The Director, Tantalum Operations leads the divisional operations function for 5 global manufacturing locations supplying tantalum capacitor components to a variety of markets including automotive, industrial, mobile and personal electronics, aerospace / defense, medical, and more. This highly visible role has broad responsibility for the planning, execution, and continuous improvement of operational performance across a broad range of deliverables. There is also a high degree of coordination and interfacing with other technical and commercial business functions both in Greenville, SC headquarters and in various global locations. This position has a high travel requirement as the relevant manufacturing locations span the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Initially there will be a high time commitment in Asia.
Duties & Responsibilities:
Responsible for leading multi-site operations to meet a broad range of deliverables across Safety, Quality, Delivery, Revenue, Profit, and Productivity, in accordance with divisional and corporate objectives
Lead a safety-first culture across the manufacturing organization. Drive improvements in safety and environmental metrics.
Drive a zero-defect mindset, high service levels and a customer-oriented approach. Ensure that consumer complaints are answered completely and in a timely manner, with effective root cause investigation and corrective actions.
Act as change agent, and lead a culture of continuous improvement across all aspects of safety & environmental, quality & delivery performance, and operational efficiency. Drive usage of Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, SPC, and other relevant modern approaches to manufacturing excellence.
Manage sites to meet aggressive revenue growth and profitability targets, while closely controlling labor and other budget items
Ensure all sites meet or exceed industry requirements, including ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 14001, and stringent electronics customer specs, across a range of automotive, aerospace/defense, medical, and electronics customers
Manage certain complex projects and bring them to successful completion within time and budget constraints, including plant start-ups, product line relocations, and other highly complex activities
Work effectively in a cross-functional organization through mutually beneficial relationships with other teams including: Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, R&D, and others.
Develop and mentor high performing teams in the plants, in particular the Plant Managers
Develop relationships with certain customers and suppliers, and participate in interactions as a key representative of the company
Maintain operations' conformance to company policies and procedures, as well as federal, state, and local regulations, in cooperation with local leadership
Preferred Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Engineering. MBA or other advanced degree preferred.
15 plus years of industrial technical experience, ideally in Operations and technical leadership roles. Previous multi-site, global responsibility highly preferred. Experience in the electronics industry is a plus.
Proficiency with modern manufacturing technologies, and ability to quickly learn a variety of manufacturing processes, materials, requirements, and other technical aspects of the business
Experience with and dedication to leading a safety-first culture across a manufacturing organization
Familiarity with moving operations to a zero-defect mindset, and meeting stringent customer and industry requirements. Direct experience in automotive, aerospace, medical, and/or consumer electronics industries is preferred.
Must have a history of leadership and the ability to drive manufacturing excellence, including: Lean, TPM, continuous improvement and problem solving methods (i.e. Six Sigma), and modern quality systems such as SPC, 8D/RCCA, etc.
Excellent writing, interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal) as well as contracting and negotiation skills for interactions with customers and suppliers
Demonstrated business acumen & strong project management skills
High proficiency using Microsoft Office and other similar software applications
Ability to travel up to 50% to locations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Initial travel requirement will be higher with extended stays likely.
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