Director, Manufacturing Operations

About the role

The Director, Manufacturing Operations leads the greenfield manufacturing organization in Costa Rica, overseeing production execution, operational readiness, and continuous improvement while ensuring safety, quality, compliance, and cost performance.

Key responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership, establishing priorities, governance, and daily operating mechanisms for the Costa Rica site.
• Lead safe, compliant, reliable, and efficient production to meet site objectives for safety, quality, service, cost, delivery, and people.
• Build, coach, and develop manufacturing leaders and production teams, including workforce planning, training, succession, and capability development.
• Own manufacturing KPIs and management routines such as output, schedule attainment, equipment utilization, process yield, labor productivity, scrap, downtime, and cost performance.
• Partner with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, HR, IT, Facilities, and Global Operations to ensure production readiness and resolve constraints.
• Lead new production‑line start‑ups, capacity expansions, technology transfers, product introductions, and scale‑up initiatives.
• Ensure adherence to quality‑system, regulatory, environmental, health, safety, and company requirements, promoting a strong culture of compliance.
• Drive data‑based problem solving and continuous improvement using Lean, Six Sigma, standard work, visual management, root‑cause analysis, and mistake‑proofing.

Required profile

• 10+ years progressive experience in high‑volume manufacturing, preferably in medical devices or other regulated industries.
• 7+ years of leadership experience with responsibility for manufacturing managers, supervisors, and production teams.
• Proven experience launching or significantly expanding a greenfield manufacturing operation.
• Strong financial acumen managing operating budgets, labor plans, productivity, and cost‑per‑unit performance.
• Excellent communication, change‑leadership, talent‑development, analytical, and cross‑functional influence skills.

Required skills

• Lean manufacturing methodology
• Six Sigma tools and techniques
• FDA‑regulated manufacturing knowledge
• ISO 13485 quality‑system familiarity
• Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliance
• Experience with highly automated, discrete‑component assembly