Benefits:

Hitchiner offers highly competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Onsite state of the art Gym/Fitness Center, open 24/7 for all employees
• Medical and Dental Insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Basic and Accidental Life Insurance (company paid)
• Short-term and Long-term Disability Insurance (company paid)
• 401K (pre-tax and ROTH) with Excellent Company Match and Immediate Vesting
• Company Profit Sharing Plan
• 3 weeks' Vacation to start; 4 weeks' Vacation at 5 Years; 5 weeks' Vacation at 10 years seniority
• We set you up for success with our "Center for Excellence" onsite training center for new hires and existing employees to improve new learning and continuous growth
• Training and Educational Assistance Programs

The Director of Operations will lead the end-to-end manufacturing process, from wax injection and shelling to casting and finishing. This leader is responsible for maximizing plant throughput, minimizing scrap rates, and ensuring a culture of safety and continuous improvement in a complex manufacturing environment.

Prime Responsibilities and Major Factors in Evaluating Performance:

1. Production Management: Oversee all phases of the investment casting lifecycle (wax, shell, foundry, finishing) to ensure on-time delivery and adherence to production schedules, with a focus on increasing plant throughput in all areas.

2. Safety & Compliance: Champion a "Safety First" culture, ensuring strict adherence to OSHA regulations, environmental standards, and handling protocols for molten metals and chemicals.

3. Asset Management: Oversee the maintenance strategy for critical capital equipment (wax presses, shell equipment, cast furnaces, autoclaves, robotic cells) to minimize downtime.

4. Supply Chain & Inventory: Coordinate and align purchasing of raw material stocks and directly manage WIP levels on the production floor to ensure best-in-class WIP turns.

5. Continuous Improvement: Lead Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma initiatives to streamline workflow and reduce cost-per-unit

Additional Responsibilities:
• Ensures production operations and facilities are in compliance with applicable local, state, and federal regulations, company policies, and the Hitchiner Code of Conduct.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Minimum Acceptable Qualifications:
• Experience: Minimum of 10 years in manufacturing leadership, with specific experience in investment casting, foundry operations, or metallurgy.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Metallurgical, Mechanical, Industrial, or similar focus), Operations Management, or Business.
• Technical Skills: Deep understanding of bottleneck identification and management, aerospace and automotive manufacturing environments, and leadership development.
• Methodologies: Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Green Belt certification strongly preferred.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Experience managing compliance for aerospace and automotive manufacturing (ISO 9001, AS9100, NADCAP, IATF).

Keys to Success
• Throughput Discipline: A rigorous commitment to ensuring production flow throughout the manufacturing floor with a daily focus on bottleneck identification and management.
• Shop Floor Presence: A leader who is visible on the floor and connects office strategy with production reality.
• Data Driven Process Review: Utilize real-time feedback from engineers, operators, and process control to predict and prevent defects and bottlenecks before they occur.
• Agility: The ability to balance high-volume production needs with the technical complexities of custom or complex requirements.