Operational Manager

Operational Manager

Location: Whitsett, North Carolina Job Type: Full-Time

Position Overview

Lenovo is seeking a strategic results-driven Operational Manager to lead manufacturing operations and drive operational excellence at our Whitsett, North Carolina facility.

This role is responsible for manufacturing performance across production, quality, delivery, cost, inventory, safety, workforce leadership, process optimization, and financial results. The successful candidate will ensure alignment with customer commitments, business objectives, and operational goals.

The ideal candidate has significant leadership experience in server manufacturing, enterprise hardware, data-center infrastructure, high-density computing, AI/GPU systems, liquid-cooled server platforms, or comparable technology and electronics manufacturing environments. The candidate should have a proven record of leading large-scale manufacturing operations, developing teams, and applying Lean, Six Sigma, and operational excellence methodologies to deliver measurable improvements.

This position works closely with Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Finance, Program Management, and executive leadership to deliver manufacturing efficiency, scalability, customer satisfaction, and sustainable business results.

Experience with Lenovo DWC products is preferred; however, equivalent experience with direct liquid cooling, direct water cooling, high-performance computing, AI/GPU servers, rack-scale systems, thermal-management solutions, or other complex data-center hardware will also be considered.

Job Responsibilities

1. Lead all manufacturing operations to achieve production, quality, delivery, inventory, cost, and safety objectives while meeting customer and business requirements.
2. Direct daily production execution, including manufacturing schedules, staffing, equipment, materials, capacity, and resource allocation across complex assembly, integration, configuration, and test operations.
3. Serve as the senior operational leader for the facility, establishing manufacturing standards, driving accountability, and ensuring disciplined execution across production teams.
4. Lead and develop managers, supervisors, engineers, technicians, and production personnel through coaching, performance management, leadership development, succession planning, and workforce planning.
5. Drive Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and other continuous improvement initiatives to improve OEE, yield, throughput, productivity, quality, labor efficiency, inventory performance, and operating costs.
6. Establish, monitor, and improve KPIs and performance metrics through data-driven reviews, including productivity, quality, safety, delivery, cost, inventory, yield, and OEE.
7. Identify production constraints, process inefficiencies, capacity limitations, and cost-reduction opportunities, and implement sustainable corrective actions.
8. Partner with Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Maintenance, Finance, and Program Management to support manufacturing readiness, new product introductions, product launches, process changes, and operational scalability.
9. Manage operational budgets, forecasts, capital initiatives, resource plans, and cost-improvement programs while supporting long-term manufacturing strategy.
10. Communicate operational performance, financial results, program status, business risks, and improvement opportunities to executive leadership and key stakeholders.
11. Maintain compliance with OSHA requirements, environmental regulations, quality standards, company policies, and applicable industry requirements while promoting a strong EHS and operational discipline culture.

Job Requirements

1. Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
2. 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, production, or plant operations management, including responsibility for large-scale teams or complex manufacturing environments.
3. Demonstrated success leading production operations with accountability for safety, quality, delivery, cost, inventory, productivity, and customer commitments.
4. Recent experience in server manufacturing, enterprise hardware, data-center infrastructure, electronics manufacturing, or comparable high-technology manufacturing operations.
5. Experience with complex assembly, systems integration, manufacturing testing, product configuration, rack integration, or high-volume technology hardware production.
6. Experience with direct liquid cooling, direct water cooling, liquid-cooled servers, high-density computing, AI/GPU systems, HPC platforms, or comparable thermal-management and data-center hardware solutions is preferred.
7. Proven ability to lead plant operations, including production planning, staffing, capacity management, resource allocation, quality systems, operational reviews, and manufacturing execution.
8. Strong Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, KPI improvement, process optimization, and operational excellence experience with measurable business results.
9. Experience with SAP, ERP, MES, or other manufacturing planning and execution systems.
10. Strong leadership, communication, stakeholder-management, problem-solving, change-management, and executive communication skills.
11. Experience managing multi-functional manufacturing organizations, multiple production areas, or multi-site operations is preferred.
12. MBA and/or Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, or Operational Excellence certification is preferred.