Senior Operations Manager

General Summary

The Senior Operations Manager at Michelman is a senior plant leader responsible for the full operational performance of the Cincinnati manufacturing site. This role owns the integrated execution of Production and Maintenance, leading the Production and Maintenance teams while serving as the primary operations partner to the Site Leader and the broader Plant Leadership Team.

This is not a developmental role. We are looking for a seasoned operations leader who has already proven the ability to drive performance at scale, build systems that outlast individual effort, and develop managers who grow into leaders. Michelman's production environment demands technical credibility alongside strategic range: process hazards, regulatory obligations, GMP standards, and specialty chemistry precision mean every operational decision carries weight across safety, quality, cost, and people. The Senior Operations Manager connects the floor to the future, translating plant strategy into execution while building the organizational capability to sustain it.

Primary Responsibilities

• Own site-level operational performance across safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost, taking full accountability for outcomes across Production and Maintenance.
• Lead, develop, and hold accountable the Production Supervisors and Maintenance Manager, building their strategic capability and ensuring they are developing their own teams with the same rigor.
• Translate VP-level strategy and plant-level priorities into operational plans with clear owners, measurable outcomes, and disciplined follow-through.
• Own the site operating budget across production and maintenance; drive cost discipline, analyze variances, and make resourcing decisions that reflect both operational need and business impact.
• Lead capital planning for the site, developing business cases for equipment investment, reliability improvements, and capacity expansion in partnership with Engineering and the VP of Operations.
• Own site capacity planning, providing grounded input to commercial and supply chain teams on the operation's ability to absorb new products, volume changes, or strategic initiatives without compromising safety or quality.
• Serve as the senior operations voice in cross-functional leadership, partnering with Quality, Engineering, EHS, Planning, and HR to resolve systemic issues and align on plant priorities.
• Own the integrity of the site operating system, including the daily direction-setting cadence, tier meeting structure, visual management standards, and the rhythm by which performance is reviewed and acted on from the floor to the leadership team.
• Represent the operation in customer-facing engagements, including plant tours, technical reviews, and quality or program discussions where operational credibility is required.
• Drive integration between Production and Maintenance, ensuring reliability, equipment ownership, and preventive maintenance programs are operating as a unified system rather than siloed functions.
• Ensure site-level compliance with PSM requirements, OSHA 1910 obligations, GMP standards, and all applicable regulatory frameworks; own the site's posture in audits and inspections.
• Ensure ERP, production records, maintenance records, and operational documentation are accurate, complete, and audit-ready at all times.
• Lead the operations function's adoption of digital tools and technology that improve operational visibility, decision-making speed, and workforce capability.

People Development & Organizational Leadership Responsibilities

• Build the leadership capability of the Production Supervisors and Maintenance Manager through structured coaching, honest performance feedback, and development plans that are tied to clear advancement criteria.
• Own succession planning for the operations function, maintaining a living plan that identifies readiness levels, development gaps, and coverage for every critical role in the department.
• Drive a consistent leadership culture across the operations organization, ensuring that the standards, behaviors, and values modeled at the top are visible at every level of the team.
• Lead the operations function through change with intention, building alignment across managers, supervisors, and the hourly workforce before, during, and after transitions.
• Own workforce planning for the operations department, including organizational structure decisions, hiring, and long-range staffing strategy in partnership with HR.
• Identify high-potential managers and supervisors across the organization and create deliberate pathways for advancement, including stretch assignments, cross-functional exposure, and formal development.
• Champion a culture where accountability is paired with development, people are expected to grow, and high standards are sustained through leadership, not just compliance.

Environmental, Health, & Safety Responsibilities

• Own the safety culture and regulatory compliance of the Cincinnati site; set the standard that every manager, supervisor, and operator operates to, and hold the organization accountable for living it.
• Ensure PSM requirements and OSHA 1910 obligations are met across all covered processes; own MOC governance at the site level, ensuring no process, equipment, material, or procedural change proceeds without completed review and authorization.
• Treat MOC as a safety obligation, not an administrative step. No modification proceeds without completed review and authorization.
• Drive a near-miss reporting culture and lead indicator discipline across the site; use data to identify systemic risk before incidents occur.
• Lead or oversee significant incident investigations, ensuring root causes are identified, corrective actions are systemic and verified, and lessons are shared across the organization.
• Ensure the site maintains full emergency response readiness, including evacuation, spill response, and emergency shutdown procedures, and that all leaders are prepared to execute.
• Represent the site in regulatory inspections and customer audits with confidence, accuracy, and ownership.

