Director of Operations

Director of Operations | O'Hare Area | On-Site Castle Alliance is conducting a retained search for a Director of Operations for a PE-backed manufacturing business in the western Chicago suburbs. The company holds AS9100 certification, serves aerospace and customers, and is scaling aggressively under private equity ownership. This is a high-accountability, high-upside leadership role. Before You Read Further This role requires all of the following. If any are absent from your background, this is not the right fit. Leadership experience in regulated, capital-intensive precision manufacturing Documented track record of scaling or significantly improving a manufacturing operation Direct leadership of supervisors or managers, not only individual contributors Ownership of safety culture, not just compliance Willingness and desire to transform a company US Citizenship or Green Card for DoD compliance The Opportunity The Director of Operations is the senior operational leader on-site, accountable for end-to-end performance across Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Maintenance. Scope phases in as the hire establishes credibility and takes ownership. Full scope, including bench strength to the COO, is the long-term succession intent. This is a role for someone who has scaled operations before. Not someone who maintained what someone else built. What You Will Own Overall operational performance: Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost AS9100 compliance and optimization focused on scalability and audit efficiency New Product Introduction from quote through first article to production Workforce development: building a machinist pipeline is an operational imperative, not an HR function Continuous improvement: throughput, margin, lead time, and OEE Capital planning and make/buy decisions aligned with growth objectives Who Will Succeed Here The right candidate has 10 or more years of progressive leadership in precision manufacturing, has operated in a regulated environment, and has a documented track record of scaling operations. You are comfortable holding people accountable on the shop floor and equally capable of working alongside PE ownership on strategic planning. You do not need a support infrastructure to function. You build the infrastructure. Candidates from large corporations with heavy support structures who have never operated in a lean, process-light environment are a poor fit for this role. Candidates who can speak only in qualitative terms about delivery improvement will not pass the screen. Compensation Base salary in the range of $200,000 and above, with a performance bonus and long-term incentive participation tied to business performance. Total compensation opportunity is meaningful for the right operator who can grow with the platform.

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