Director of High-Consequence Manufacturing

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense; Kentucky; On-site; USD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Executive relocation

Sign-on incentives

Tailored rewards

Job summary

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company in Graham, KY is seeking a Director of Operations to lead a high-consequence manufacturing site with ~150 staff. This role focuses on safety, quality, delivery, and cost while adhering to explosive safety and regulatory standards.

You will drive growth, build leadership pipelines, and scale operations within EBOS-based lean execution while supporting DoD contracts and regulatory compliance in a mission-critical environment.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of operations leadership in high-hazard manufacturing environments.
• Direct experience in energetics or explosives manufacturing (e.g., propellants, detonators, high explosives such as RDX).
• Background in aerospace & defense or similarly regulated industries.
• Experience supporting DoD programs and contracts.
• Ability to obtain DoD Security Clearance.
• Working knowledge of energetic materials (RDX, HMX, propellants, detonators).
• Strong understanding of explosive safety, hazard analysis, and risk mitigation.
• Experience with ITAR, ATF, and DoD regulatory environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide full-site leadership for a 150-person operation in Graham, KY.
• Own site performance across safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
• Ensure compliance with explosive safety, process controls, and regulatory standards (PSM, DoD).
• Build and develop teams with safety-first, accountability-driven culture.
• Drive performance through EBOS and lean execution discipline.

Skills

Leadership

High-hazard manufacturing

Safety culture

Operations management

Job description

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company in Graham, KY is seeking a Director of Operations to lead a high-consequence manufacturing site with ~150 staff. This role focuses on safety, quality, delivery, and cost while adhering to explosive safety and regulatory standards.

You will drive growth, build leadership pipelines, and scale operations within EBOS-based lean execution while supporting DoD contracts and regulatory compliance in a mission-critical environment.