Customer Operations - Customer Operations Specialist
Position Scope/Summary:
The Customer Operations Specialist is a technically focused customer-facing role that combines engineering knowledge, problem-solving expertise, and operational coordination to deliver exceptional customer support. Acting as a trusted liaison between customers and internal teams, this individual leverages a strong understanding of the site's products, manufacturing processes, and technical capabilities to develop solutions that meet customer requirements.
Working closely with Operations, Planning, Engineering, Quality, Customer Success, and Sales, the Customer Operations Specialist serves as an advocate for the customer while balancing business and operational objectives. This role is responsible for driving timely issue resolution, providing technical and commercial support, managing standard and repeat quotations, and overseeing order management activities for factory-direct customers. The incumbent will display success in a strong technical aptitude, attention to detail, effective communication skills, and the ability to translate customer needs into actionable solutions that are delivered with speed, accuracy, and professionalism.
Accountabilities & Responsibilities:
Adhere to all safety, environmental, security, quality, and regulatory requirements, including QMS, FDA regulations, company policies, operating procedures, and applicable management systems.
Serve as the primary customer contact, advocating for customer needs and representing the voice of the customer across cross-functional teams.
Build and maintain customer relationships by directly supporting Factory Direct customers and collaborating with Sales and Customer Service teams on Strategic and Multi-Site accounts.
Lead cross-functional discussions with Sales, Operations, Engineering, and Customer Service to identify and develop new business opportunities.
Coordinate cross-functional teams to develop and execute customer proposals, including needs assessment, cost analysis, and market pricing evaluation.
Manage proposal tracking and follow-up activities, including analysis of won and lost opportunities.
Ensure customer contractual requirements are implemented, maintained, and adhered to.
Support and execute quotation, contract review, and order entry processes, including intercompany transactions.
Contribute to forecasting activities and provide input for Quarterly Business Reviews as required.
Collaborate with internal teams to communicate product, market, raw material, and customer updates while driving process improvements to enhance customer service.
Partner with Planning, Operations, Purchasing, and Customer Operations to fulfill customer requirements, establish product lead times, and manage expedite and change requests.
Communicate and monitor recovery plans and expedite requests to ensure customer commitments are met.
Support Customer Operations in achieving sales objectives and key performance metrics, including Order Acknowledgement Cycle Time and Quote Cycle Time.
Coordinate finished goods item configurations to ensure accurate revisions, pricing, and specifications.
Prepare and coordinate customer visits, business reviews, and site audits.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Position Requirements:
Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering or business-related field.
Minimum Experience: 5 to 7 years of experience in manufacturing or medical device field
Knowledge & Skills:
Customer focused with sales and service acumen.
Demonstrated experience in an engineering discipline, with the ability to apply technical knowledge to solve customer and operational challenge
Experience reading and understanding design drawings and specifications preferred.
Ability to communicate effectively across the organization throughout all levels both verbally and written.
Ability to work independently as well as collaborate effectively in a team environment.
Demonstrated ability to be highly organized and adaptable to meet business deadlines in a dynamic environment.
Highly organized and able to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
Strong problem solving and analytical skills with the ability to identify root causes and implement effective solutions
Strong computer skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and other business software applications.
ERP Experience: Oracle or JD Edwards experience is a plus.
Environmental Working Conditions:
N/A
It is impossible to list every requirement for, or responsibility of, any position. Similarly we cannot identify all the skills a position may require since job responsibilities and the Company’s needs may change over time. Therefore, the above job description is not comprehensive or exhaustive. The Company reserves the right to adjust, add to or eliminate any aspect of the above description. The Company also retains the right to require all employees to undertake additional or different job responsibilities when necessary to meet business needs.
The associate must successfully complete the general RCRA Awareness training through the onboarding training process upon their start at Viant followed by an annual refresher. If the associate changes their position or begins to handle larger quantities of chemical waste (Above 20 gals) at a time, additional training will be required.