Executive Director, Project Management, Industrialization
Blue Bird CorporationAbout Blue Bird Corporation Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 25,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses sold. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird’s complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com (https://www.blue-bird.com/). JOB SUMMARY The Executive Director, Project Management, Industrialization will lead manufacturing and production readiness for the next-generation F53/F59 chassis platform, integrating Plan for Every Part (PFEP), continuous improvement (CI), Lean manufacturing, and operational excellence into the industrialization plan. This role will coordinate facilities, tooling, equipment, materials flow, process capability, quality systems, workforce readiness, and production ramp to support Q1 2028 production within approved budget, schedule, safety, and quality requirements. This is a hands-on role accountable for personally developing and maintaining detailed project plans, resolving plant-level execution issues, and influencing action across functions without direct reports. Responsibilities extend beyond launch to sustaining PFEP, improving operating performance, and developing repeatable manufacturing and supply chain practices. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Industrialization and production readiness Develop, document, and maintain the integrated industrialization plan, including milestones, dependencies, accountable owners, resource requirements, readiness criteria, and recovery actions. Drive production realization across facilities, tooling, equipment installation, line layout, manufacturing processes, quality readiness, staffing, training, materials management, and chassis shipping. Track capital milestones, budget commitments, capacity assumptions, process validation, and production ramp readiness; work with functional owners to close gaps and escalate decisions affecting launch. Work directly with plant teams to validate readiness on the production floor, resolve execution issues, and manage risks to safety, quality, cost, delivery, and business continuity. Lead the development, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of PFEP with supply chain, materials, manufacturing engineering, and production teams, establishing data ownership and change controls that remain effective after launch. Ensure PFEP defines part requirements, supplier and lead-time information, packaging, storage locations, inventory parameters, replenishment methods, and point-of-use delivery requirements. Translate PFEP into practical receiving, storage, kitting, line-side delivery, and replenishment processes. Validate material availability and flow against production demand, space, handling, safety, and capacity requirements. Use PFEP data to identify and reduce shortages, excess inventory, unnecessary handling, and production interruptions; coordinate corrective actions with functional owners. Support the development of inbound and outbound logistics plans in collaboration with plant team members and third-party vendors, including delivery schedules, transportation capacity, staging, and finished chassis shipping, aligned with production demand and ramp requirements. Continuous improvement Lean and operational excellence Develop and execute a prioritized CI and operational excellence roadmap that supports launch readiness and sustained performance after launch, with documented baselines, owners, milestones, and measurable benefits. Lead…