OSM Operations Manager

About the Role

The OSM Operations Manager provides strategic and operational leadership for Off-Site Manufacturing (OSM) project execution. This position leads and develops the OSM Project Management team and is accountable for consistent project execution from award through engineering, procurement, fabrication, quality, logistics, field installation (when applicable), commissioning support, and project closeout. The role establishes and maintains standardized project management processes, aligns resources with project requirements, and holds Project Managers accountable for delivering projects safely, on schedule, within budget, and to established quality standards. The ideal candidate is a servant leader with strong experience in mechanical construction, process piping, and/or multi-trade modular manufacturing who can develop high-performing teams, drive accountability and continuous improvement, and foster a culture centered on safety, quality, teamwork, customer service, and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Establish clear performance expectations, accountability, and development plans for Project Managers and project teams.
• Lead and mentor Project Managers, developing future project and operational leaders.
• Balance project workloads and resources based on complexity, experience, and business priorities.
• Provide operational leadership to ensure projects meet schedule, quality, safety, productivity, and financial objectives.
• Lead regular project and operational reviews to assess performance, identify risks, and drive accountability.
• Identify operational bottlenecks, resource constraints, and capacity needs, and lead teams in developing solutions.
• Oversee manpower, equipment, and capacity planning to align resources with current and future workloads.
• Foster collaboration across Project Management, Operations, Fabrication, Assembly, VDC, Quality, and Safety teams.

Project & Operational Execution

• Provide leadership and oversight of Project Managers throughout the entire project lifecycle, including:
  • Project turnover from estimating/business development
  • Contract review and execution planning
  • Engineering and design coordination
  • Mechanical and process piping coordination and execution
  • Coordination of piping systems with structural steel, equipment, electrical, instrumentation, and other integrated trades
  • Procurement strategy and material tracking
  • Fabrication planning and production coordination
  • Quality planning and inspections
  • Logistics planning and shipping coordination
  • Site installation planning and execution (when applicable)
  • Commissioning support
  • Project closeout and lessons learned
• Ensure Project Managers and project teams follow established execution procedures, company standards, and performance expectations.
• Provide leadership in resolving technical, production, procurement, schedule, and coordination issues that affect project execution.
• Ensure project execution strategies appropriately account for the unique requirements of modular fabrication and mechanical/process piping integration.

Financial Performance

• Provide leadership and oversight of project financial performance, including forecasting, cost control, change management, cash flow, and margin protection.
• Review project and portfolio performance with Project Managers and drive corrective action when results deviate from plan.
• Ensure accurate and timely project forecasting and financial reporting.
• Identify opportunities to reduce waste, improve productivity, and increase profitability.
• Support annual business planning, resource planning, and organizational growth initiatives.

People and Leadership Development

• Develop and retain high-performing Project Managers and project teams.
• Identify leadership development opportunities and prepare high-potential employees for increased responsibility.
• Address performance issues promptly and establish clear expectations for improvement.

Safety & Quality

• Lead a safety-first culture and hold Project Managers and operational leaders accountable for safety performance.
• Ensure safety expectations, procedures, and applicable regulatory requirements are consistently followed.
• Partner with Safety leadership on incident investigations, corrective actions, and continuous improvement.
• Establish accountability for quality performance and adherence to company standards.
• Drive reduction of rework, defects, and quality-related project impacts.
• Partner with Quality leadership to identify root causes and implement corrective actions.

Cross-Functional & Customer Leadership

• Foster strong collaboration across Project Management, Engineering, Purchasing, Operations, Fabrication, Assembly, VDC, Quality, Safety, Logistics, Sales, and Executive Leadership.
• Resolve cross-functional issues that create project, production, or customer impacts.
• Support customer meetings, visits, audits, and project reviews as needed.
• Ensure customer commitments and operational requirements are understood and effectively communicated throughout the organization.
• Promote consistent communication and coordination between project teams and operational functions.
• Build strong customer relationships by demonstrating technical understanding of modularization, mechanical systems, process piping, and off-site manufacturing.

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Operations Management, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering or related field preferred. Equivalent experience will be considered.

Experience

• 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, construction, off-site manufacturing, or related operations.
• 5+ years leading Project Managers, project teams, or multiple functional departments.
• Significant experience with mechanical systems and/or process piping, including fabrication, installation, project management, or operations.
• Experience with process piping systems in industrial, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, data center, advanced manufacturing, or other technically complex environments strongly preferred.
• Experience managing multi-trade projects involving structural steel, mechanical systems, process piping, equipment, electrical, and/or instrumentation.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects and cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated experience with project financials, forecasting, cost control, and margin management.
• Experience with capacity planning, production scheduling, and operational improvement.
• Experience with modularization, prefabrication, off-site manufacturing, or other strategies for moving construction activities from the field into a controlled manufacturing environment.
• Structural steel fabrication experience preferred.
• High-purity process piping experience strongly preferred.
• Lean Manufacturing or continuous improvement experience preferred.
• Experience leading large, multi-disciplinary teams preferred.

Skills & Abilities

• Leadership and people development
• Accountability and performance management
• Strategic planning and resource allocation
• Project and portfolio management
• Capacity and production planning
• Financial and budget management
• Cross-functional leadership
• Conflict resolution and problem solving
• Continuous improvement and Lean methodologies
• Root cause analysis and corrective action
• Safety and quality leadership
• Mechanical systems and process piping
• Process piping fabrication, installation, testing, and turnover
• High-purity piping and industrial mechanical systems
• Multi-trade modularization and off-site manufacturing
• Integration of piping, equipment, structural steel, electrical, and instrumentation systems
• Structural steel fabrication and/or modular construction
• ERP/MRP systems (Acumatica preferred; Tekla PowerFab beneficial)
• Microsoft Office Suite

Physical Requirements

• Frequent walking throughout production areas.
• Ability to climb stairs and access elevated work platforms.
• Occasionally lift up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to work indoors and outdoors in varying weather conditions.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Project Management

• Deliver projects according to established schedule and budget.
• Maintain accurate forecasting and project reporting.
• Identify and mitigate project risks proactively.
• Maintain consistent execution of company project management standards.
• Effectively manage changes and protect project margins.

Safety

• Maintain a safe workplace with minimal recordable incidents.
• Ensure compliance with company safety policies and OSHA requirements.

Production

• Meet production schedules and on-time project delivery.
• Achieve productivity and efficiency goals.

Quality

• Minimize rework and defects.
• Maintain high customer quality standards.

Financial

• Operate within budget while controlling labor and operating costs.
• Improve operational efficiency and reduce waste.

Leadership

• Develop and retain high-performing Project Managers and teams.
• Improve Project Manager performance and accountability.
• Develop future project and operational leaders.
• Foster employee engagement, ownership, and continuous improvement.