Director of Operations

Organization: Klesk Metal Stamping

Date Posted: September 30, 2026

Date Needed: September 30, 2026

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Primary Category: Management/Exec

Additional Categories:

• Production and Assembly

Position Type: Full-Time

Education Required: Bachelor's Degree

Experience Required: > 10 Years

Job Description:

Title: Director of Operations Department: Operations Supervisor: CEO Position Type: Salaried, Full-time Work Schedule: Monday–Thursday, 6:00 AM–4:30 PM About Klesk Metal Stamping: Klesk Metal Stamping Co. manufactures precision metal components for customers across aerospace, industrial, dental, medical, powersports, telecommunications, and other demanding markets. Many of our customers are Fortune 500 global OEMs. We pride ourselves on high-quality products, dedicated customer service, and a culture grounded in serving others, taking ownership, maintaining a winning mindset, teamwork, continuous improvement, and employee growth. Purpose: The Director of Operations will build the operating system and leadership capacity Klesk needs to serve customers reliably, develop people, and scale profitably. Reporting to the CEO and serving on the Leadership Team, this leader will connect technical manufacturing capability, supply-chain execution, production leadership, Lean improvement, ERP discipline, and EOS accountability into one operating rhythm. The role owns and integrates Production;Manufacturing Engineering and Tool Design;Supply Chain, including planning and purchasing;and Logistics and Material Flow. Key Responsibilities: Lean Operating System and Continuous Improvement Establish leader standard work, daily visibility, disciplined problem-solving, and a practical improvement pipeline. Apply Lean tools to improve flow, setup time, throughput, capacity, productivity, and responsiveness. Focus improvement activity on the constraints with the greatest customer, employee, margin, or cash impact. Reduce operational waste, downtime, scrap, rework, and process variation. Build continuous-improvement capability throughout the Operations team. Manufacturing Engineering, Tool Design, and Technical Process Discipline Strengthen the cross-functional process from manufacturability review and technical quoting through tool design, first-article execution, new-product launch, and production stabilization. Improve quote responsiveness and accuracy, BOM and routing readiness, tool-design coordination, and launch execution. Develop manufacturing-engineering and tool-design capability across the organization. Improve process reliability, technical documentation, manufacturability, and production readiness. Determine when technical capabilities should be developed internally or supported through external partnerships and investment. Planning, Purchasing, and Supply-Chain Execution Connect customer demand with materials, labor, machine and tool capacity, suppliers, and outside processing. Improve production planning, schedule quality, purchasing execution, and material availability. Strengthen supplier performance, accountability, and responsiveness. Improve inventory accuracy, material flow, and working-capital discipline. Establish dependable planning and purchasing rhythms that support customer commitments and operating priorities. Production Leadership and Performance Coach and support the Production Leader and Operations sub-function leaders. Develop employees, strengthen accountability, and build leadership depth. Deliver safe, reliable production performance against customer commitments. Improve throughput, capacity utilization, productivity, and operating consistency. Convert critical operating knowledge into shared standards and repeatable practices. Operations Systems, ERP, and EOS Discipline Leverage Klesk’s ERP platform, Infor CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine), as the operating foundation for planning, execution, and decision-making. Improve the accuracy and use of routings, BOMs, inventory, capacity, scheduling, and labor data. Strengthen the Operations L10, scorecard, Rocks, issue-solving, and sub-function meeting cadence. Clarify priorities, decision rights, handoffs, escalation ownership, and capacity plans. Connect operating decisions to customer service, employee development, margin, cash, and Klesk’s core values. Key Accountabilities: Safe, reliable operational execution. On-time delivery and customer performance. Lean operating-system development and sustained continuous improvement. Manufacturing-engineering, tool-design, and new-product-launch effectiveness. Planning, purchasing, supplier, and material performance. Production leadership and employee development. ERP/MRP discipline, data integrity, and system adoption. Operations EOS cadence, accountability, and issue resolution. Capacity, productivity, inventory, working capital, and profitable scalability. Functional Scope and Direct Reports: Production Leader Manufacturing Engineering and Tool Design Planning, Purchasing, and Supply Chain Logistics and Material Flow Skills and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, operations, supply chain, or a related field preferred;equivalent manufacturing and leadership experience will be considered. Eight or more years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including meaningful accountability for operating results. Demonstrated Lean and continuous-improvement results that were sustained beyond the initial project. Technical credibility in manufacturing engineering, manufacturability, tool design, routings, and new-product launch. Meaningful experience in planning, purchasing, materials, supplier management, or broader supply-chain execution. Strong working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems and the data and process discipline required to make them effective. Experience developing leaders, strengthening accountability, and leading through operational change. A visible, hands-on leadership style suited to a small-to-midsized manufacturer with significant growth opportunity. Metal stamping, precision manufacturing, tooling, or related technical manufacturing experience preferred. Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and cross-functional leadership skills. Ability to connect customer, employee, operational, and financial priorities. The successful candidate will: Build trust throughout the organization and develop strong internal leaders. Provide practical relief against urgent planning, purchasing, and operating bottlenecks. Advance and sustain performance toward 98% on-time delivery and 99.9% quality. Establish dependable planning, purchasing, capacity, supplier, ERP, and production rhythms. Build visible, trusted, and increasingly self-sustaining Lean and EOS operating disciplines. Improve flow, productivity, inventory accuracy, working capital, and operating performance. Reduce employee turnover while strengthening leadership depth and employee development. Develop an Operations capability roadmap aligned with Klesk’s three-year Accountability Chart. Build the operating capacity and discipline required to support profitable growth. Serve others, take ownership, demonstrate humility, embrace a winning mindset, and raise expectations constructively. Compensation: The anticipated base salary range is $145,000–$165,000, plus a 15% target annual incentive opportunity based on company and individual performance. Final compensation will reflect the successful candidate’s experience, demonstrated capability, and fit for the role. Export-Control Requirements: This position requires access to technical data subject to U.S. export-control regulations under ITAR and EAR. Eligibility for this role is subject to applicable export-control requirements, and documentation may be required before employment.

How To Apply: Please submit resume to https://kleskmetalstamping.com/career-opportunities/