Aerospace Materials Operations Leader - Greenfield Startup

PPG Industries, Inc; Shelby (NC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental

Life insurance

Retirement plan

Paid vacation & holidays

Employee Assistance Program

Disability/Leave

Job summary

PPG Industries, Inc. in Shelby, NC seeks an Operations Manager - Aerospace Materials to build and lead a world-class manufacturing operation from the ground up. You will drive safety, quality, delivery, and cost while embedding an Integrated Work System and servant leadership.

You will recruit and develop teams, establish procedures, and ensure disciplined execution in a greenfield specialty chemical environment on site at the Shelby facility.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, operations, or related field or commensurate experience.
• Minimum 7 years’ manufacturing leadership experience.
• Experience in chemical, coatings, sealants, or specialty materials manufacturing preferred.
• Greenfield or startup experience preferred.
• Lean/Six Sigma certification preferred.
• Strong leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the startup and ramp-up of a greenfield manufacturing operation, including system development, commissioning, organization design, hiring, and workforce training.
• Champion a zero-loss culture by embedding safety as a core value and implementing proactive safety, hazard identification, and root‑cause problem solving.
• Establish and sustain manufacturing standards, operating procedures, visual management systems, and an integrated operating system that drives disciplined execution.
• Model servant leadership through a strong floor presence, employee engagement, coaching, mentoring, and capability development.
• Build a culture of ownership, accountability, teamwork, and continuous learning across the organization.
• Drive operational excellence through lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, loss elimination, and adherence to standard work.
• Utilize data, KPIs, and performance metrics to improve safety, quality, throughput, yield, productivity, and cost performance.
• Recruit, develop, and lead high-performing cross‑functional teams, establishing clear expectations and accountability systems.
• Oversee production operations, including scheduling, material flow, inventory management, and collaboration with supply chain and planning functions.
• Deliver business results by achieving safety, quality, delivery, and cost objectives while managing operational budgets and resources.

Skills

Leadership

Problem-solving

Communication

Lean/Six Sigma

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or operations

Job description

PPG Industries, Inc. in Shelby, NC seeks an Operations Manager - Aerospace Materials to build and lead a world-class manufacturing operation from the ground up. You will drive safety, quality, delivery, and cost while embedding an Integrated Work System and servant leadership.

You will recruit and develop teams, establish procedures, and ensure disciplined execution in a greenfield specialty chemical environment on site at the Shelby facility.