Operations & Strategy - Director, Manufacturing Operations
Milacron
Milacron India
ROLE SNAPSHOT
Function
Operations – Manufacturing, Quality, Industrial Engineering, Master Scheduling, EHS
Reports To
Managing Director – India
Direct Reports
Manufacturing / Assembly │ Quality │ Master Scheduling │ Industrial Engineering │ EHS
Location
Ahmedabad
Role Type
Full-time, Senior Leadership
ROLE PURPOSE
The Director – Operations is the strategic custodian of Milacron India’s manufacturing and operational excellence. This role drives end-to-end Operations, Quality, Master Scheduling and Continuous improvement, ensuring alignment with the company’s growth plan, revenue targets, and EBIDTA objectives.
The position champions world-class manufacturing strategies, ERP/MRP discipline, lean practices, and quality governance, while fostering collaboration across Sales, Engineering, Finance, and global supply chain partners. As a senior leader, the Director builds organizational resilience, scalability, and a culture of continuous improvement, directly influencing customer satisfaction and shareholder value.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership and Policy
- Define and execute long-term operational strategies aligned with business growth and profitability.
- Present operational improvement ideas, revenue/cash flow strategies, and investment proposals to the MD and Board.
- Establish governance frameworks, SOPs, and compliance structures across manufacturing and supply chain.
- Drive excellence in Make-to-Order / High-Mix / Engineered-to-Order manufacturing environments involving significant customer-specific requirements and product customization.
- Develop and implement manufacturing plans based on market demand and business forecasts.
- Drive throughput improvement, cost optimization, and asset utilization across plants.
- Institutionalize lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and automation initiatives.
- Build a strong culture of safety, quality, operational discipline and continuous improvement.
- Oversee inbound and outbound logistics, import/export compliance, and vendor partnerships.
- Build resilient supply chains with VMI, JIT, Kanban, and digital visibility tools.
- Champion world-class quality standards across all manufacturing units.
- Act as liaison with vendors/customers to ensure compliance with ISO, EHS, and statutory requirements.
- Drive zero-defect culture and customer satisfaction metrics.
- Lead the digitization and Industry 4.0 agenda, including automation, shop-floor analytics and data driven manufacturing.
- Lead ERP/MRP system development and integration for operational efficiency.
- Implement digital dashboards, analytics, and automation tools for decision-making.
- Build IT-enabled processes to strengthen organizational agility.
- Oversee demand-supply balancing, capacity planning, and inventory governance.
- Ensure synchronization between Sales, Manufacturing, and Finance through monthly SIOP reviews.
- Provide executive dashboards and scenario planning to MD and leadership team.
- Lead and inspire teams across multiple functions and departments.
- Build leadership pipelines through mentoring, training, and succession planning.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
The Director – Operations oversees the following direct reports and supporting desks:
Direct Report
Key Focus
Team Under
Operations / Manufacturing
Plant operations, Assembly, on-time delivery
Plant Heads, Production Managers
Quality
World-class quality standards, compliance, audits
QA/QC Managers, Testing team
Industrial Engineering / Lean Management
Ergonomic, efficient, scalable design solutions, process optimization & digitalization, Lean deployment
Manufacturing Engineers & Lean Specialists
Master Scheduling
Demand-supply balancing, ERP/MRP discipline
PPC Engineers, Schedulers
Store / Logistics
Inbound/outbound logistics, vendor management, Store operations
Store team / logistics team
EHS
Environment, Health & Safety governance; ISO 14001 & 45001 compliance; sustainability roadmap; risk management
EHS team
SUCCESS METRICS / KPIs
Manufacturing & Operations
Supply Chain & Quality
IT & Governance
Throughput improvement (%)
EBITDA Growth
Asset utilization
OTD (On-Time Delivery)
Lean/Six Sigma project closure
Logistics cost optimization Inventory accuracy (>95%)
Import/export compliance
Customer satisfaction index
Safety & compliance metrics
ERP/MRP adherence
Digital dashboard timeliness
Automation ROI
Data-driven decision-making
IT-enabled efficiency gains
Key Skill Requirements
Skill Dimension
What We Are Looking For
Technical & Operational
Manufacturing strategy │ ERP/MRP systems │ Supply chain resilience │ Quality governance │ Lean/Six Sigma │ Automation
Analytics & Planning
Demand-supply balancing │ Capacity planning │ KPI dashboards │ Financial acumen │ Advanced Excel / Power BI proficiency
Interpersonal & Leadership
Executive leadership │ Stakeholder management │ Global vendor partnerships │ Team development │ Cross-functional collaboration
Behavioural
Strategic thinker │ Execution-focused │ Strong ownership mindset │ Decisive │ Continuous improvement orientation
Experience Profile
- 25+ years leadership in manufacturing operations, with deep expertise in capital equipment and machine industries.
- Operations excellence track record — leading large teams, driving transformation, digitization, and automation.
- High-mix/ Engineer-to-Order (ETO) expertise — proven success in Make-to-Order and Engineered-to-Order environments.
- Capacity scaling — established new facilities, managed large capex programs, and expanded manufacturing footprint.
- Commercial & P&L acumen — strong grasp of manufacturing economics, productivity, cost, quality, and delivery, with the ability to drive profitability, optimize cash flow, and align operational decisions with financial outcomes.
- Strategic leadership — hands-on, transformational leader influencing Board/MD decisions and building world-class organizations.
- Graduate/Postgraduate in Engineering (Mechanical/Electrical preferred) with a mandatory Master’s in Business Administration (MBA).
- Additional certifications in Supply Chain, Lean/Six Sigma, or EHS will be an advantage.