Operations Leader - Defense Manufacturing
Location: Camden, AR
Schedule: 4/10 work-week
Our client is hiring an Operations Leader to lead day-to-day manufacturing for a mission-critical defense program. Responsibilities include:
- Lead all manufacturing activity within the IPT, including chemical mixing, extrusion, tooling, and related processes
- Build and adjust realistic production schedules with the Planner, and head off capacity and bottleneck risks
- Partner with the Production Supervisor on staffing, labor utilization, equipment availability, and material flow
- Own key KPIs: on-time delivery, first-pass yield, cycle time, throughput, downtime, scrap rate, and OEE
- Lead continuous improvement through lean, 5S, kaizen events, and variability reduction
- Roll out new procedures, engineering changes, automation, and capital equipment with minimal disruption
- Run daily and weekly ops meetings, gemba walks, and problem-solving sessions, and escalate issues early
- Champion safety, environmental, and quality compliance, including hazardous materials handling and PPE
- Report status, risks, and performance to site leadership and program stakeholders
Requirements:
- 7+ years of manufacturing or operations experience in defense, aerospace, or another regulated manufacturing environment
- Experience leading or managing production operations
- Proven results implementing lean, continuous improvement, and productivity initiatives
Preferences:
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, operations, business, or a related field