Vice President of Operations

Job Summary

The Vice President of Operations is the senior leader responsible for the safe, efficient, and profitable execution of all manufacturing operations for a $30 million annual revenue heavy equipment manufacturing business. This role provides strategic and hands-on leadership across operations, production control, purchasing, engineering, and environmental health and safety, with clear accountability for building a safety-first culture, advancing lean manufacturing, improving on-time delivery, quality, throughput and driving sustainable margin expansion.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Lead all day-to-day manufacturing operations, including production, production control, scheduling, purchasing, engineering support, maintenance coordination, and environmental health and safety.
• Establish and maintain a safety-first culture that ensures compliance with company policies and all applicable regulatory requirements while reducing risk, incidents, and near misses.
• Drive lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives across the business, including waste reduction, flow improvement, standard work, process standardization, visual management, root cause problem-solving, and productivity improvement.
• Own operational performance metrics for safety, quality, delivery, inventory, labor efficiency, scrap, productivity, and cost, and implement actions that improve results.
• Partner with finance and commercial leadership to improve gross margins through labor efficiency, material cost control, sourcing discipline, throughput improvement, pricing support, and reduced rework and warranty exposure.
• Oversee production control processes to align capacity, materials, labor, and schedules with customer demand and revenue objectives.
• Lead purchasing and supplier performance efforts to improve cost, quality, delivery, and supply continuity while supporting strategic sourcing and inventory optimization.
• Partner with engineering to support manufacturability, product quality, design for production, new product introduction, and timely resolution of technical issues affecting operations.
• Develop and manage operating budgets, capital expenditure plans, staffing plans, and operational forecasts that support business goals and return on investment.
• Build, coach, and develop a high-performing operations organization with clear accountability, strong communication, and succession planning.
• Provide timely and accurate reporting to executive leadership on plant performance, key risks, improvement initiatives, and progress against financial and operational goals.

Key Performance Priorities

• Improve safety performance and strengthen compliance through proactive leadership, training, and accountability.
• Increase plant throughput and on-time delivery while reducing lead times and schedule disruption.
• Drive year-over-year margin improvement through labor productivity, material cost reduction, inventory control, and waste elimination.
• Elevate and expand lean systems and management routines that create sustainable operational discipline and continuous improvement.
• Improve cross-functional coordination among operations, purchasing, engineering, and finance to support profitable growth.

Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Business, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including leadership of multi-functional operations teams in an industrial or heavy equipment manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success leading production, production control, purchasing, engineering coordination, and EHS in a manufacturing setting.
• Strong knowledge of lean manufacturing, continuous improvement methods, KPI management, and operational problem-solving.
• Proven ability to improve margins through cost control, productivity gains, sourcing discipline, and operational execution.
• Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, capital planning, labor and overhead management, and inventory performance.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and change management skills, with the ability to engage both shop floor and executive stakeholders.
• Experience with ERP-driven planning, scheduling, and materials management systems preferred.

Leadership Competencies

The ideal candidate is a visible, hands-on leader who sets high standards for safety, accountability, and performance. This person brings strong business judgment, a disciplined approach to lean operations, credibility with technical and production teams, and the ability to translate strategy into measurable operational and financial results.

Reporting Structure

This position reports to the Chief Executive Officer/Owner and serves as a key member of the executive leadership team. Direct reports include leaders responsible for operations, production control, purchasing, engineering, maintenance, and environmental health and safety.

About Pierce Pacific Manufacturing

Since 1931, the professionals at Pierce have been designing, engineering, manufacturing, delivering and supporting customized products that meet the demands of heavy industry – and the equally demanding needs of our customers. With expertise in scrap, refuse, and bulk material handling, as well as in demolition, specialty excavation, and forestry, our product knowledge is vast, comprehensive, and always growing. Our team of professional designers and engineers includes specialists in hydraulics, electrical and control systems, mechanical design and structures.

Recruiting Process Notice

This posting and recruiting process are managed by the Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership OMEP) on behalf of Pierce Pacific Manufacturing. OMEP is coordinating candidate communications, application review, screening, and related hiring process steps. While OMEP is supporting the search process, final hiring decisions are made by Pierce Pacific Manufacturing.

Powered by JazzHR