Director of Manufacturing Excellence

Ameritex Machine & Fabrication is a fast-growing, high-mix metal fabrication company serving power generation, infrastructure, and industrial markets. We build complex fabricated assemblies, enclosures, and structural systems where execution, reliability, and throughput matter more than theory.

We are creating a Director of Manufacturing Excellence role to install manufacturing truth into our operation, not as a consultant, not as a paperwork role, but as a hands-on leader who defines how work gets built and ensures the schedule reflects reality.

This is a builder role, not a caretaker role.

What This Role Owns

The Director of Manufacturing Excellence owns the manufacturing system, not production headcount.

This role builds and enforces a system that defines what is physically possible, so operations can execute without heroics.

You will own:

• Manufacturing schedulability gates (what is / isn’t allowed onto the schedule)
• Process definition and standard work
• Routing accuracy and sequence definition
• Capacity truth across fabrication, welding, finishing, and assembly
• Manufacturing risk classification (standard vs high-risk work)
• Corrective action creation for repeat failures
• Training system architecture (AMTX U)
• Maintenance planning & reliability (PM discipline, uptime protection)
• Manufacturing engineering standards (cutting, welding, forming, flow)

This role does not manage production supervisors or run shifts.

It exists to make execution predictable.

Who You’ll Work With

• Production Managers and Planning & Scheduling
• Maintenance Planning & Reliability
• Welding and Laser Engineers
• Quality Systems & Compliance
• Business Systems / ERP
• Ownership and Operations leadership

This role sits at the center of manufacturing decision-making.

What Success Looks Like

Within 6–12 months:

• Schedules stop slipping due to “surprises”
• Production stops improvising workarounds
• Engineering releases are buildable
• Maintenance becomes proactive instead of reactive
• Training ties directly to process permission
• Owners are no longer the escalation path

If you like clean whiteboards but not messy shops, this is not the role for you.

What We’re Looking For

We are intentionally not looking for a traditional continuous-improvement consultant or a corporate Six Sigma role.

The right candidate has:

• 10+ years in manufacturing or fabrication environments
• Hands-on experience in metal fabrication, welding, cutting, forming, or industrial assembly
• Proven ability to define processes that actually work on the shop floor
• Comfort saying “this job is not schedulable yet”
• Experience turning tribal knowledge into enforceable standards
• Strong judgment under pressure
• A production-first mindset

Bonus (not required):

• High-mix / low-volume experience
• Job shop or contract manufacturing background
• Maintenance reliability exposure
• ERP-driven manufacturing environments

What This Role Is Not

• Not a plant manager
• Not a production supervisor
• Not a paperwork or audit role
• Not a consultant engagement

This is an ownership role.