Director, CMA Operations & Facilities

Director, CMA Operations & Facilities

Opportunity summary

Kelaca is looking for a Director, CMA Operations & Facilities for its client partner in Danville, Virginia. This is a senior onsite operations leadership role responsible for the safe, compliant, and on-time production and delivery of manufactured parts across the Center for Manufacturing Advancement (CMA), with full production accountability supporting the Navy Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE).

The Director owns day-to-day performance and long-term reliability in an ITAR-controlled precision machining environment, combining production leadership, facilities oversight, budget ownership, and continuous improvement. You will lead a tight-knit team of machinists and planning staff, build the operating discipline and core systems needed for predictable execution, and act as the primary operations and facilities liaison to on-site customer and supplier partners in a shared customer-supplier ecosystem.

Duties & responsibilities

Operations leadership

• Provide strategic leadership and accountability for all CMA production operations, ensuring safety, quality, delivery, and throughput targets are consistently met.

• Direct multi-shift manufacturing operations in an ITAR-controlled environment, establishing policies, standards, and performance expectations.

• Lead production planning, material strategy, and shop scheduling to align with customer priorities, program demands, and capacity constraints.

• Oversee manufacturing execution to optimize efficiency and output while maintaining strict safety, quality, and compliance standards.

• Serve as the senior operational partner to internal quality, application engineering, and technical teams to ensure production readiness and priority alignment.

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to safety, delivery, cost, quality, and productivity; develop and execute corrective actions as needed.

• Develop and execute a multi-year continuous improvement roadmap, leveraging Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.

• Provide executive-level reporting and presentations on operational performance, financial results, project status, and customer engagement.

People and organizational leadership

• Lead, develop, and retain a high-performing operations workforce, including workforce planning, performance management, coaching, and succession planning.

• Set expectations for leadership behaviors, safety culture, and accountability across production teams.

• Oversee administrative functions including staffing models, scheduling strategy, attendance management, and performance review processes.

Financial and administrative oversight

• Own the operational budget for CMA production and facilities, including forecasting, cost control, procurement, and capital planning.

• Monitor financial performance and resource utilization, ensuring alignment with organizational and programmatic goals.

• Ensure accurate, timely reporting to leadership and external stakeholders as required.

Facilities and compliance

• Provide senior leadership for secure CMA facility operations in compliance with ITAR, campus, and regulatory requirements.

• Partner with facilities, maintenance, and EHS teams to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant building operations.

• Oversee equipment readiness, infrastructure planning, and indirect material availability to support uninterrupted production.

• Lead business continuity planning and emergency response readiness for both production operations and facilities.

External engagement

• Serve as a visible operational leader for AM CoE visitors, customers, and partners, representing CMA and the organization professionally.

• Support customer engagement, audits, and site visits related to manufacturing, facilities, safety, and compliance.

Knowledge, experience & tools

• Education & career progression: Associate degree or diploma in Precision Machining Technology, Integrated Machining Technology, or a closely related accredited program, with typically 7+ years of progressive experience in precision machining or advanced manufacturing and 5+ years of leadership experience accountable for people, operations, and performance outcomes.

• Precision machining & subtractive manufacturing: strong command of precision machining environments and subtractive manufacturing processes, with a clear understanding of how tooling, setups, and process choices affect cycle time, throughput, quality, and readiness.

• Inspection, NDT & CAD/CAM: advanced working knowledge of dimensional inspection, NDT methods, and CAD/CAM applications, with the ability to work credibly with engineering and quality teams to resolve production issues and readiness constraints.

• ITAR, ISO & regulatory compliance: experience operating within ITAR and ISO-regulated environments, with working knowledge of facility and shopfloor safety regulations and broader regulatory compliance requirements.

• ERP, planning & scheduling systems: strong knowledge of ERP systems, materials planning, and scheduling fundamentals, including experience with JobBOSS or similar platforms and the ability to close gaps between current and best-practice use.

