Director of Operations – Ortho Lab Production & Quality

Specialty Appliances Orthodontic Laboratory; Buffalo (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance

Disability Insurance

Life/AD&D Insurance

Competitive PTO

9 paid company holidays

Annual Bonus Plan

401(k) with company match

Job summary

Orthodent Laboratory (ODL) in Buffalo, NY, seeks a Director of Operations to lead end-to-end manufacturing operations, drive customer experience, and deliver strong financial results. You will align production, quality, and support teams to ensure on-time delivery and high-quality products for orthodontists nationwide.

The role requires building leaders, managing budgets, and improving processes within a fast-paced dental lab environment, reporting to the VP of Operations.

Qualifications

• Ten years of management experience, including five years in manufacturing supervision, production management, or laboratory operations. Proven ability to lead multiple departments and develop leaders.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, planning, and project management skills; ability to explain technical information in English and use operational data.
• Preferred: Excel, Lean or Six Sigma, medical device manufacturing, acquisition integration experience, or Certified Dental Technician certification.

Responsibilities

• Operations Ownership: Lead production, Customer Success, planning, order management, quality, maintenance, engineering support, and shipping. Align priorities and resources with company goals.
• Production and Delivery: Manage staffing, capacity, scheduling, materials, equipment, and workflow to deliver quality products on time. Resolve bottlenecks, holds, and operational risks.
• Customer Success: Own Customer Care Center performance and the doctor and practice experience. Ensure timely communication, realistic commitments, technical support, and service recovery.
• Complaints: Own complaints from receipt through documented resolution and follow-up. Coordinate investigation, root cause analysis, customer communication, and corrective action; verify closure and prevent repeat issues.
• Quality and Safety: Own operational quality from case intake through product release. Partner with Quality to maintain required controls, traceability, training, and regulatory compliance. Reduce remakes and rework and promptly escal safety concerns.
• Financial Performance: Own budgets and P&L results. Control costs, plan resources, evaluate investments, and improve productivity and profitability while meeting quality and service commitments.
• People Leadership: Hire, coach, and develop department leaders and employees. Establish clear expectations, build training and succession plans, and address performance and conduct consistently with HR.
• Continuous Improvement: Improve procedures and department handoffs. Support growth, new products, and acquisition integration in partnership with Quality, HR, Finance, IT, and Sales.
• Accountability: Track and report financial, delivery, quality, customer service, people, and safety results. Assign clear owners and action plans when performance falls short and verify improvements.

Skills

Leadership

Manufacturing management

Operations planning

Communication

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Excel

Lean Six Sigma

Quality systems

Job description

Orthodent Laboratory (ODL) in Buffalo, NY, seeks a Director of Operations to lead end-to-end manufacturing operations, drive customer experience, and deliver strong financial results. You will align production, quality, and support teams to ensure on-time delivery and high-quality products for orthodontists nationwide.

The role requires building leaders, managing budgets, and improving processes within a fast-paced dental lab environment, reporting to the VP of Operations.