning, capacity management, inventory control, and plant ramp-up.
Strong understanding of electrode, cell, and module production flows and the operational dependencies among equipment, materials, labor, facilities, logistics, quality, and customer schedules.
Advanced production-capacity analysis and simulation skills, including operating-rate, yield, takt-time, cycle-time, line-balance, and bottleneck assessment.
Experience developing integrated production, shipment, inventory, and resource plans for high-volume manufacturing operations.
Knowledge of end-to-end supply-chain planning, material transactions, global sourcing coordination, warehouse requirements, and customer-delivery planning.
Experience supporting factory construction, equipment scheduling, commissioning, start of production, and mass-production ramp-up.
Experience with CAPEX planning, investment allocation, cost verification, value analysis/value engineering, and cost-reduction activities.
Ability to interpret operational data, identify performance gaps, conduct root-cause analysis, and implement cross-functional corrective actions.
Strong team leadership, employee development, resource allocation, project governance, and change-management capabilities.
Ability to lead cross-functional programs involving manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, logistics, quality, finance, HR, IT, facilities, suppliers, customers, and executive stakeholders.
Strong executive communication, stakeholder alignment, issue escalation, decision-support, and technical documentation skills.
Ability to transfer specialized battery-manufacturing and planning knowledge to local managers, planners, engineers, and operational employees.
Ability to work effectively across multiple manufacturing sites, corporate entities, joint ventures, cultures, and time zones.
Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, systems engineering, supply chain management, operations management, business, engineering, or a related field required.
At least fifteen years of progressively responsible experience in battery manufacturing, production planning, supply-chain planning, operations management, factory planning, or related functions.
At least five years of experience leading managers, professional employees, or cross-functional teams in a manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated experience supporting lithium-ion battery production or a comparably complex, high-volume manufacturing operation.
Demonstrated experience with production-capacity planning, yield and operating-rate management, production and shipment scheduling, and inventory control.
Experience coordinating factory or production-line expansion, equipment schedules, start of production, and mass-production ramp-up.
Experience managing or supporting CAPEX, investment planning, operating-cost improvement, and cross-functional resource planning.
Experience supporting manufacturing operations at multiple facilities or international locations, including collaboration among parent companies, joint ventures, customers, and suppliers.
Ability to communicate effectively in English in executive, technical, project-management, and operational settings.
Ability and willingness to travel frequently throughout North America.
Ability to work flexible or extended hours during new-plant launches, production ramp-ups, major operating disruptions, customer escalations, and other critical business periods.

Nice To Haves

Professional certification in planning, inventory management, supply chain, project management, Lean Six Sigma, or a related discipline preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the North America Technical Support Team and direct specialized operational and technical support for ESMI and other LG Energy Solution or affiliated North American manufacturing entities.
Establish team priorities, assign site-support resources, monitor deliverables, develop employees, and ensure timely resolution of critical manufacturing and business-planning issues.
Advise North American sites on production-planning master data, including capacity, operating rate, yield, takt time, cycle time, and other key operating assumptions.
Develop and review integrated production plans covering electrode, cell, module, sample production, start of production, mass-production ramp-up, and customer-delivery requirements.
Analyze production capacity, bottlenecks, line balance, operating scenarios, and resource constraints; recommend actions to improve output and production stability.
Coordinate factory construction, equipment installation, commissioning, qualification, and production-ramp schedules with project, engineering, manufacturing, and supplier teams.
Support CAPEX planning and governance, including investment allocation, verification, value analysis/value engineering, cost reduction, and implementation tracking.
Develop inventory and material-flow strategies for raw materials, work in process, nonconforming or hold inventory, finished goods, days inventory outstanding, and warehouse capacity.
Coordinate end-to-end supply, production, inventory, shipment, and customer-delivery planning across North American operations and global supply networks.
Lead or support Sales and Operations Planning activities to align customer demand, production capability, inventory, material supply, and business priorities.
Coordinate resource planning across materials, logistics, staffing, equipment, methods, facilities, utilities, and production space to support launches and stable operations.
Review production performance using yield, Overall Equipment Effectiveness, operating rate, output, shipment, inventory, cost, and other operating metrics; identify gaps and initiate corrective actions.
Lead cross-functional root-cause analysis and recovery planning for production shortfalls, capacity imbalances, inventory issues, schedule delays, and ramp-up constraints.
Promote operational excellence through standardized work, process innovation, Lean Six Sigma, workplace organization, and other continuous-improvement methods.
Provide management oversight and coordination for process-innovation, manufacturing IT, and related operational systems initiatives within the team’s scope.
Support governance and executive decision-making by preparing analyses, recommendations, and materials for management, Boards of Directors, and joint-venture steering committees.
Serve as a communication hub among customers, parent companies, joint-venture partners, suppliers, and internal departments to align schedules, priorities, risks, and recovery actions.
Develop and maintain standardized planning procedures, operating assumptions, reporting tools, issue logs, decision records, and implementation plans across supported entities.
Train and mentor locally hired managers, planners, engineers, and operational personnel on battery-production planning, capacity management, inventory control, ramp-up management, and cross-functional coordination.
Provide on-site leadership during new-plant launches, production ramp-ups, major operating disruptions, capacity-recovery efforts, and other critical business events.
Travel frequently to manufacturing facilities throughout North America based on business, project, and operational requirements.