Imagine how your ideas and expertise can change a patient’s life. Our Global Operations & Quality team plays a central part in ensuring our products are delivered to patients with cardiovascular disease. You’ll partner cross-functionally with manufacturing operations and sales teams, delivering thoughtful solutions to complex challenges all while developing your knowledge of the medical device industry. Whether your work includes strategic inventory planning, labeling, warehouse management, material handling, or any of our other supply chain opportunities, you will be making a meaningful contribution to our team and to patients all over the world.
The Senior Director, Plant Operations is accountable for end-to-end site performance, leading all manufacturing, engineering, and site support functions to deliver on safety, quality, delivery, and cost objectives.
This role serves as the site leader with full ownership of daily execution, workforce development, operational strategy, and engineering integration. The leader ensures stable and compliant operations while building a high-performing, engaged culture and a strong foundation for future site growth.
How you'll make an impact:
- Lead overall plant operations, ensuring safe, compliant, and uninterrupted manufacturing execution
- Own delivery of core metrics: Safety, Quality, Delivery (MPS/PvA), Cost (absorption), Inventory, and Capacity
- Drive execution of production plans, ensuring line capacity, staffing alignment, and schedule adherence
- Establish daily management systems to identify and resolve operational issues rapidly
- Maintain full accountability for site performance, escalation, and recovery execution
- Lead both operations and engineering organizations as one integrated system
- Ensure engineering provides:
- Daily manufacturing support and issue resolution
- Process stability, capability, and compliance
- Continuous improvement through yield, cycle time, and cost optimization
- Ensure strong execution of RCA, CAPA, validation, and change control processes
- Build technical depth across teams, including operators, technicians, and engineers
- Ensure site readiness to support growth, product transfers, and operational scaling
- Balance short-term execution with long-term capability building
- Lead site-level portfolio of strategic initiatives (e.g., BEx, TOPP, Site relocation, NPI introduction, automation)
- Identify risks early and implement mitigation plans across cross-functional teams
- Drive a Lean / Six Sigma / EPS-based culture of continuous improvement
- Implement and sustain value stream thinking and waste elimination
- Own plant financial performance, including:
- Cost management and productivity
- Capital planning and deployment
- Budget adherence and expense prioritization
- Optimize resource allocation across labor, equipment, and materials
- Ensure alignment between financial targets and operational plans
- Build and lead a high-performing, engaged organization across operations and engineering
- Establish strong technical training programs for operators and engineers
- Drive a culture of accountability, inclusion, and continuous learning
- Provide coaching, feedback, and performance management across all levels
- Partner with Quality, Supply Chain, Maintenance, and PEGs to ensure alignment
- Align with other plants to drive standardization and best practice sharing
- Ensure full compliance with regulatory, quality, and EHS requirements
- Champion a zero-injury, safety-first culture
- Maintain readiness for audits, inspections, and regulatory reviews
- Ensure environmental compliance and sustainable operations
- Direct oversight of:
- Manufacturing Operations
- Manufacturing Engineering / Process Engineering
- Production Support functions (as applicable)
- Manage through managers/supervisors with selective direct reports
- Balance hands-on leadership with strategic direction
What you'll need (Required):
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, or related field
- Progressive experience in manufacturing leadership (operations + engineering)
- Demonstrated success leading plant operations or equivalent functional scope
- Strong financial acumen and track record of delivering operational results
What else we look for (Preferred):
- MBA or Master's degree in Engineering Management
- At least 14 years of related experience
- Experience working in a regulated industry, medical device industry
- Experience working with Metals
- Proven leadership of cross-functional manufacturing organizations
- Expertise in Lean, Six Sigma, and production systems (EPS)
- Strong financial and operational decision-making capability
- Excellent communication and stakeholder influence at all levels
- Ability to lead in a dynamic, scaling environment
Edwards is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer including protected Veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, or a related field
- Progressive experience in manufacturing leadership spanning operations and engineering
- Demonstrated success leading plant operations or an equivalent functional scope
- Strong financial acumen and a track record of delivering operational results
- MBA or Master's degree in Engineering Management
- At least 14 years of related experience
- Experience working in a regulated industry, preferably medical devices
- Experience working with metals
- Proven leadership of cross-functional manufacturing organizations
- Expertise in Lean, Six Sigma, and production systems such as EPS
- Strong financial and operational decision-making capability
- Excellent communication and stakeholder influence at all levels
- Ability to lead in a dynamic, scaling environment
Edwards Lifesciences Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Edwards Lifesciences and has not been reviewed or approved by Edwards Lifesciences.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is considered strong, with multiple plan choices, HSA options, and fertility support, and the company highlights holistic well‑being programs.
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Retirement Support — A company 401(k) match and well‑regarded retirement offerings add clear long‑term value to total compensation.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — An Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a discount and look‑back feature makes equity ownership accessible and enhances the total rewards package.
Edwards Lifesciences Insights
What We Do
Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW), is the global leader in patient-focused medical innovations for structural heart disease, as well as critical care and surgical monitoring. We thrive on discovery and expanding the boundaries of medical technology, serving patients in 100+ countries, with the help of our employees in areas including Clinical Affairs, Quality Engineering, Research & Development, Regulatory Affairs, Sales & Marketing, corporate functions and more. Our roots date back to 1958 when Miles Lowell Edwards, a retired engineer with a background in hydraulics and fuel pump operations, set out to build the first artificial heart. Edwards believed the heart could be mechanized and was encouraged by Dr. Albert Starr to focus on developing an artificial heart valve. After just two years, the first Starr-Edwards mitral valve was developed and successfully placed in a patient. This innovation spawned Edwards Laboratories. Miles’ fascination with healing the heart and helping patients with heart disease stemmed from his own experience with rheumatic fever as a teenager and continues to fuel our patient-first culture today. Today, we are as passionate about providing innovative solutions for people fighting cardiovascular disease as we have ever been. It's our Credo. It takes integrity, collaboration, innovation, and focus. We are leaders in the design and manufacture of tissue replacement heart valves and repair products as well as advanced hemodynamic monitoring. We partner with physicians to innovate products designed to help patients live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. Our work is both rewarding and a privilege. The importance of what we do defines our approach. We work together to create an environment where ideas can flourish and we provide our people with the resources, expertise and support to bring those ideas to life. For our legal terms and trademarks, please visit: https://www.edwards.com/legal/legal-terms
