Operations Director Jobs in Erie, PA (NOW HIRING)

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Description

If you are a Director, Foundry Operations professional looking for an opportunity to grow your career, Emerson has an exciting opportunity for you. Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, you will serve as the site leader for the Urick Foundry with full profit and loss responsibility. In this role, you will establish and execute the operational, commercial, and cultural strategy required to position Urick as a premier casting supplier to RIDGID and global trade customers. You will provide leadership across manufacturing, sales, customer service, technical services, engineering, finance, and supply chain while driving world-class performance in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and customer satisfaction. This position plays a critical role in strengthening the foundry's long-term competitiveness, advancing operational excellence, and fostering a collaborative, high-performing culture. Relocation assistance is available for qualified candidates.

In This Role, Your Responsibilities Will Be:

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Establish and execute a multi-year strategy that aligns Urick’s capabilities with customer needs and business growth goals.
• Monitor market trends, capacity needs, and emerging technologies to ensure the foundry can support future demand.
• Make strategic decisions on product mix, insourcing versus outsourcing, customer diversification, and capital investments.
• Represent Urick within Emerson, communicating the foundry’s capabilities, challenges, and opportunities in enterprise planning.

Business Leadership & Financial Performance

• Oversee full P&L performance, including annual plans, budgets, and monthly forecasts.
• Drive initiatives that improve profitability, cost competitiveness, and asset utilization.
• Grow third-party sales through targeted strategies aligned with capacity and Urick’s technical strengths.
• Approve pricing, quotes, and commercial agreements to ensure sustainable, profitable growth.

Operational Excellence & Foundry Performance

• Promote a strong safety culture focused on accountability, engagement, and proactive risk reduction.
• Oversee all foundry operations, including melting, molding, core making, finishing, maintenance, and metallurgy, to ensure consistent, high-quality production.
• Drive Lean and continuous improvement efforts to increase throughput, reduce scrap, improve labor efficiency, and enhance equipment reliability.
• Ensure disciplined execution of production schedules, materials flow, and capacity planning to meet delivery commitments.
• Lead capital planning to modernize equipment, improve reliability, and support long-term asset needs.

Customer & Market Leadership

• Build strong relationships with Ridge Tool and external trade customers to ensure alignment on quality, delivery, cost, and new product needs.
• Lead technical and customer service teams to provide responsive support, casting expertise, and effective issue resolution.
• Strengthen Urick’s position as a preferred supplier through reliable performance, technical capability, and customer trust.

People, Culture & Organizational Development

• Build a high-performing, collaborative culture that attracts and develops strong technical and operational talent.
• Strengthen leadership capability through workforce planning, succession development, coaching, and empowerment.
• Partner with Human Resources to maintain positive employee and union relationships, including participation in negotiations and grievance processes.
• Promote a culture of accountability, innovation, continuous improvement, and shared success across all teams.

Governance & Community Representation

• Ensure compliance with corporate policies, ethical standards, environmental regulations, and safety requirements.
  Represent Urick in community, governmental, and industry forums to strengthen the company’s reputation and influence.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Who You Are:
You communicate a compelling future vision and inspire others to achieve shared goals. You identify key performance indicators, understand trends, and use data and insights to improve results and drive business performance. You seek broad input and balance cross-functional perspectives to make informed decisions that support business objectives. You build strong teams by delegating effectively, empowering others, and creating an environment where people can contribute their best work. You think strategically, map ambitious paths toward goals, and act with urgency to deliver meaningful results. You drive integration, efficiency, and continuous improvement across complex processes while pursuing goals with energy, accountability, and resilience.

For This Role, You Will Need:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Metallurgy, Business, or a related field.
• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, engineering, or technical sales, (preferably within foundry, metal casting, or heavy industrial environments).
• A strong business acumen with an understanding of P&L performance, budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning.
• Experience building and leading high-performing teams, including leadership development and organizational change.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence at all levels of an organization.
• Track record of driving safety performance and fostering a culture of accountability and employee engagement.
• Ability to lead in a unionized environment, including participation in negotiations and labor-management relations.

Preferred Qualifications That Set You Apart:

• Master’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration (MBA), or a related field.
• Experience in foundry or metal casting environments.
• Proven background in Lean, continuous improvement, and operational excellence with measurable results.
• Familiarity with metallurgical processes, precision casting operations and technical problem-solving.
  Experience growing third-party/business-to-business sales in an industrial setting.

Our Culture and Commitment To You:
At Emerson, we prioritize a workplace where every employee is valued, respected, and empowered to grow. We foster an environment that encourages innovation, collaboration, and diverse perspectives—because we know that great ideas come from great teams. Our commitment to ongoing career development and growing an inclusive culture ensures you have the support to thrive. Whether through mentorship, training, or leadership opportunities, we invest in your success so you can make a lasting impact. We believe diverse teams working together are key to driving growth and delivering business results.

Emerson is committed to fostering a culture grounded in innovation, integrity, collaboration, and inclusion. We welcome individuals with diverse experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives who are eager to contribute their expertise and make a meaningful impact. Together, we solve complex challenges, support our customers' success, and create opportunities for continued growth and development.

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