Site Operations Director

GKN Aerospace; Tallassee (AL); On-site; USD 130,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

GKN Aerospace is seeking an Operations Director to lead all production and operational activities for a large manufacturing site. You will drive safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people objectives while fostering continuous improvement and operational excellence.

You will provide strategic leadership to multiple production departments, develop high-performing teams, and collaborate with cross-functional leaders to meet customer commitments and business goals.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
• 5+ years leading large, complex operations.
• Expertise in Lean Manufacturing and CI.
• Strong financial acumen and budget management.
• Knowledge of production systems and safety programs.
• Experience managing large hourly and salaried staff.

Responsibilities

• Direct manufacturing operations to achieve business, customer, and financial objectives while ensuring operational stability.
• Establish and execute operational strategies, driving productivity, capacity planning, resource optimization, and performance improvement.
• Monitor KPIs and lead corrective actions to improve efficiency and operational results.
• Champion a culture of safety and accountability, ensuring compliance with all environmental, regulatory, and company requirements.
• Lead risk assessments, proactive safety improvements, and employee engagement in safety and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure products meet customer specifications and quality standards while supporting audits and maintaining customer confidence.
• Partner with Quality and Engineering teams to drive defect reduction, process capability improvements, root cause investigations, and corrective actions.
• Manage operational budgets, annual operating plans, and capital expenditure projects to achieve financial objectives.
• Drive labor productivity, material efficiency, waste reduction, and cost savings through lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.
• Lead, coach, and develop Operations Managers, Group Leaders, and Supervisors while building succession and leadership development plans.
• Foster a culture of accountability, engagement, inclusion, and high performance in partnership with Human Resources on workforce planning and employee relations.
• Lead Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance OEE, throughput, inventory, and labor efficiency.
• Utilize data and analytics to identify opportunities, implement sustainable solutions, and promote operational excellence.
• Partner with Supply Chain, Engineering, Maintenance, Quality, Finance, HR, and Commercial teams to support business objectives.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Continuous Improvement

Operational Excellence

Budget Management

Leadership

People Development

Cross-functional Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

MBA preferred

Job description

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.6bn in 2025. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

The Operations Director is responsible for leading all production and operational activities for a large manufacturing site. This role ensures the achievement of safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people objectives while driving continuous improvement and operational excellence. The Operations Director provides strategic leadership to multiple production departments, develops high-performing teams, and partners with cross-functional leaders to meet customer commitments and business goals.

Job Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Direct manufacturing operations to achieve business, customer, and financial objectives while ensuring operational stability.
• Establish and execute operational strategies, driving productivity, capacity planning, resource optimization, and performance improvement.
• Monitor KPIs and lead corrective actions to improve efficiency and operational results.

Safety, Environmental, and Compliance

• Champion a culture of safety and accountability, ensuring compliance with all environmental, regulatory, and company requirements.
• Lead risk assessments, proactive safety improvements, and employee engagement in safety and continuous improvement initiatives.

Quality and Customer Satisfaction

• Ensure products meet customer specifications and quality standards while supporting audits and maintaining customer confidence.
• Partner with Quality and Engineering teams to drive defect reduction, process capability improvements, root cause investigations, and corrective actions.
• Manage operational budgets, annual operating plans, and capital expenditure projects to achieve financial objectives.
• Drive labor productivity, material efficiency, waste reduction, and cost savings through lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.
• Lead, coach, and develop Operations Managers, Group Leaders, and Supervisors while building succession and leadership development plans.
• Foster a culture of accountability, engagement, inclusion, and high performance in partnership with Human Resources on workforce planning and employee relations.
• Lead Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance OEE, throughput, inventory, and labor efficiency.
• Utilize data and analytics to identify opportunities, implement sustainable solutions, and promote operational excellence.

Cross Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Supply Chain, Engineering, Maintenance, Quality, Finance, HR, and Commercial teams to support business objectives.
• Support new product introductions, customer launches, and capital projects while ensuring alignment across departments.

Job Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Operations Management, Business, or a related fields
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
• 5+ years of experience leading large, complex manufacturing operations.
• Expertise in Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, and operational excellence methodologies.
• Strong financial acumen and budget management experience.
• Strong knowledge of production systems, quality management, and safety programs.
• Proven experience managing large hourly and salaried employee populations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree, MBA, or related discipline preferred
• Experience in aerospace, automotive, advanced manufacturing, or highly regulated industries preferred.
• Strong leadership and organizational development capabilities.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills.Ability to influence and lead through change.
• Effective communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We arethe place where human dreams, plus humanendeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.