Director of Operational Excellence (OPEX) – Mexico Operations

THE COMPANY

Our client is a privately held, family-owned U.S. manufacturing group with a long and successful history of designing and manufacturing highly engineered products, equipment, and precision components for the oil and gas industry.

The organization operates several specialized businesses serving critical applications across well completions, artificial lift, energy production, and oil & gas measurement.

The company has established a significant U.S.–Mexico manufacturing platform, including multiple manufacturing operations throughout Chihuahua, Mexico. These facilities provide capabilities including precision CNC machining, metal fabrication, assembly, testing, and the manufacture and remanufacture of sophisticated oilfield equipment and components.

Combining the entrepreneurial culture and agility of a privately held organization with sophisticated manufacturing capabilities and specialized energy technologies, the company continues to invest in operational excellence, capacity, technology, and its people.

This newly created Director of Operational Excellence (OPEX) – Mexico Operations position offers an accomplished Operational Excellence leader the opportunity to work directly with the President and senior leadership to improve performance across multiple Mexican operations, implement best practices, increase productivity and asset utilization, and help shape the next stage of the organization's growth.

THE POSITIONPosition Summary

The Director of Operational Excellence (OPEX) will lead the organization's Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement efforts across multiple manufacturing operations in Chihuahua, Mexico.

This is an influence-driven, hands-on leadership role focused on identifying operational constraints, improving productivity and efficiency, optimizing asset utilization, and implementing sustainable Lean and Continuous Improvement practices.

The Director will work closely with local Plant Managers and production leadership rather than relying primarily on direct authority. The successful candidate will serve as a strategic operational partner, helping plant leadership identify opportunities, develop solutions, implement improvements, and sustain measurable results.

The position reports directly to the President of the parent company and requires a high degree of independence, ownership, and accountability.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on Operational Excellence leader who can spend time on the manufacturing floor, identify opportunities for improvement, engage teams, and translate Lean and OPEX methodologies into measurable business results.

Location and Travel

Primary Location: Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua

Travel Requirements: Regular travel and commuting between Ciudad Juárez and Ojinaga, Chihuahua, as required by business and operational needs.

The position offers remote flexibility when not working at the manufacturing facilities; however, significant presence in the plants is expected, particularly during the first year.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Lead the development and execution of the Operational Excellence strategy across multiple manufacturing operations.
• Assess current-state operations and identify opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency, throughput, quality, and asset utilization.
• Identify and eliminate bottlenecks, process constraints, waste, and inefficiencies.
• Lead Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement initiatives directly on the manufacturing floor.
• Drive setup and changeover reduction, workflow optimization, and process improvements.
• Develop and standardize best practices across operations where appropriate.
• Establish sustainable systems and processes that support a culture of continuous improvement.

Performance Management

• Establish common operational performance metrics and reporting across the manufacturing operations.
• Monitor key metrics such as OEE, On-Time Delivery, First-Pass Yield, throughput, productivity, scrap/rework, and cost per unit.
• Analyze operational performance to identify trends, root causes, and improvement opportunities.
• Develop action plans and ensure initiatives progress from identification through implementation and measurable results.
• Provide regular updates and recommendations to the President and senior leadership.

Manufacturing Optimization

• Evaluate capacity, production flow, scheduling, changeovers, equipment utilization, and overall manufacturing performance.
• Improve production planning and scheduling practices to increase utilization and reduce lead times.
• Optimize workflow, material flow, and plant layouts.
• Strengthen preventive maintenance practices and equipment reliability.
• Evaluate opportunities to optimize existing assets and improve overall equipment effectiveness.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Build strong working relationships with Plant Managers, General Managers, and production leadership.
• Influence and drive operational improvements through local management and their teams.
• Coach and develop supervisors and production personnel in Lean, Continuous Improvement, problem-solving, and operational excellence methodologies.
• Serve as a trusted operational advisor and partner to plant leadership.
• Work directly with the President to identify strategic opportunities and communicate progress, challenges, and resource requirements.

Quality, Safety & Compliance

• Support initiatives designed to improve quality performance and reduce nonconformance and quality-related costs.
• Promote a strong safety culture consistent with industrial and heavy manufacturing environments.
• Ensure Operational Excellence initiatives support applicable quality, safety, and compliance requirements.

Capital & Capacity Planning

• Evaluate equipment condition, capacity, utilization, and operational requirements.
• Identify capital investment opportunities and provide recommendations supported by clear ROI/payback analysis.
• Support make/buy, insourcing, outsourcing, and capacity allocation decisions.
• Develop data-driven recommendations to improve the utilization of existing assets and resources.
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THE CANDIDATE

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in Operational Excellence, Continuous Improvement, Manufacturing, Operations, or a related field.
• Experience in a leadership role such as Director of Operational Excellence, Operational Excellence Manager, Continuous Improvement Director/Manager, Lean Manager, Plant Manager, Director of Operations, or similar.
• Strong hands-on experience in manufacturing environments.
• Experience with metal fabrication, CNC machining, and/or assembly operations for industrial equipment.
• CNC machining experience is highly preferred.
• Experience in oil & gas equipment manufacturing is a plus, but not required.
• Demonstrated track record of improving productivity, efficiency, throughput, and asset utilization within an existing manufacturing operation.
• Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence, and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Proven ability to implement improvement initiatives directly on the manufacturing floor and deliver measurable results.
• Experience working in Mexico manufacturing environments.
• Familiarity with maquiladora / IMMEX operations preferred.
• Experience with world-class manufacturing environments is a plus.
• Fully bilingual in English and Spanish, both spoken and written.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and drive change without direct authority.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, coaching, and change-management skills.
• Hands-on, analytical, self-directed, and highly results-oriented.
• Comfortable working independently and taking ownership of initiatives from assessment through implementation.
• Willingness to travel regularly between manufacturing locations in Chihuahua.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, or another technical discipline, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

WHY THIS OPPORTUNITY?

This is a newly created leadership position with direct visibility to the President and senior leadership.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to influence multiple manufacturing operations, implement meaningful operational improvements, and play a key role in shaping the company's next stage of growth.

This position offers the autonomy and entrepreneurial environment of a privately held organization combined with the technical complexity of a multi-site industrial manufacturing operation.