Job Details

Confidential – Southwest U.S. HQ (multi-site: South-Central & New England)

We are partnering with a privately-held, design-build manufacturer on a retained search for their next VP of Manufacturing. The company is a 90-year-old, debt-free market leader that supplies highly engineered, safety-critical structures to Fortune 500 clients in aerospace, energy, and heavy infrastructure.

This role will own P&L and operational excellence for two advanced production campuses (Texas and Massachusetts) that machine, fabricate, and assemble large-scale, low-volume, high-complexity products. You will inherit an experienced workforce, modern ERP (NetSuite), and a continuous-improvement culture that is already ISO-certified and Lean-driven.

What you will do

• Drive safety, quality, delivery, and cost KPIs across 200+ employees and 250k+ sq ft of manufacturing space.
• Build 3-year capex, capacity, and labor plans that support double-digit growth without sacrificing margin.
• Institutionalize Lean / Six Sigma so every cell hits >85 % OEE and >95 % on-time delivery.
• Partner with Sales, PM, and Estimating to convert engineered-to-order proposals into executable, profitable production schedules.
• Mentor plant managers, shift supervisors, and CI engineers; create succession depth for every critical role.
• Report directly to the COO and serve on the executive committee that sets enterprise strategy.

What you bring

• BS in Mechanical, Industrial, or Manufacturing Engineering (MBA or MS preferred).
• 15+ years progressing from the shop floor to multi-site leadership in engineered products, construction, or safety-regulated capital equipment.
• Demonstrated ownership of $50 M+ P&L and proven ability to expand EBITDA by 300–500 bps.
• Expert command of Lean, Six Sigma, ISO 9001, and OSHA 30-hour standards.
• NetSuite power-user or equivalent ERP fluency; can translate real-time data into decisive action.
• Willingness to travel 10 % between plants and to corporate HQ in the Northeast.

Why make the move?

• Stable, recession-resilient backlog with multi-year customer contracts.
• Equity participation and bonus tied to clear, attainable metrics.
• Opportunity to leave your fingerprint on a growing platform that is reinvesting 8-figure capex over the next five years.
• Collaborative, low-ego leadership team that values speed, data, and people development.

If you are a hands-on, strategically minded manufacturing executive who thrives in complex, safety-critical environments, we would like to speak with you. Apply in confidence—company identity disclosed after initial qualification.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. All applicants are entitled to understand their rights under federal employment laws. For more information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the U.S. Department of Labor.