Vice President of Manufacturing Operations

We are seeking a hands-on, results-oriented Vice President of Manufacturing Operations to lead 13 manufacturing and processing facilities across the United States and Canada: four primary manufacturing sites and nine Cured-in-Place-Pipe (CIPP) processing facilities. Operations include industrial equipment assembly, fusible PVC pipe extrusion, CIPP manufacturing, and Wetout Facilities. The Vice President will establish a common management system across all sites while preserving each operation's specialized processes, equipment requirements, and quality standards. This leader will establish consistent operating discipline, strengthen accountability, develop plant leadership, and improve safety, quality, productivity, cost, and delivery across the network. The role reports to the COO and leads five direct reports: four plant managers at the primary manufacturing facilities and the Vice President responsible for the nine processing facilities.

Responsibilities

Operational Leadership and Accountability

• Establish consistent operating standards, KPIs, and management review routines.
• Identify performance gaps, drive corrective actions, and ensure accountability for results.
• Maintain a hands-on presence in facilities, coaching plant leaders and fostering ownership, continuous improvement, and data-driven decisions.

Safety, Quality, Production, and Delivery

• Reinforce a strong safety culture and consistent execution of safety standards, procedures, and training.
• Strengthen process controls and quality systems across all sites while reducing scrap, rework, waste, and downtime.
• Improve production reliability, throughput, and on-time delivery through planning aligned with customer demand and field installation needs.
• Improve capacity utilization, labor productivity, equipment effectiveness, and manufacturing cost.

Plant Leadership and Talent Development

• Lead, coach, and hold plant managers accountable for facility performance, engagement, and problem-solving.
• Assess leadership capabilities and develop a pipeline of future operational leaders.
• Set clear expectations, provide resources, and address underperformance decisively.

Standardization and Continuous Improvement

• Implement a common manufacturing management system with standardized KPIs, production reporting, performance reviews, and corrective-action tracking.
• Apply Lean manufacturing, root-cause analysis, and structured problem-solving to reduce waste and improve performance.
• Replicate best practices across facilities and drive improvement initiatives with clear ownership and milestones.

Maintenance and Cost Management

• Improve preventive maintenance, equipment reliability, and material utilization.
• Prioritize capital investments based on safety, capacity, reliability, quality, and return on investment.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Align manufacturing priorities with company objectives by partnering with the COO and commercial, engineering, supply chain, quality, and field operations teams.

Qualifications and Experience

• Significant manufacturing leadership experience across multiple or geographically dispersed facilities.
• Demonstrated success improving plant performance through hands-on leadership, operating discipline, and accountability.
• Experience leading and developing plant managers and other operational leaders.
• Strong manufacturing fundamentals: production planning, quality, labor productivity, maintenance, safety, and cost control.
• Proven ability to establish KPIs, implement management routines, and drive corrective actions to completion.
• Willingness to spend substantial time in facilities and engage directly with frontline employees.
• Strong communication, analytical, organizational, and change-management skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively throughout the United States and Canada (approximately 25–50%) as a highly visible operating leader regularly present in facilities.

• Preferred
• Experience in engineered materials, plastics or polymer processing, technical textiles, composites, specialty chemicals, resin processing, or diversified industrial manufacturing.
• Experience with continuous or process manufacturing, equipment assembly, or multiple distinct manufacturing processes.
• Experience improving operations across company-owned plants and geographically dispersed processing facilities.
• Familiarity with Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement systems, and root-cause problem-solving.
• Experience supporting operations where manufacturing quality and delivery schedules directly affect field service or installation.

We offer a competitive salary with career growth opportunities and a full benefits package including medical, dental, and vision Insurance, prescription drug coverage, annual bonus potential, 401k matching, tuition assistance, paid time off, and much more.

Azuria is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Equal opportunity is a sound and just concept to which Azuria is firmly bound. Azuria will not engage in discrimination against, or harassment of, any person employed or seeking employment with Azuria on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, non-disqualifying disability, status as a protected veteran or other characteristics protected by law.

VEVRAA compliant – priority referral Protected Veterans requested