Senior Operations Leader – End-to-End Plant Performance

Blackbird Recruiting; City of Middletown (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Blackbird Recruiting seeks a Head of Operations in Middletown, NY for a full-time on-site role. The position leads end-to-end plant performance, driving production, scheduling, quality and customer operations with a strategic, hands-on approach.

The role requires strength in KPI management, cost control, and cross-functional leadership to ensure scalable, efficient operations and accountable results across the organization.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of leadership experience in manufacturing operations.
• Strong understanding of production floor operations and workflows.
• Experience managing cross-functional teams and driving accountability.
• Background in KPI development, SOP creation, and operational systems.
• Knowledge of ERP/MRP systems and production scheduling.
• Strong analytical and cost management skills (COGS, job costing, variance analysis).
• Excellent communication skills across all levels of an organization.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, or EOS preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage core operations functions (production, scheduling, customer service, quality, and compliance).
• Define and track KPIs across departments and drive performance accountability.
• Oversee operational performance, cost control, and margin optimization.
• Run structured operational review cadences using data and metrics.
• Identify performance gaps and implement corrective action plans.
• Own cross-functional coordination across all plant operations.
• Develop and improve SOPs and ensure consistent execution.
• Lead root cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Oversee job costing, SPLH, COGS visibility, and variance tracking.
• Partner on hiring, development, and performance management of operations teams.
• Evaluate equipment needs and support capital investment decisions.
• Identify and implement process improvements and technology opportunities.

Skills

Leadership

KPI development

Cross-functional leadership

Cost management

Lean/Six Sigma

ERP/MRP

SOP creation

Communication

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Production scheduling

Job description

Blackbird Recruiting seeks a Head of Operations in Middletown, NY for a full-time on-site role. The position leads end-to-end plant performance, driving production, scheduling, quality and customer operations with a strategic, hands-on approach.

The role requires strength in KPI management, cost control, and cross-functional leadership to ensure scalable, efficient operations and accountable results across the organization.