Sr. Operations Manager

BorgWarner; Town of Ithaca (NY); On-site; USD 147,000 - 202,000; Full time

Job summary

BorgWarner, a global leader in mobility technology, seeks a Senior Operations Manager to lead a large unionized production facility in New York. The role drives safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity through strategic manufacturing leadership and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities include labor relations, continuous improvement, and budget stewardship, with a focus on workforce engagement and operational excellence aligned to plant and corporate goals.

Qualifications

• MBA or Master’s degree required/minimum 10 years progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
• Experience leading supervisors and salaried leaders in a union environment.
• Strong track record in safety, quality, delivery, cost and people.
• Familiarity with labor relations and collective bargaining administration.

Responsibilities

• Direct and oversee all manufacturing operations in a large unionized facility.
• Develop and execute operational strategies aligned with plant and corporate objectives.
• Ensure safety, quality, delivery, cost and productivity targets are met.
• Drive labor optimization, capacity planning and KPI improvements.
• Lead readiness for new product launches and strategic initiatives.
• Coach and develop supervisors and managers to build a high-performance team.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

Operations leadership

Labor relations

Budget management

Education

MBA or Master’s Degree

Tools

Talent Management System (TMS)

MS Excel

Job description

Position Summary

The Senior Operations Manager is responsible for leading all manufacturing operations within a large, unionized production facility, ensuring the safe, efficient, and cost-effective delivery of products that meet customer requirements for quality, delivery, and performance. This role provides strategic and operational leadership across production, manufacturing engineering, continuous improvement, quality, maintenance, and production support functions. The Senior Operations Manager partners closely with labor leadership, plant staff, and cross-functional teams to drive operational excellence, workforce engagement, productivity improvements, and business results. This position serves as a key member of the plant leadership team and is accountable for executing site strategies while fostering a culture of safety, accountability, continuous improvement, and positive labor relations.

Key Responsibilities

Operations Leadership

• Direct and oversee all manufacturing operations within a large-scale unionized manufacturing facility.
• Develop and execute operational strategies aligned with plant, business unit, and corporate objectives.
• Ensure achievement of production targets related to safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and customer satisfaction.
• Drive operational excellence through effective resource planning, labor utilization, capacity management, and operational execution.
• Lead plant readiness efforts for new product launches, demand fluctuations, facility consolidations, and other strategic initiatives.
• Monitor, analyze, and improve key performance indicators (KPIs) including productivity, efficiency, scrap, downtime, throughput, and overall operational performance.

Labor Relations & Workforce Leadership

• Foster positive and productive labor-management relationships in partnership with Human Resources and union leadership.
• Ensure compliance with collective bargaining agreements, company policies, work rules, and applicable employment regulations.
• Support grievance administration, contract interpretation, investigations, and labor relations initiatives.
• Lead, coach, and develop supervisors, managers, and operational leaders within a unionized manufacturing environment.
• Promote employee engagement, accountability, teamwork, and a culture of mutual respect and inclusion.

Continuous Improvement Champion

• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, BorgWarner Production System, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Identify and implement cost reduction, productivity enhancement, and process optimization opportunities.
• Lead cross-functional teams in root cause analysis, problem solving, and corrective action activities.
• Drive waste elimination, inventory optimization, cycle time reduction, and operational standardization initiatives.
• Establish a culture of continuous improvement focused on operational excellence and customer satisfaction.

Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Establish and maintain a culture where safety is the highest priority.
• Ensure compliance with all company safety standards, OSHA requirements, environmental regulations, and applicable legal requirements.
• Support quality management systems and customer-focused quality initiatives.
• Drive accountability for corrective actions related to audits, safety incidents, customer concerns, and operational risks.
• Ensure adherence to regulatory, environmental, and quality standards across the facility.

Financial & Strategic Management

• Manage departmental budgets, labor costs, manufacturing expenses, and capital expenditures.
• Support annual operating plans, forecasting activities, and strategic business initiatives.
• Evaluate operational risks and implement mitigation strategies to support business continuity.
• Ensure effective utilization of labor, equipment, facilities, and capital resources.
• Deliver operational results while supporting long-term business growth and profitability objectives.

Leadership Development

• Build organizational capability through coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and talent development.
• Create and sustain a high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, safety, and results.
• Assess workforce capabilities and develop plans to address skill gaps and future business needs.
• Utilize Talent Management System (TMS) and leadership development programs to strengthen organizational capability.
• Develop future leaders and maintain a robust succession pipeline for critical operational positions.

Education & Experience

• Required MBA or Master's Degree in a related discipline.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
• Minimum of 3-5 years leading supervisors, managers, and salaried leaders in a union manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success managing large-scale manufacturing operations with responsibility for safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people.
• Experience with labor relations, workforce planning, collective bargaining agreement administration, and employee engagement.
• Preferred Experience within the automotive or highly regulated manufacturing industry.
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement certification.
• Multi-site or campus leadership experience.

- Salary Range: $146,800 - $201,850

Our Culture

BorgWarner is a global product leader in delivering innovative and sustainable mobility solutions. We are a company of innovators and independent thinkers that brings together talented employees, meaningful work and amazing technology in a unique environment. At BorgWarner we constantly work towards our vision of a clean and energy-efficient world. BorgWarner promotes and nurtures a diverse and inclusive environment, honors integrity, strives for excellence, commits to responsibility for our communities and the environment, and builds on the power of collaboration. We believe the health and safety of our employees are a top priority.

Career Opportunities

We manage talent as seriously as we manage our businesses and encourage you to learn about our proud history, strong culture, technologies, and vision for the future. We offer positions locally and globally with over 90 locations in 19 countries.