As a senior operational leader within GE Vernova's Wind Blades Manufacturing organization, this role serves as the operational backbone of the plant — driving day-to-day execution while partnering with the Plant Leader to shape site strategy, culture, and performance.
Senior Director – Operations Management GE Vernova | Wind Blades Manufacturing – GEV Wind Vadodara
The Senior Director – Operations Management is accountable for delivering world-class manufacturing outcomes across Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost (SQDC), while leading a large, diverse workforce and engaging cross-functionally with Engineering, EHS, Quality, Supply Chain, Sourcing, HR, and Finance — both locally and globally.
This is a high-impact leadership role that demands deep manufacturing expertise, a lean mindset, strong industrial relations capability, and the ability to unlock systemic bottlenecks that impede operational excellence. The role operates with significant autonomy and serving as a trusted operational co-pilot at all times. Roles & Responsibilities
Plant Operations Leadership • Drive Plant Operations with the Safety first and quality always approach.
Oversee daily, weekly, and monthly operational rhythms — including production planning, capacity utilization, shift management, and output delivery against plan
Serve as the acting Plant Leader during absences, and represent the site in global operational reviews and leadership forums
Translate site strategy into executable operational plans; cascade goals and metrics across teams through structured visual management and SQDC reviews
Partner with the Quality function to uphold blade quality standards, reduce non conformances, drive First Time Quality (FTQ), and ensure customer and certification requirements are met
Drive On-Time Delivery (OTD) performance by identifying and resolving production bottlenecks, resource constraints, and scheduling conflicts with urgency and precision
Co-own the plant P&L alongside the Plant Leader; drive accountability across all production lines for wind blade manufacturing operations Safety, Quality, Delivery & Cost (SQDC)
Champion a zero-harm safety culture; work closely with the EHS team to embed behavioral safety practices, drive incident reduction, and ensure regulatory compliance across the site
Own site cost performance — drive productivity improvements, reduce waste, and identify cost-saving opportunities in collaboration with Finance and Supply Chain Bottleneck Elimination & Continuous Improvement
Lead structured problem-solving efforts to identify and permanently eliminate systemic operational bottlenecks across mold operations, lamination, post-cure, finishing, and logistics
Champion and sustain a Lean Manufacturing culture — drive 5S, standardized work, value stream mapping, kaizen events, and CI initiatives across all production areas
Apply Six Sigma / DMAIC methodologies to reduce variability, scrap, and rework; foster a data-driven operational mindset across all levels of the workforce
Benchmark internal and external best practices; lead the adoption of new manufacturing technologies and process improvements relevant to composite blade manufacturing Cross-Functional & Stakeholder Collaboration
Act as the primary operational interface between the plant floor and functions including Engineering, Quality, EHS, Supply Chain, Sourcing, HR, and Finance — both at the local site and with teams
Drive alignment across global and local teams on production programs, new product introductions, tooling upgrades, and engineering changes; ensure smooth handoffs and minimized disruption to production
Collaborate with Supply Chain and Sourcing to ensure material availability, resolve supplier issues, and optimize inventory levels without compromising delivery commitments • Engage Finance to provide accurate operational forecasting, capex planning inputs, and variance analysis; build cost transparency into operational culture • Partner with HR on workforce planning, talent development, succession planning, and organizational effectiveness Industrial Relations & Workforce Leadership
Lead and develop a large hourly and salaried workforce (typically 500–2000+ employees) across multiple shifts in a high-paced composite manufacturing environment
Serve as a key leader in industrial relations — manage union relationships (where applicable), navigate labor negotiations, grievance processes, and workforce engagement with fairness, transparency, and firmness
Build trust across the workforce through visible leadership, open communication, and consistent follow-through; create a culture of accountability, respect, and high performance
Drive talent capability building through structured training, on-the-job development, and leadership pipeline programs; ensure succession depth across critical operational roles Equipment Technology & Asset Management
Demonstrate working knowledge of manufacturing equipment used in wind blade production — including moulds, infusion systems, cutting tools, finishing equipment, and automated inspection technologies
Partner with Maintenance and Engineering to drive equipment reliability, OEE improvement, and capex investment decisions
Champion the adoption of digital manufacturing tools, IoT-enabled monitoring systems, and advanced manufacturing technologies to improve production visibility and predictive maintenance
Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, Chemical, Polymer, or Manufacturing Engineering (or equivalent technical discipline)
15+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, with at least 5 years in a senior plant or operations leadership role managing large, multi-shift workforces
Demonstrated experience in composite manufacturing, process-intensive, or large-scale discrete manufacturing environments (wind energy, aerospace, automotive, or similar preferred)
Proven track record of leading industrial relations in a large workforce environment
Strong command of Lean Manufacturing principles — demonstrated experience deploying lean tools at scale and sustaining a CI culture
Experience working across global matrix organizations, managing both local execution and global stakeholder alignment
SQDC ownership experience — measurable results in safety, quality, delivery, and cost improvement Desired Characteristics
Natural operational leader — known for being present on the floor, close to the work, and trusted by the workforce
Bottleneck hunter — instinctively identifies what is slowing the system down and acts decisively to remove obstacles
Collaborative and influential — builds strong relationships across functions and geographies without relying on authority alone
Lean practitioner — genuinely passionate about waste elimination, standard work, and continuous improvement as a way of operating
Data-driven decision maker — comfortable with manufacturing data, operational KPIs, and using metrics to drive accountability and improvement
Strong communicator — able to translate operational complexity for senior leaders, global teams, and frontline workforce alike • Resilient and adaptable — thrives in a dynamic, high-volume manufacturing environment where priorities can shift rapidly
Lean / Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent certification is a strong advantage
Familiarity with composite blade manufacturing processes (infusion, lamination, post-cure, NDT, finishing) is highly desirable but not mandatory Additional Information Field Details Grade SPB1 Job Family Manufacturing Operations Time Type Full Time Job Type Regular Relocation Assistance Yes Function Wind Blades Manufacturing – Operations GE Vernova is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.
