VP of Manufacturing Operations (Custom Equipment Production)

#twiceasnice Recruiting•Long Island, NY

3d•$200,000 - $250,000•Onsite

About The Position

Our client, a highly respected custom equipment manufacturer, is seeking a VP of Manufacturing Operations to join their team in Farmingdale, NY. This role leads a deeply tenured, highly skilled manufacturing organization that takes real pride in building exceptional products. You will oversee six direct reports across Production, Project Management, Purchasing, and Control Panels, with full responsibility for delivering complex, custom-built equipment to customers. This is a hands-on leadership role — ideal for someone who enjoys being on the shop floor, working side-by-side with their team, solving real manufacturing challenges, and continuously improving how things are built. The ideal candidate is a humble, roll-up-your-sleeves operator with experience in custom mechanical equipment manufacturing and metal fabrication. This is a rare opportunity to step into a 100+ year-old, financially strong, and highly profitable company with extremely low turnover — where people stay because the work is meaningful, the teams are exceptional, and leadership is truly valued.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline required
Significant experience in custom equipment or engineered-to-order manufacturing required
Working knowledge of metal fabrication, machining, and mechanical assemblies required
7+ years of manufacturing or operations leadership required
Full cycle team management experience required
Comfortable being onsite and actively engaged on the shop floor required

Responsibilities

Lead day-to-day operations for customer-specific, custom-built equipment
Provide visible, hands-on leadership to production, project management, and technical teams
Oversee the design, fabrication, assembly, and testing of custom OEM equipment
Ensure smooth handoff from sales to engineering to production for every order
Partner closely with engineering to turn designs into solutions
Drive continuous improvement across safety, quality, delivery, and labor efficiency
Maintain ERP accuracy, inventory control, and job costing integrity
Manage budgets, material spending, labor planning, and cost controls
Allocate people, machines, and materials to meet delivery commitments
Hire, train, and develop supervisors and shop-floor leaders
Review production and technical outcomes to continuously improve performance