Director of Plant Operations

The Richmond Group USA; Katy (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The Richmond Group USA is assisting an established industrial manufacturer located near Katy, Texas to recruit a Plant / Manufacturing Manager. This leader will drive lean transformation, culture change, and operational excellence, overseeing safety, quality, cost, and delivery across a flagship site.

The role emphasizes accountability, employee engagement, and a data-driven approach to improvements. Ideal candidates bring progressive manufacturing leadership, change-management experience, and

Qualifications

• Progressive leadership experience in a manufacturing or plant environment.
• Demonstrated success with change management, Lean manufacturing, and continuous improvement.
• Experience in rubber, plastics, compounding, molding, press operations, or another process-oriented manufacturing environment would be highly relevant.
• Strong leadership, communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred, but proven manufacturing leadership is more important than the degree.

Responsibilities

• Manufacturing Leadership: Lead day-to-day production, people, workflow, safety, quality, cost, and delivery performance.
• Change & Culture: Drive positive culture change, accountability, communication, and employee engagement throughout the operation.
• Lean & Continuous Improvement: Implement Lean manufacturing practices and identify opportunities to improve productivity, throughput, waste, and overall manufacturing excellence.
• Team Leadership: Develop supervisors and production teams while establishing clear expectations and performance standards.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner closely with engineering, product development, materials, maintenance, supply chain, quality, and other functions.
• Operational Performance: Use manufacturing data and KPIs to identify problems, establish priorities, and drive measurable improvements.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Change management

Leadership

Problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred

Job description

Plant / Manufacturing Manager | Texas - About an hour from Katy TX

I’m working with an established industrial manufacturer seeking a strong manufacturing leader to drive change, operational excellence, and culture improvement at its flagship manufacturing and material science site. This opportunity is available due to a retirement and offers the chance to step into an established operation while helping lead its next chapter. The site manufactures highly engineered products for demanding industrial and energy applications, with capabilities that include mixing, compounding, molding/press operations, material science, and product design. This is more than keeping production running. We are looking for someone who can lead change, strengthen accountability, implement Lean manufacturing principles, and build a culture of continuous improvement.

Core Responsibilities

• Manufacturing Leadership: Lead day-to-day production, people, workflow, safety, quality, cost, and delivery performance.
• Change & Culture: Drive positive culture change, accountability, communication, and employee engagement throughout the operation.
• Lean & Continuous Improvement: Implement Lean manufacturing practices and identify opportunities to improve productivity, throughput, waste, and overall manufacturing excellence.
• Team Leadership: Develop supervisors and production teams while establishing clear expectations and performance standards.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner closely with engineering, product development, materials, maintenance, supply chain, quality, and other functions.
• Operational Performance: Use manufacturing data and KPIs to identify problems, establish priorities, and drive measurable improvements.

What We’re Looking For

• Progressive leadership experience in a manufacturing or plant environment
• Demonstrated success with change management, Lean manufacturing, and continuous improvement
• Experience in rubber, plastics, compounding, molding, press operations, or another process-oriented manufacturing environment would be highly relevant
• Strong leadership, communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills
• Bachelor’s degree preferred, but proven manufacturing leadership is more important than the degree

Location: Weimar, Texas | Onsite