Director of Operations - Manufacturing - Base Salary to 175k/year - Fort Lauderdale, FL

• AllSearch Recruiting is searching for a Director of Operations for our client in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The Director of Operations is the senior operational leader for the site and is responsible for full P&L ownership, manufacturing performance, and overall business execution. Reporting to executive leadership, this individual will lead all site functions including production, engineering, quality, maintenance, supply chain, planning, and customer support. This is not an office-based administrative leadership role. The Director of Operations must be a hands-on, technically grounded manufacturing leader who is highly visible on the shop floor and deeply engaged in day-to-day operations. The ideal candidate brings extensive experience within a precision CNC machining environment and understands, at a practical level, what it takes to move parts efficiently from raw material through fabrication, machining, inspection, and shipment. The Director of Operations must be equally comfortable reviewing financial performance with executive leadership as they are troubleshooting production bottlenecks alongside machinists and engineers on the floor.

Responsibilities:

• Provide direct leadership across all manufacturing operations within a precision machine shop environment.
  
• Maintain a consistent presence on the shop floor, monitoring throughput, workflow, machine utilization, labor efficiency, and quality performance.
  
• Partner closely with engineering and production teams to resolve technical challenges impacting cost, quality, or delivery.
  
• Understand machining strategies, tooling, fixturing, programming considerations, cycle time optimization, and inspection requirements to ensure production goals are met.
  
• Drive schedule adherence and on-time delivery while balancing capacity, labor planning, and equipment availability.
  
• Lead structured continuous improvement initiatives grounded in Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and practical process optimization.
  
• Own and manage the site P&L, including budgeting, forecasting, cost control, and margin improvement initiatives.
  
• Analyze operational and financial metrics to identify performance gaps and implement corrective action plans.
  
• Communicate clearly and confidently with executive leadership regarding performance trends, capital needs, productivity opportunities, and risk mitigation strategies.
  
• Support pricing, quoting, and cost modeling discussions with both internal teams and corporate leadership.
  
• Lead a cross-functional leadership team including Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Supply Chain/Planning, and Customer Support.
  
• Foster accountability while maintaining a collaborative culture built on respect for experienced, tenured team members.
  
• Provide coaching and mentorship to managers and engineers to strengthen bench depth and technical capability.
  
• Promote a culture of ownership, urgency, and operational discipline without disrupting what is already working effectively.
  
• Maintain open communication channels between shop floor personnel and executive leadership.
  
• Serve as the primary operational point of contact for customers, especially when technical, quality, or delivery issues arise.
  
• Participate in customer visits, audits, and performance reviews with confidence and technical credibility.
  
• Engage regularly with executive stakeholders, translating shop-level realities into clear financial and strategic insights.
  
• Collaborate with corporate sales and leadership teams to align operational capacity with growth initiatives.
  
• Evaluate existing processes and identify opportunities for targeted improvement rather than broad, disruptive overhauls.
  
• Implement data-driven improvements in throughput, scrap reduction, setup reduction, inventory control, and workflow optimization.
  
• Lead operational transformation efforts thoughtfully, preserving institutional knowledge while elevating performance standards.
  
• Champion safety, quality, and process discipline as foundational elements of operational excellence.
  
• Maintain a strong safety-first culture and ensure regulatory and customer compliance standards are met.
  
• Drive defect reduction, root cause analysis, and corrective action initiatives.
  
• Partner with Quality and Engineering to strengthen process controls, documentation, and audit readiness.

Qualifications:

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience within precision machining, CNC manufacturing environment.
  
• Deep understanding of machining processes, fabrication workflows, tooling strategies, inspection methods, and production flow.
  
• Engineering background strongly preferred; advanced business education is a plus.
  
• Experience operating within regulated industries is highly desirable.
  
• Hands-on and visible leader who is comfortable on the shop floor, not behind a desk.
  
• Comfortable stepping in to support production during high-demand periods when necessary.
  
• Skilled at balancing operational discipline with cultural sensitivity in environments with long-tenured teams.
  
• Demonstrated P&L ownership and strong financial acumen.
  
• Capable of presenting operational and financial performance to C-suite stakeholders.
  
• Able to translate manufacturing metrics into strategic business insights.
  
• Comfortable managing competing priorities in a performance-driven environment.
  

Compensation:

• Base salary in the 165k - 175k/year range
• Benefits

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