Director, Operations

AMETEK; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 170,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Abaco Systems in Huntsville is seeking an Operations Director to lead the manufacturing and repair operations, setting strategic direction and driving continuous improvement across the site. You will partner with the Operational Excellence team to maximize productivity and ensure safe, compliant operations.

The role requires a hands-on, data-driven leader with 8–10 years in production management, lean know-how, and strong financial stewardship to manage budgets and resources in a high‑mix

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or technical field, or BS in Business with production management experience.
• 8–10 years of hands-on operations management in low‑volume, high‑mix environments.
• Experience implementing lean manufacturing and continuous improvement programs.
• Experience in electronics manufacturing is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Ensure a safe operating environment and lead safety training initiatives.
• Lead the quality organization and ensure standards compliance.
• Ensure capability to meet customer quality, technical and delivery goals for products and repairs.
• Establish budgets and resources to meet cost and schedule targets.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and measure performance.
• Coordinate and present performance reports to customers.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Communication skills

AI tools usage

Leadership

Project management

Lean manufacturing

Customer relations

SAP

MS Office

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or technical discipline

BS Business Administration with production management experience

Tools

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Microsoft Project

SAP

Job description

Abaco Systems is a global leader in modular, high performance, open architecture, standards-based rugged embedded computing for the most demanding applications in defense and industry. Our products and solutions are found in high-profile military/aerospace sea, land and air programs, plus commercial and industrial organizations in which rugged reliability is mission critical.

Position Summary

The Operations Director is responsible for the leadership, guidance and direction of the Abaco Huntsville facility. This position requires planning, directing and coordinating the execution of production at a strategic level in the manufacturing and repair shops and will also be responsible for formulating policies, managing daily operational activities, and coordinating the use of materials and human resources toward a goal of maximum productivity. The Operations Director will also be an active partner in ABACO’s Operational Excellence team to ensure we maintain best in class operations.

Duties And Responsibilities

• Safety as Culture: Ensuring a Safe Operating Environment, and actively participating and outlining requirements for Safety Training
• Quality Focus: Abaco’s reputation for ruggedized components is a core of our product portfolio, and the Operations Director is responsible for leading our Quality Organization, ensuring compliance to standards, and participating on Kaizen activity focused on further quality improvement
• Delivery Performance: Ensure that the organization is structured and has the talent, resources and organizational capability to meet customer quality, technical, and delivery expectations for product and desired customer turn-around times for repairs.
• Cost Performance: Establish strategies, objectives, capital requirements, material and labor requirements and budgets to support customer requirements and meet budget commitments.
• Manage and control expenses in accordance with approved budget.
• Meet or exceed measured objectives in sales, profit, turn-around time, employee/facility effectiveness and employee safety.
• Participate in the development and implementation of Abaco business strategy and demonstrate a readiness to support business objectives.
• Drive and support the overall continuous improvement initiatives within the facility; establishing metrics, measurements and tools to improve efficiency, effectiveness and communication.
• Give feedback to leadership and HR on talent needs and organizational capabilities needed to achieve higher levels of production improvement.
• People management from hiring and staffing through progressive discipline.
• Development and cross-training of technical staff and support groups.
• Coordinate and present performance reports to customers.

Education And Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or other technical discipline or BS Business Administration with extensive production/manufacturing management experience.
• Proven record of success as a "hands on" operations management leader with at least 8-10 years of related experience.
• Production/manufacturing management in low volume / high mix (Engineered) product environment preferably in the electronics industry.
• Extensive knowledge and experience in successfully implementing and leading world class lean operations. Prior work experience in working at organizations recognized as lean leading companies is a plus.

Qualifications

• Strong analytical thinking, problem solving skills and communications skills (both written and oral) with attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to use AI tools to improve productivity, decision-making, work quality, and to reduce costs. The successful candidate must be able to identify appropriate AI use cases and critically evaluate AI-generated outputs.
• Proven ability to successfully handle multiple projects and meet critical deadlines.
• Must be a team player with excellent interpersonal skills and a commitment to relationship-building, both internally and externally.
• Must be self-directed and can work well under pressure, multi-task, and meet deadlines.
• Strong leadership, project management and organizational skills.
• From an operations perspective, exposure to continuous improvement best practices, such as lean manufacturing and JIT is necessary in order to achieve operational excellence.
• Strong customer relations skills.
• Knowledge of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Microsoft Project, SAP or other related business software.

Abaco is a Department of Defense (DoD) supplier and as such employees may work with or be exposed to export controlled information and/or information that has been designated as classified information. This information may only be seen or handled by US citizens or qualified permanent residents or those with proper clearances.

Compensation

• Employee Type: Salaried
• Currency: USD
• Salary Minimum: 170,000
• Salary Maximum: 200,000
• Incentive: Yes
• Disclaimer: Where a specific pay range is noted, it is a good faith estimate at the time of this posting. The actual salary offered will be based on experience, skills, qualifications, market / business considerations, and geographic location.
• AMETEK, Inc. is a leading global provider of industrial technology solutions serving a diverse set of attractive niche markets with annual sales over $7.5 billion.
• AMETEK is committed to making a safer, sustainable, and more productive world a reality. We use differentiated technology solutions to solve our customers’ most complex challenges. We employ 22,000 colleagues, in 35 countries, that are grounded by our core values: Ethics and Integrity, Respect for the Individual, Inclusion, Teamwork, and Social Responsibility. AMETEK is a component of the S&P 500. Visit https://www.ametek.com/careers for more information.
• We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. Individuals who need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process should call 1 [phone].