Plant Operations Leader: Safety, Quality & Growth

Xylem; Du Bois (NE); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Xylem in DuBois seeks an experienced operations leader to drive site performance and accountability across safety, quality, delivery, and cost. You will translate corporate objectives into actionable plans, build a high-performance culture, and align capabilities with customer needs.

The role requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and a proven track record in operations or manufacturing environments. You will champion lean practices and mentor site teams to deliver lasting improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field with strong leadership experience.
• Significant progressive leadership experience in operations, manufacturing, or industrial environments with site-level accountability.
• Proven track record of delivering improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity.

Responsibilities

• Lead the DuBois site operations team and own site performance and operational results.
• Translate division and business objectives into clear operating priorities, action plans, and performance expectations.
• Drive execution against key goals related to safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity.
• Establish a high-performance operating culture focused on accountability, responsiveness, and continuous improvement.
• Support business growth by aligning capabilities, capacity, and execution with customer and market needs.
• Champion a strong safety culture and ensure safety remains a visible priority across the operation.
• Lead efforts to improve quality performance, reduce variability, and strengthen process discipline.
• Improve on-time delivery and operational reliability through planning, execution, and issue resolution.
• Drive cost competitiveness through waste reduction, productivity improvement, and disciplined resource management.
• Monitor and improve site KPIs and operating metrics using data-driven decision-making.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance productivity, flow, quality, and site performance.
• Build structured problem-solving, root cause analysis, and performance management practices.
• Advance operational excellence by improving processes, standard work, visual management, and management systems.
• Identify opportunities to simplify operations, remove barriers, and improve scalability.
• Lead, coach, and develop operations leaders and team members across the site.
• Build organizational capability through succession planning and talent development.
• Foster an inclusive, team-oriented environment with accountability and engagement.
• Set clear expectations and align priorities, behaviors, and results.
• Support change leadership efforts that strengthen culture and performance.

Skills

Leadership

Operational excellence

Continuous improvement

Data-driven decision making

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Xylem in DuBois seeks an experienced operations leader to drive site performance and accountability across safety, quality, delivery, and cost. You will translate corporate objectives into actionable plans, build a high-performance culture, and align capabilities with customer needs.

The role requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and a proven track record in operations or manufacturing environments. You will champion lean practices and mentor site teams to deliver lasting improvements.