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Position: Director of Operations
Reports To: President & CEO
Department: Operations
Location: La Porte / Nederland, TX (dual facility)
Direct Reports: 4–8 (Warehouse, Assembly, Supply Chain, Quality)
Indirect Reports: 15–35 (scaling with business growth)

The Opportunity

Swagelok Southeast Texas is a growing industrial distribution and value-added fabrication company serving the Houston energy corridor. We are building the operational capability required for our next stage of growth, and the Director of Operations will play a critical role in shaping that future.

This is a transformation and growth role. The Director of Operations will lead significant work across assembly and fabrication, facility and workflow design, capacity planning, operational systems, and continuous improvement, while ensuring our established distribution operation continues to perform at a high level.

We are looking for an operations leader who combines strategic thinking with hands‑on execution, develops people and leaders, uses data to improve systems, and contributes as an

enterprise‑minded member of the Executive Leadership Team.

About the Business

Swagelok Southeast Texas serves customers across the Houston area energy and industrial markets through distribution, assembly and fabrication, and field service capabilities.

• We operate across North Houston, La Porte, and Nederland, Texas, with continued investment in the facilities and capabilities needed to support future growth.
• Our distribution business is well established, with deep customer relationships across downstream, midstream, and upstream oil and gas along with growing industries such as aerospace, biopharmaceutical and advanced manufacturing.
• Our assembly and fabrication business represents a significant growth opportunity and is undergoing meaningful operational transformation focused on scheduling, workflow, capacity, and quote‑to‑cash reliability.
• Our field services capabilities complement our product and assembly offerings and create additional opportunities to deliver value to customers.
• We continue to expand how we partner with customers, creating opportunities to integrate product, assembly, and service capabilities.

The assembly business is the fulcrum of the $200M plan.

• The path from $13M to $35-50M in fabrication requires operational transformation, not incremental improvement.
• You will inherit an active consulting engagement, a new facility decision, and a team that is ready to be led well.
• The Director of Operations will be the architect and owner of that transformation.

Role Overview

The Director of Operations reports to the President & CEO and serves as a full member of the Executive Leadership Team. This role leads the performance, transformation, and scalability of Warehouse Operations, Assembly Solutions, Supply Chain, Safety, and Quality, while partnering across the business to deliver an integrated customer experience and support sustainable growth.

This role is designed for a leader capable of growing in scope as the business expands. Success will require building scalable systems, stronger leadership depth, and operational capability for the future.

Key Responsibilities 1. Operational Transformation — Assembly & Fabrication

Operational transformation within assembly and fabrication will be a major early priority, alongside strong performance across the broader Operations function.

• Lead implementation of improvements to scheduling, workflow, quote‑to‑cash, and capacity planning.
• Lead facility and operational transition work, including layout, flow design, equipment, staffing, and ramp‑up planning.
• Build a fabrication operation that can scale efficiently as revenue, volume, and complexity grow.
• Establish reliable operating systems that give Sales confidence to include assembly and fabrication capabilities in complex customer solutions.
• Create a culture where safety, quality, on‑time delivery, accountability, and continuous improvement are embedded in daily operating practices.

2. Operational Performance — Warehouse & Supply Chain

Maintain strong distribution performance while driving efficiency and building scalable infrastructure for future growth.

Own Warehouse Operations:

• Order fulfillment accuracy: 98.5% or higher
• On‑time delivery: 98.5% or higher
• 3% year‑over‑year reduction in warehouse operating costs relative to revenue

Own Supply Chain:

• Fill rate from stock: 97% or higher for standard and planned items
• Inventory turns: 4.5+ annually
• 5% year‑over‑year reduction in non‑Swagelok supplier costs relative to total purchases

Own Assembly Solutions:

• On‑time delivery: 98.5% or higher
• Customer quality score: 99.5% or higher
• Zero‑incident safety record
• Assembly cost efficiency improving year‑over‑year relative to revenue
• Develop strong metric dashboard to measure leading indicators to lagging indicators mentioned above.

3. Strategic Planning & Future‑Building

Build the operational capabilities the business will need tomorrow while delivering strong results today.

• Develop and own a multi‑year operational roadmap aligned with the company’s growth strategy and financial objectives.
• Anticipate capacity, technology, facility, and talent constraints and bring forward practical, well‑supported solutions.
• Evaluate and recommend technology investments: ERP enhancements, WMS upgrades, automation, data analytics.
• Partner with the President & CEO and ELT on facility and infrastructure strategy to ensure operational capability keeps pace with business growth.
• Assess and recommend capability expansions (e.g., electrical, hazardous cylinder handling) that could expand the addressable market for the assembly and services businesses.

Build the leadership capability and organizational structure needed for the next stage of growth by developing current talent and thoughtfully adding capability where needed.

• Build a strong management bench of supervisors, managers, and team leads who can lead their functions with increasing independence.
• Identify high‑potential associates and build deliberate development plans for them.
• Create succession and cross‑training plans for critical operational roles so the organization is resilient and not dependent on any single individual.
• Partner with HR to attract and retain the operational talent required to support growth.
• Model the leadership behaviors you want the organization to learn: curiosity, continuous improvement, honest assessment, and genuine care for people.

