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Title: Director of Operations

Department Name: Operations

Reports to: VP of Operations

 

Director of Operations

Arkwin Industries designs and manufacturers hydraulic and fuel driven actuators, valves, reservoirs, dampers and associated systems primarily for the aerospace and defense industry. We welcome people who share our determination and high standards to join us in doing work that moves the world forward.

Arkwin is known for design excellence and commitment to quality and reliability since 1951. This 70+ year legacy includes a wide range of military and commercial platforms such as GE CFM engines, F-35, and more. Our equipment and components are used on thousands of aerospace, military, space, and industrial applications worldwide, in the most severe environments when reliability and performance are mission critical.

Summary:

The Director of Operations plans, organizes, and controls production operations using a sound understanding of design/manufacturing engineering principles to solve complex operational challenges. The Director of Operations is responsible for production output of all OEM and MRO products and services provided by Arkwin Industries to our customers. The Director of Operations will have 2-3 Direct reports (Manufacturing Managers) and ~90 indirect reports (engineers, direct labor, and support staff). The Director of Operations will report to the Vice President of Operations and will be a key member of the Arkwin succession plan. A successful candidate would be promotable to VP of Operations within 2 years.  The Director of Operations must have the ability to lead by influence, motivate employees and be capable of communicating with all levels of employees throughout the organization including customers.

 

KEY ACTIVITIES

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Support the effective execution of production for both OEM and MRO manufacturing operations.
  • Implements operational policies, objectives, and initiatives.
  • Executes operating plans and tactics to attain short and long-term financial critical operational goals.
  • Evaluates and optimizes current and proposed operational systems and procedures to gain efficiencies and to minimize risk.
  • Ensures compliance with standards and regulations.
  • Monitors financial and operational metrics to measure achievements of organization objectives.
  • Creates functional strategies and specific objectives and develops budget, policies, and procedures to support the functional infrastructure.
  • Drive a culture of accountability and results through effective performance management.
  • Achieve world class on-time delivery and quality performance to our customer base.
  • Support the development, implementation, and evaluation of a successful cost reduction or global manufacturing plans that drive aggressive business results.
  • Ensure planned key performance indicators such as revenue, gross margin, Defective Parts per Million (DPPM) and On-time Delivery (OTD) are met or exceeded.
  • Ensure that production is cost effective while participating and guiding cost reduction activities.
  • Ensure implementation and evolution of safety procedures and environmental protocol are being adhered to by employees.
  • Utilize the ERP system to help the Production Supervisors plan and schedule labor and machine resources using advanced planning and scheduling tools or reports.
  • Monitor the production processes, product standards and advise of schedule adjustments as needed.
  • Act as the liaison between different departments, e.g. Suppliers, Managers, Engineering.
  • Coordinate, set up and implement standard operating procedures for all production operations and processes.
  • Manage the adherence to prescribed procedures to ensure first pass yields meet or exceed planned quality goals.
  • Actively participate in the New Product Introduction (NPI) process until product is production ready by ensuring new processes are implemented properly coordinating with Manufacturing/Industrialization/Design Engineering.
  • Drive change by working with other cross functional groups to ensure ideal manufacturability of product.
  • Ensure customer focus with participation in customer meetings and audits.
  • Maintain the highest ethical standards, even when challenged from above.

Qualifications:

  • Smart, Energetic, and Entrepreneurial. These are the 3 most critical attributes that a candidate must possess to be successful at Arkwin.
  • A Bachelor’s Degree in a technical discipline, preferably Mechanical Engineering, or Industrial Engineering.
  • 5+ years of leadership positions in manufacturing operations and engineering; preferably in the aerospace and defense industry.
  • Demonstrated cost management in functional areas such as assembly, manufacturing engineering, materials, etc.
  • Strong consulting & coaching skills; effective advisor to management and employees across a variety of business areas. Exceptionally good listening skills; able to present complex or new ideas with clarity and simplicity.
  • Must be outgoing, self-motivated, well organized, detail oriented, work well under pressure, and a creative problem solver.
  • Must possess excellent communication skills, be highly presentable and be able to interact with multiple levels in the organization and customers.
  • Possess strong knowledge of mechanical, electrical or systems theory and design
  • Strong leadership skills, independent thinking, strong organizational and planning abilities and excellent analytical/problem solving skills are essential
  • Intermediate MS Office skills in Word, Excel and Outlook
  • Able to travel domestically and internationally up to 5% of the time

Preferred Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in engineering, Management, or Business Administration.
  • Five years’ previous experience working as a Manufacturing or Industrial Engineer in a high mix, low volume, highly regulated manufacturing business.
  • Minimum of five or more years of experience in a high volume/low mix or low volume/high mix production environment
  • Technical mastery of continuous improvement tools and methodologies
  • Power user in ERP systems (preferably with Infor) and/or other financial and operational software systems
  • At least five years of Aerospace industry experience
  • Bilingual English/Spanish preferred

Competencies:

  • Demonstrated ability in the competencies for employees new in their role: you will be expected to demonstrate the following competencies: Customer Focus, Problem Solving, Action Oriented, Composure, Functional/Technical Skills, Ethics and Values, Integrity and Trust and will need to Value Diversity.
  • To comply with U.S. export laws and regulations, Arkwin Industries may only employ “U.S. Persons” as defined by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

 

This job description is not intended to imply that the duties identified above are the only duties to be performed by employee(s) in this position. Employees may be required to perform other job duties as requested. This job description or certain job functions described herein may be subject to modification.

The employee may be required to follow other job-related instructions and to perform other job-related duties as requested, subject to all applicable state and federal laws.

Arkwin is an EEO employer/Disabled/Protected Veteran