Director of Operations - Millwork

Cogent Talent Solutions; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Cogent Talent Solutions seeks an accomplished operations leader to direct manufacturing, warehousing, and field installation across Atlanta and North Carolina. You will own staffing, development, KPIs, and succession planning, driving safety, quality, on-time delivery, and margin protection company-wide.

Responsibilities include leading engineering/CAD, production, scheduling, purchasing, and logistics; enforcing handoffs; managing capacity; and building a resilient operations bench with strong

Qualifications

• 7-10 years of operations leadership in custom manufacturing or related make-to-order trades.
• Proven experience managing managers across multiple sites.
• Strong grasp of manufacturing financials, job costing, and scheduling to capacity.
• Track record installing SOPs, KPIs, and accountability across shops and fields.
• Direct experience owning safety and OSHA compliance in shop and field environments.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily ops across engineering/CAD, production, scheduling, purchasing, logistics, and field installation.
• Lead weekly operating cadence and report results to the CEO.
• Enforce sales-to-production handoffs with signed orders and site readiness.
• Validate capacity and delivery commitments before finalizing with customers.
• Own the production schedule and inter-site logistics between Atlanta and NC.
• Hold department leaders accountable to roles, KPIs, and performance reviews.
• Drive rework below 10% through root-cause tracking and training.
• Lead safety program with OSHA-aligned practices and toolbox talks.
• Manage labor productivity to the 85% loading standard and control direct-labor costs.
• Develop the operations bench with cross-training and succession-ready supervisors.

Skills

multi-site operations

production scheduling

safety & OSHA compliance

budgeting & cost control

staff development & succession

purchasing & logistics

KPI reporting & performance

Tools

CAD

Job description

Role Summary

Directs every operating department in each market: supervision, all manufacturing cells, warehouse, maintenance, the rail and stair installation crews, and the scheduling, drawing release, and materials functions that feed them. Owns both teams: staffing, development, accountability, and succession. Runs GA and NC to one operating standard and reports to the Chief Executive Officer as the single point of accountability for safety, quality, on-time delivery, cost performance, and margin protection company-wide.

Key Responsibilities

• Own daily operational performance across both locations: engineering/CAD, production, scheduling, purchasing, logistics, and field installation.
• Run the weekly operating cadence - production meetings, daily shop huddles, KPI reviews - and report results to the CEO.
• Enforce the sales-to-production handoff standard: complete stair sheets, drawings, signed orders, and confirmed site readiness before any job releases to the shop.
• Validate all capacity and delivery commitments before Sales finalizes them; no unvalidated promises to customers.
• Own the production schedule and inter-site logistics between Atlanta and North Carolina, including freight planning and warehouse throughput.
• Hold department leaders (Shop Manager, Operations Supervisor, CAD, Purchasing) accountable to signed roles & responsibilities, KPIs, and performance reviews.
• Drive rework below 10% through root-cause tracking, CAD revision control, and position-specific training.
• Lead the safety program: written policy, incident reporting, OSHA-aligned practices, and weekly toolbox talks at both shops.
• Manage labor productivity to the 85% loading standard and control direct-labor cost as a percentage of sales.
• Develop the operations bench: cross-training, coverage plans for key roles, and succession-ready supervisors.

Qualifications

• 7-10 years of operations leadership in custom manufacturing, millwork, building products, or a related make-to-order trade, including at least 3 years managing managers.
• Proven multi-site experience running production and field/installation teams across more than one location.
• Working command of manufacturing financials: job costing, labor burden, gross margin by job, and scheduling to capacity.
• Track record installing structure into a low-structure environment: SOPs, KPIs, production scheduling, and performance accountability.
• Direct experience owning safety and OSHA compliance in a shop and field environment.
• Demonstrated ability to hold tenured, loyal employees accountable while retaining them.