Continuous improvement is expected to be an ongoing operating discipline—not a one‑time initiative.

• Implement and sustain a continuous improvement methodology (Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent) as a daily operating practice.
• Use systems thinking and root‑cause analysis to address underlying causes rather than repeatedly solving symptoms.
• Build measurement systems that surface the right leading indicators not just lagging metrics so the team can act before problems compound.
• Create a problem‑solving culture where associates at every level are empowered to identify and elevate issues without fear.

As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, this leader is expected to contribute beyond the Operations portfolio.

• Bring proactive ideas, candid assessments, and a forward‑looking enterprise perspective to ELT discussions.
• Model “company first” behaviors by balancing functional priorities with what is best for the organization as a whole.
• Build and maintain relationships with Swagelok corporate operations peers and participate in the broader Swagelok distributor network.
• Communicate with clarity, credibility, and executive presence in writing, meetings, and customer‑facing settings.
• Partner with Sales leadership on the turnaround program. Operational capability and sales ambition must develop in parallel.

Qualifications Experience

• 10-15 years of progressive operational leadership in industrial distribution, value-added manufacturing, fabrication, or a closely adjacent environment.
• Has led or been a senior contributor to an operational transformation — new facility, shop redesign, lean implementation, or equivalent. Has seen what works and what doesn’t.
• Has managed multi-function operations teams of 15-40 people through a growth phase.
• Experience supporting a business through significant growth and increasing operational complexity is strongly preferred.
• Experience with assembly or fabrication operations is strongly preferred. Understanding the quote‑to‑cash process for complex, configured products is a meaningful differentiator.
• Demonstrated success building and significantly developing a management team.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, Supply Chain, or a related field preferred.
• Equivalent experience (12-15 years) with demonstrated operational leadership will be considered.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent continuous improvement certification is a plus — but demonstrated practice matters more than credentials.

Skills & Capabilities

• Systems thinking: sees interdependencies across the operation and identifies root causes, not only symptoms.
• Data literacy: comfortable with operational data, KPIs, and using analytics to drive decisions. Proficient in ERP/WMS environments.
• Financial acumen: understands P&L, budgeting, and how operational decisions flow through to business outcomes.
• Communication: writes and speaks with clarity and conviction and translates operational complexity into business language for executive and cross‑functional audiences.
• Change leadership: has successfully led people through significant operational transformation. Knows that the human side of change is as important as the technical side.

Core Competencies Systems Thinking

Sees the entire operational system — not just individual symptoms. Diagnoses root causes and changes underlying structures, not just surface behaviors. Practices double-loop learning.

Strategic Vision

Builds operational plans that look 2–3 years out. Anticipates constraints before they become crises. Connects operational decisions to business growth outcomes.

Leader Development

Grows people deliberately. Identifies high‑potential associates, builds development plans, and creates a bench that makes the organization resilient.

Makes improvement a system, not a project. Uses Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent methodologies naturally — not as a program but as a way of operating.

Leads transformation with confidence and clarity. Brings people along through significant operational change without losing trust or momentum.

Business Acumen

Understands the P&L, the customer economics, and how operational decisions flow through to financial outcomes. Comfortable owning a budget and explaining variances.

CEO Partnership

Operates as a genuine peer and advisor to the CEO. Brings proactive ideas, honest assessments, and a forward‑looking perspective to the executive leadership team.

Influence & Communication

Communicates with clarity and conviction. Builds credibility across functions — with sales, services, HR, finance — and with Swagelok corporate peers.

What We Offer

Swagelok Southeast Texas is a values-driven, people-first organization with a genuine growth story and the resources to execute it. We offer:

• A meaningful seat on the Executive Leadership Team with the opportunity to influence business direction.
• A meaningful transformation mandate with organizational support and investment behind the work.
• A culture that takes people’s development seriously — we invest in our leaders.
• Competitive compensation with performance-based upside tied to the growth of the business.
• The Swagelok network — one of the most respected brands in fluid system solutions globally, with resources, training, and peer relationships available through the distributor network.
• Significant opportunity to grow in scope and impact as the business expands.

Scope of Position

Budget: Full departmental budget responsibility — warehouse, assembly, supply chain, quality

Travel: 10-15% (Swagelok corporate, distributor network, customer sites)

Work Environment: Office, warehouse, and fabrication shop environments. The right candidate is equally comfortable on the shop floor and in the boardroom.

A Note from the President & CEO

We have built a strong business with talented people, a values-driven culture, and deep customer relationships. We are looking for an operations leader who can help us build the next stage of growth on that foundation.

The opportunity is significant, and the organization is committed to investing in the people, systems, and capabilities required to succeed. The person who joins us will have a genuine seat at the table and a clear mandate to make an impact.

If you are energized by transformation, enjoy building strong teams and scalable systems, and want to help shape the future of a growing industrial business, we would like to hear from you.

— Chris Jones, President & CEO, Swagelok Southeast Texas