Quality Responsibilities

• Own site-level quality performance, holding Production leadership accountable for in-process controls, GMP standards, batch record accuracy, and deviation management across all shifts.
• Apply technical knowledge of specialty chemical manufacturing, including process chemistry, batch behavior, and critical process variables, to drive quality decisions and support managers in resolving complex quality issues.
• Own the site's response to significant product or customer quality events, partnering with the Quality team to ensure root cause investigations are rigorous and corrective actions are systemic.
• Ensure the site maintains continuous audit readiness across production and maintenance records, SOPs, and process controls.
• Lead and represent the operations function in customer audits and regulatory inspections, ensuring the organization responds with competence, transparency, and follow-through.

Continuous Improvement & Equipment Ownership Responsibilities

• Own the site's continuous improvement agenda across production and maintenance; prioritize improvement resources, govern corrective action follow-through, and communicate results to Operations Leadership with transparency.
• Drive integration of the CI and reliability programs, ensuring improvement events, root cause investigations, and equipment ownership initiatives are connected and mutually reinforcing.
• Partner with Engineering to develop and execute a capital and reliability roadmap that reduces chronic losses, improves equipment uptime, and supports the site's long-range capacity needs.
• Build a culture where improvement is owned at every level, ideas are acted on with urgency, and the gap between current and standard performance is never accepted as permanent.

Critical Competencies, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to lead a complex manufacturing operation at the site or department level, with accountability for safety, quality, cost, delivery, and people simultaneously.
• Applies deep knowledge of chemical manufacturing processes, including batch chemistry, process variables, material behavior, and equipment systems, to make sound decisions and develop technically capable managers.
• Understands PSM, MOC, GMP, and OSHA regulatory frameworks at a level sufficient to own site compliance, lead audit response, and govern change across the operation.
• Thinks and plans strategically, connecting daily operational performance to quarterly targets, annual plans, and the long-range direction of the business.
• Develops leaders with intention, building management capability through coaching, accountability, and deliberate development rather than task delegation.
• Communicates with clarity and influence at all levels, from hourly operators to senior executives, in both written and verbal form.
• Manages complex budgets and capital plans with discipline, making resource decisions that reflect both operational rigor and business judgment.
• Evaluates and adopts digital and operational technology with sound judgment, connecting tool selection to measurable operational outcomes and building the organizational capability to sustain adoption.
• Leads organizational change effectively, building alignment and sustaining adoption across a multi-level operations organization.
  • Builds productive cross-functional relationships and navigates competing priorities across Quality, Engineering, EHS, Supply Chain, and HR with credibility and collaboration.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree required. Degree in Chemical Engineering strongly preferred; degrees in Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Process Technology, or Operations Management will be considered.
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing experience in specialty chemical, pharmaceutical, food ingredient, or similarly regulated process manufacturing environments.
• 5+ years in a management role with direct accountability for multiple managers or departments, including budget ownership and organizational performance.
• Demonstrated track record of building and developing leadership teams, including succession planning, manager development, and organizational capability building.
• Proven experience owning and managing a manufacturing operating budget, including capital planning, variance analysis, and cost reduction.
• Working knowledge of PSM, OSHA 1910, GMP standards, MOC governance, and safe work permitting in a chemical manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading significant incident investigations, regulatory audits, and customer quality reviews.
• Proficiency with CI methodologies (Lean, TPM, or equivalent) and structured problem-solving tools (A3, 5 Whys, Fishbone); experience leading or sponsoring site-level improvement programs.
• Experience with CMMS platforms and ERP systems in a manufacturing environment.

Work Hours

Michelman’s standard work hours for this role are Monday – Friday from 8 am – 5 pm EST with the expectation of flexibility after hours and on weekends depending on business needs.

Note: The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to the job. They are not construed to be an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.

About Michelman

Motivated by unwavering values, and ingrained with a passion for innovation, Michelman is a global developer and manufacturer of specialized sustainable chemistry used in industrial and agricultural coatings, digital printing, consumer packaging, and advanced composites for automotive and aerospace. From helping grow food and keep it fresh, to making vehicles lighter and more fuel efficient, to shielding our homes from the elements, Michelman‘s environmentally conscious solutions protect and enhance the materials that shape our world.

Michelman is proud of the values-focused work environment that we have crafted. We pride ourselves in our focus on our values of integrity, respect, and success. With our dedication to your technical and professional growth in addition to our rigorous onboarding experience, we guarantee that you will find yourself challenged in new ways. We offer an excellent salary, incentive, and benefits package in a dynamic, empowered team environment.

No phone calls, please. Michelman does not hire individuals who use tobacco products. All candidates will receive a drug test prior to beginning employment which will include a test for tobacco products.

For more information about Michelman, please visit https://www.michelman.com/.

It is Michelman, Inc. policy to seek and employ qualified persons in all jobs in a manner which will ensure equal employment opportunity as well as administer personnel actions in a manner as to not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation or disability. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Michelman is an Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Females/Disabled/Veterans