• Lean, continuous improvement & Six Sigma: proven track record leading Lean manufacturing and structured continuous improvement initiatives; Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent advanced process improvement certification is strongly preferred.

• Financial & operational management: demonstrated experience with budgeting, financial management, and operational reporting, including interpreting performance data and translating it into actionable decisions.

• Safety, facilities & reliability: working knowledge of preventative maintenance frameworks, equipment reliability, and safe facility operations, and how they impact uptime, quality, and capacity.

• Customer, defense & stakeholder engagement: experience supporting government or defense manufacturing programs (e.g., Navy, NNPI) and providing executive-level communication, presentations, and stakeholder management with internal leaders and external customers.

Essential physical requirements

• May sit for long periods of time while completing duties.

• Must be able to move freely between facilities.

• Must be able to operate and manipulate a keyboard.

• May lift up to 50 pounds on a regular basis.

What success looks like

• Production is delivered safely, on time, and to the required quality standard across both shifts.

• Facilities and operational support processes are dependable, compliant, and fit for purpose, with clear preventative maintenance routines in place.

• Scheduling systems, training plans, and operational routines are formalised, understood, and consistently followed.

• Teams work with clarity, accountability, and a strong understanding of priorities, with reduced ad hoc firefighting.

• Performance data is visible, decisions are timely, and corrective action leads to measurable improvement in throughput, yield, and on-time delivery.

• The operation can respond to customer demand and program changes without losing control of cost, quality, or risk.

Capabilities

• Creates order in complex or immature environments by setting clear priorities, measures, and follow-through.

• Balances strategic oversight with hands-on operational judgement and a visible presence on the shop floor.

• Builds alignment across functions (production, quality, engineering, facilities, maintenance, safety) without losing pace or accountability.

• Has “seen what good looks like” in well-run operations and can translate that into practical roadmaps, systems, and routines in a smaller shop.

• Uses data to guide decisions, escalate risks early, and focus effort where it matters most.

• Leads improvement in a way that is practical, sustainable, and tied to operational outcomes rather than one-off initiatives.

• Comfortable stepping into a role without fully built guardrails, identifying gaps, and designing and implementing the processes that are missing.

Behavioral signals

• Structured communication: explains priorities clearly and gives leaders and customers confidence through concise, evidence-based reporting.

• Collaboration and conflict fluency: works effectively across production, quality, engineering, facilities, and safety, even when priorities compete, and can manage skilled, opinionated machinists with fairness and firmness.

• Bias for ownership: takes accountability for outcomes rather than managing only activity; comfortable being the primary point of contact for operations performance.

• Influence and judgement: brings others with them, makes balanced decisions, and keeps work moving in pressured situations, including when schedules shift or quality issues surface.

• Builder mindset: enjoys identifying gaps, building systems from scratch, and improving immature processes rather than only operating within fully defined guardrails.

• Pressure handling: stays composed when deadlines tighten, issues emerge, or plans shift, maintaining a calm, credible presence with both internal teams and on-site customer/supplier stakeholders.

• Results focus: keeps attention on measurable operational improvement rather than activity for its own sake.

Location, eligibility & working pattern

• This is a fully onsite leadership role based in Danville, Virginia.

• The environment is manufacturing-led, multi-shift, and compliance-sensitive, with a strong emphasis on safety, quality, delivery discipline, and cross-functional coordination.

• Because the facility is ITAR controlled and supports U.S. defense work, U.S. citizenship is required.

Standard operating hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Work hours outside of normal operating hours may be required and are based on business needs.

If you are an operations leader who can bring structure, pace, and accountability to a regulated, small-team manufacturing environment, and who enjoys building systems, not just running them, this role offers the opportunity to lead a critical operation and shape how it performs as demand grows.

To explore this opportunity further, please submit your resume and a brief summary of your relevant operations, machining, and leadership experience.