Sr. Operations Manager

BorgWarner•Ithaca, NY

21d

About The Position

The Senior Operations Manager leads all manufacturing operations within a large, unionized production facility, ensuring safe, efficient, and cost-effective delivery of products that meet customer requirements for quality, delivery, and performance. The role provides strategic and operational leadership across production, manufacturing engineering, continuous improvement, quality, maintenance, and production support functions. As a key member of the plant leadership team, the Senior Operations Manager partners with labor leadership, plant staff, and cross-functional teams to drive operational excellence, workforce engagement, productivity improvements, and business results. The position is accountable for executing site strategies while fostering a culture of safety, accountability, continuous improvement, and positive labor relations.

Requirements

MBA or master's degree in a related discipline.
At least 10 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
At least 3–5 years leading supervisors, managers, and salaried leaders in a union manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated success managing large-scale manufacturing operations with responsibility for safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people.
Experience with labor relations, workforce planning, collective bargaining agreement administration, and employee engagement.

Nice To Haves

Experience in the automotive or a highly regulated manufacturing industry.
Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement certification.
Multi-site or campus leadership experience.

Responsibilities

Direct and oversee manufacturing operations at a large-scale unionized manufacturing facility.
Develop and execute operational strategies aligned with plant, business unit, and corporate objectives.
Ensure production targets for safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and customer satisfaction are achieved.
Plan resources, labor utilization, capacity, and operational execution to improve performance.
Lead plant readiness for new product launches, demand fluctuations, facility consolidations, and other strategic initiatives.
Monitor and improve KPIs such as productivity, efficiency, scrap, downtime, and throughput.
Build productive labor-management relationships in partnership with Human Resources and union leadership.
Ensure compliance with collective bargaining agreements, company policies, work rules, and applicable employment regulations.
Support grievance administration, contract interpretation, investigations, and labor relations initiatives.
Lead, coach, and develop supervisors, managers, and operational leaders.
Promote employee engagement, accountability, teamwork, mutual respect, and inclusion.
Champion Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, BorgWarner Production System, and continuous improvement methodologies.
Identify and implement cost reduction, productivity enhancement, and process optimization opportunities.
Lead cross-functional root cause analysis, problem solving, and corrective action activities.
Drive waste elimination, inventory optimization, cycle time reduction, and operational standardization.
Establish a continuous improvement culture focused on operational excellence and customer satisfaction.
Establish and maintain a culture where safety is the highest priority.
Ensure compliance with company safety standards, OSHA requirements, environmental regulations, and applicable legal requirements.
Support quality management systems and customer-focused quality initiatives.
Drive corrective actions related to audits, safety incidents, customer concerns, and operational risks.
Ensure facility adherence to regulatory, environmental, and quality standards.
Manage departmental budgets, labor costs, manufacturing expenses, and capital expenditures.
Support annual operating plans, forecasting, and strategic business initiatives.
Evaluate operational risks and implement mitigation strategies to support business continuity.
Ensure effective utilization of labor, equipment, facilities, and capital resources.
Deliver operational results while supporting long-term business growth and profitability.
Build organizational capability through coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and talent development.
Create and sustain a high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, safety, and results.
Assess workforce capabilities and develop plans to address skill gaps and future business needs.
Use the Talent Management System (TMS) and leadership development programs to strengthen organizational capability.
Develop future leaders and maintain a succession pipeline for critical operational positions.