Vice President Manufacturing Operations Jobs in Raleigh, NC

Description

Position Summary

The Vice President of Operations is a senior executive leadership role responsible for overseeing multiple Kymera manufacturing facilities focused on the production of copper, tin, alloyed metal powders, brazing materials, and advanced specialty materials used across automotive, electronics, aerospace, construction, energy, and industrial markets. This high-impact leadership position is responsible for driving operational excellence, safety, profitability, customer satisfaction, and strategic growth across all assigned facilities.

The Vice President of Operations provides strategic direction and operational leadership for multi-site manufacturing operations, including full P&L accountability, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), production, maintenance, engineering, supply chain, quality, capital deployment, and organizational culture. This role partners closely with executive leadership to align operational execution with Kymera's commercial strategy, growth objectives, and long-term business initiatives.

Kymera International is an innovator, manufacturer, and service provider of advanced specialty materials and high-performance surface coatings used across a diverse range of end markets including Commercial & Military Aircraft, Navy Ships, Automobiles, Orthopedic Implants, Advanced Electronic Components, Building & Construction Materials, Critical Chemical Production, Green Hydrogen Production, and 3D Printing.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic & Operational Leadership

• Provide executive leadership and oversight for multiple manufacturing facilities operating in 24/7 industrial production environments.
• Drive operational excellence initiatives focused on safety, quality, productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability across all sites.
• Establish standardized operational processes, KPI frameworks, and performance management systems to drive consistency and accountability throughout the organization.
• Lead site leadership teams to achieve operational and financial targets while supporting long-term strategic growth initiatives.
• Partner with executive leadership to develop and execute operational strategies aligned with Kymera's commercial and product roadmap.

Safety, Environmental & Compliance Leadership

• Champion a proactive safety and environmental culture across all facilities with an uncompromising commitment to EHS compliance and continuous improvement.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, and all applicable regulatory and corporate standards.
• Drive ownership and accountability for safety performance at all organizational levels.
• Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement
• Oversee multi-site production operations involving copper, bronze, brass, tin, bismuth, antimony, specialty metal powders, pastes, and related materials processing operations.
• Lead maintenance, engineering, reliability, and capital project deployment to improve equipment uptime, operational efficiency, product quality, and process reliability.
• Drive Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement (CI), and operational optimization initiatives to improve yields, reduce waste, and maximize facility value-add.
• Support capacity planning, automation, and operational scalability initiatives across manufacturing locations.

Financial & Business Management

• Maintain full operational and P&L responsibility for assigned manufacturing sites.
• Drive cost optimization, inventory management, pricing alignment, working capital performance, and operational efficiencies.
• Develop and manage operating budgets, capital expenditure plans, and forecasting activities.
• Utilize operational and financial analytics to support strategic decision-making and business performance improvement.
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Collaborate closely with Sales, Technical, Finance, HR, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams to support customer demand, product strategy, and profitability objectives.
• Ensure effective planning, logistics, quality, and customer support processes to meet customer expectations and delivery requirements.
• Lead corrective action and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance customer satisfaction and operational performance.

Talent & Organizational Development

• Build, mentor, and develop high-performing plant leadership teams across multiple facilities.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, engagement, and operational discipline.
• Lead succession planning, workforce development, and organizational capability-building initiatives.
• Drive performance management, talent acquisition, leadership coaching, and employee development processes.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Direct oversight of Plant Managers/General Managers and regional operational leadership teams across multiple manufacturing facilities.
• Indirect leadership responsibility for EHS, Quality, Planning, Operations, Logistics, Maintenance, Engineering, Finance, and Human Resources functions.
• Responsible for leadership development, succession planning, organizational effectiveness, and talent management across all assigned operations.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Metallurgy, Business, or related field required.
• Master's degree or MBA strongly preferred.
• Minimum 15 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience with at least 7 years in senior operational leadership roles with multi-site responsibility.
• Prior experience leading metals, specialty materials, powder metallurgy, melting, chemical processing, or advanced manufacturing operations strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success managing large-scale industrial manufacturing operations with direct P&L accountability.
• Experience leading 24/7 manufacturing environments with complex production processes.
• Strong background in Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, operational excellence, and capital project management.
• Experience with ERP systems, operational analytics, forecasting, project management, and production planning tools.
• Strong financial acumen with demonstrated experience managing budgets, forecasting, inventory valuation, and operational cost controls.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, negotiation, and organizational development skills.

Skills & Competencies

• Leadership & Strategy
• Executive-level leadership presence with the ability to influence across all levels of the organization.
• Proven ability to lead organizational transformation and operational change initiatives.
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen.
• Operational Excellence
• Deep understanding of manufacturing operations, maintenance, reliability, quality systems, and supply chain management.
• Proven ability to improve operational performance through KPI management and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Financial Acumen
• Strong understanding of manufacturing financial drivers including cost accounting, working capital management, budgeting, forecasting, and margin optimization.
• Communication & Collaboration
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills with the ability to communicate effectively with executive leadership, customers, employees, and external partners.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to foster collaboration across multiple business functions and locations.