Technical Operations Senior Director

The Coca-Cola Company; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

The Coca-Cola Company is seeking a Senior Director, Technical Operations to accelerate adoption of best-in-class capabilities across its franchised bottling network in the United States. This leader will translate bottler challenges into scalable solutions that improve productivity, reduce costs, and strengthen KPIs.

The role requires deep beverage production knowledge, 10+ years of technical leadership, and the ability to influence senior stakeholders without direct authority.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related technical discipline required; master’s degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing, engineering, or technical operations leadership.
• Experience working as an Engineer.
• Proven success leading initiatives in a complex, matrixed environment and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Deep beverage production technologies knowledge with digital capabilities.
• Operational Excellence experience with structured problem solving (SALT, Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, SMED).
• Statistical process control and process capability analysis experience.
• Knowledge of capital planning and CAPEX process.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.

Responsibilities

• Provide visible, enterprise-minded leadership across bottling partners and stakeholders to identify and advance best-in-class capabilities and technologies across the bottling system.
• Establish trusted feedback mechanisms, benchmarking sessions, and capability, technology, and digital gap assessments to identify opportunities and shape fit-for-purpose solutions.
• Use bottler feedback, performance data, and external insights to define and continuously refine capability and technology focus areas with the greatest potential for network-wide impact.
• Facilitate cross-bottler collaboration and councils that encourage candid exchange of challenges, lessons learned, implementation experience, and replicable best practices.
• Lead and support bottlers in diagnosing and resolving complex operational challenges through structured problem solving, root cause analysis, benchmarking insights, and proven best practices.
• Evaluate emerging and established technologies for technical robustness, scalability, user experience, implementation readiness, and measurable value across bottlers of varying size and complexity.
• Guide technology pilots with bottlers by defining success criteria, measuring outcomes, assessing user experience and realized benefits, and translating learnings into recommendations for broader system adoption and continuous improvement.
• Champion productivity initiatives, including benchmarking and value creation workshops, and ensure opportunities are converted into clear actions, accountable ownership, and measurable results.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Manufacturing operations

Stakeholder influence

Data-driven decision making

Process improvement

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

At The Coca-Cola Company, we exist to refresh the world and make a difference through loved brands, done sustainably for a better shared future. Working here is more than working for the global beverage leader; it’s an opportunity to be a part of something that can positively impact the world.

The Coca-Cola Company is looking for a Senior Director, Technical Operations to join our team!

The Senior Director, Technical Operations, is accountable for accelerating the adoption of best-in-class capabilities and technologies across the franchised bottling system. This leader will translate bottler challenges and opportunities into scalable, practical solutions that deliver sustainable productivity improvements, cost savings, stronger operational performance, improved KPIs, and future-ready supply chain capabilities that enable growth.

We are seeking a dynamic, impactful, and purposeful leader who combines deep beverage-industry expertise with strong collaboration, influencing, and technical leadership skills. The ideal candidate will build credibility across a complex stakeholder network, align diverse partners around a clear agenda, and convert operational insights into measurable improvements in operating margin and value-chain performance through the application of best-in-class technical capabilities.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide visible, enterprise-minded leadership across external bottling partners and other key stakeholders to identify, prioritize, and advance best-in-class capabilities and technologies across the bottling system.

• Establish trusted feedback mechanisms, including benchmarking sessions, and capability, technology, and digital gap assessments to identify opportunities and shape fit-for-purpose solutions.

• Use bottler feedback, performance data, and external insights to define and continuously refine capability and technology focus areas with the greatest potential for network-wide impact.

• Facilitate cross-bottler collaboration and councils that encourage candid exchange of challenges, lessons learned, implementation experience, and replicable best practices.

• Lead and support bottlers in diagnosing and resolving complex operational challenges through structured problem solving, root cause analysis, benchmarking insights, and proven best practices.

• Evaluate emerging and established technologies for technical robustness, scalability, user experience, implementation readiness, and measurable value across bottlers of varying size and complexity.

• Guide technology pilots with bottlers by defining success criteria, measuring outcomes, assessing user experience and realized benefits, and translating learnings into recommendations for broader system adoption and continuous improvement.

• Champion productivity initiatives, including benchmarking and value creation workshops, and ensure opportunities are converted into clear actions, accountable ownership, and measurable results.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline required; master’s degree preferred.

• 10+ years of progressive experience across manufacturing, engineering, or technical operations leadership required

• Experience working as an Engineer required

• Demonstrated success leading high-impact initiatives in a complex, matrixed environment and influencing senior stakeholders, cross-functional teams, and external partners without relying on direct authority.

• Strong communication, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to create alignment, challenge constructively, and inspire action across diverse audiences.

• Deep expertise in beverage production technologies and equipment, supported by strong working knowledge of digital capabilities, technology assessments, and implementation considerations.

• Proven Operational Excellence experience, including structured problem solving, root cause analysis, and resolution of operational pain points using established methods such as SALT, Lean, Six Sigma, SALT, TPM, and SMED.

• Strong expertise in statistical process control, process capability studies, and analysis of site and line performance data to identify insights and guide decisions.

• Working knowledge of infrastructure planning, capital strategy, and the CAPEX process.

• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands‑on technical problem solving and disciplined execution, while maintaining a strong focus on measurable business outcomes.

• 50% Travel required

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 and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.