Director, Operations

Job Description

Director Operations | Generac Power Systems

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at Generac Power Systems, located in Rockford, IL, USA. Generac designs and builds solutions that help protect homes, strengthen businesses, and contribute to a resilient, efficient, and sustainable energy future. This role is crucial for ensuring operational excellence, safety, and continuous improvement in a multi-shift manufacturing plant and warehouse campus, directly impacting customer experience and profitable growth.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person, Rockford, IL, USA

• Team: Leads direct and dotted-line teams.
• Mission: Lead the end-to-end operations of a multi-shift manufacturing plant and raw material warehouse campus, driving performance across key metrics.
• Tech Stack: SAP, ERP, MES/MOM

What You’ll Actually Do
• Operational Leadership: Lead daily operations and continuous improvement efforts across a multi-shift manufacturing facility and warehouse campus.
• System Implementation: Champion and deploy the Generac Manufacturing System (GMS), grounded in lean principles, to achieve KPI targets in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and cash.
• Culture Building: Build and sustain a strong performance culture focused on accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement through coaching and mentorship.
• Strategic Planning: Develop and execute long-range plans for capacity, capital equipment, technology, and workforce needs, aligning operational priorities with business strategy.
• People Management: Select, develop, and retain top talent, managing performance and driving succession planning across the organization.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Supply Chain, or a related field OR equivalent experience at a Director level.
• Experience: 3+ years applying lean principles and techniques with demonstrated year-over-year improvement, and 5+ years of leadership experience managing teams in a discrete, industrial, or consumer capital goods manufacturing environment.
• Skills: Lean principles application (e.g., continuous flow, pull systems, visual factory, daily problem solving, standardized work, PDCA, MDI), Operational execution, Talent development, Strategic planning, and Performance management.
• Bonus: Master’s degree, 6+ years of demonstrated lean implementation experience with measurable results, Lean/Operations/Supply Chain certifications, experience with automated manufacturing processes, OEE/TPM, MES/MOM, Industry 4.0 initiatives, SAP/ERP systems, lean flow/Kanban/PFEP, and proven leadership managing diverse teams.