Director, Maintenance Excellence & CI (Multi-Site)

CLM Search; Detroit (MI); On-site; USD 150,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

CLM Search is assisting a leading U.S. automotive manufacturing client in identifying a Director of Maintenance & Continuous Improvement.

This senior leader will drive maintenance excellence, asset reliability, and Lean-based improvements across multiple sites, translating strategic goals into actionable site plans and measurable outcomes. The role requires 10+ years in manufacturing leadership with multi-site responsibility, deep Lean and CI experience, and the ability to travel up to 50%.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Business, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience across manufacturing, maintenance, engineering, operations, or continuous improvement, including multi-site responsibility.
• Demonstrated success leading maintenance reliability, asset management, operational excellence, Lean transformation, or continuous improvement in manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of Lean methodologies (Kaizen, value-stream mapping, 5S, standardized work, root-cause analysis, structured problem solving).
• Ability to translate strategic objectives into plant-level execution plans, governance processes, metrics, and measurable results.
• Strong leadership, coaching, facilitation, communication, change-management, and cross-functional influencing skills.
• Experience using operational metrics, financial data, and project tracking to support decision-making.
• Experience implementing maintenance excellence, equipment reliability, preventive/predictive maintenance, and asset-performance strategies.
• Ability to travel regularly between facilities (up to ~50%).

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a multi-site strategy for Maintenance Excellence and Continuous Improvement.
• Establish standardized maintenance systems, reliability expectations, asset-management practices, governance routines, and performance measures.
• Lead preventive and predictive maintenance programs, reliability initiatives, spare-parts management, downtime reduction, and standardized processes.
• Collaborate with Engineering and plant teams to improve uptime, process capability, maintainability, and lifecycle asset performance.
• Support capital planning, maintenance budgeting, and risk reduction using data-driven strategies.
• Lead Kaizen, value-stream mapping, 5S, standardized work, and structured problem solving initiatives.
• Identify, prioritize, and track cost-saving and operational improvement projects with measurable results.
• Use KPIs and data to identify trends and improvement opportunities across safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and costs.
• Develop standards, dashboards, and visual-management for visibility and accountability.
• Provide leadership and development to maintenance, engineering, and CI leaders across sites.
• Promote cross-site collaboration and replicate successful initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Maintenance leadership

Asset management

Lean transformation

Operational excellence

Cross-functional collaboration

Change management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Manufacturing/Operations/Business

Job description

CLM Search is assisting a leading U.S. automotive manufacturing client in identifying a Director of Maintenance & Continuous Improvement.

This senior leader will drive maintenance excellence, asset reliability, and Lean-based improvements across multiple sites, translating strategic goals into actionable site plans and measurable outcomes. The role requires 10+ years in manufacturing leadership with multi-site responsibility, deep Lean and CI experience, and the ability to travel up to 50%.