Sr. Manager, SIOP & Operational Excellence

ABOUT US

Join a Global Photonics Leader: Engineering Solutions from the Deep Ocean to Outer Space!

Gooch & Housego (G&H) is a global precision photonics manufacturer serving the industrial, aerospace & defense, life sciences, and semiconductor markets. With operations across North America, Europe, and Asia, G&H designs and manufactures advanced optical components, systems, and subsystems that enable some of the world’s most demanding applications.

THE OPPORTUNITY

We are seeking a Sr. Manager, SIOP & Operational Excellence, to lead and strengthen the Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning process and drive operational excellence across our Optical Systems US operations. This role will align demand, supply, capacity, and financial plans and establish a consistent operating model to improve operational performance, delivery reliability, and inventory management.

Site leadership retains ownership of execution and results at each site. This role owns the planning process, standards, governance, and performance visibility, and partners with site teams to align on common standards and drive operational excellence across US sites.

The successful candidate will work closely with Sales, Operations, Finance, Engineering, and Supply Chain to establish consistent planning processes, improve visibility, and support informed business decisions across a complex, high-mix manufacturing environment.

This role requires 25% to 50% of travel to our locations in Keene, NH, Tampa, FL, Rochester, NY and Moorpark, CA.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

SIOP Leadership & Process Management

• Lead the end-to-end SIOP process, including demand and supply reviews, executive planning meetings, and alignment of operational and financial objectives.
• Establish and continuously improve standardized planning processes, governance, and performance metrics across Optical Systems US operations.
• Drive accountability and cross-functional alignment to ensure planning decisions support business priorities, capacity requirements, and customer commitments.

Demand, Supply & Capacity Planning

• Partner with Sales and Product Management to establish the demand planning process, review forecasts and customer requirements, and identify potential changes in demand.
• Partner with site Operations, Engineering, and Supply Chain leaders, who own production, procurement, and capacity plans, to ensure those plans are aligned with demand and achievable.
• Work with site teams to identify supply constraints, capacity limitations, and operational risks, and ensure scenarios and mitigation plans are in place to support business continuity.

Inventory & Operational Performance

• Partner with site leadership to define inventory strategies and policies that optimize material availability, working capital, and service levels while minimizing excess and obsolete inventory.
• Define standards for inventory targets, safety stock requirements, and planning parameters, and monitor adherence across sites.
• Monitor and report key performance indicators across US sites, including forecast accuracy, on-time delivery, backlog, inventory turns, and capacity utilization, and partner with site leaders on improvement actions.

Analytics, Systems & Continuous Improvement

• Leverage ERP/MRP systems, reporting tools, and data analytics to improve planning accuracy, visibility, and decision-making.
• Provide leadership with actionable insights, performance reporting, and recommendations to address risks, trade-offs, and improvement opportunities.
• Strengthen planning and continuous improvement capabilities across sites through process standardization, cross-functional collaboration, coaching, tools, and methods so improvement is owned and sustained locally.

Operational Excellence

• Work closely with site management to establish a common operating cadence, standards, and governance by which sites plan, execute, and improve, with site leadership retaining ownership of execution and results.
• Develop and lead a multi-year operational excellence roadmap aligned with business strategy and company priorities.
• Partner with site teams to define which processes are common across the business and which are site-specific, and keep both current as the business grows.
• Support a consistent performance management framework across sites, including tiered accountability (Tier 1 through 3), KPI definitions, data standards, and reporting, so performance is visible, comparable, and acted on at every level.
• Support site leaders through change management as new sites, systems, and processes are integrated into a consistent way of operating.
• Identify and prioritize improvement opportunities across cost, quality, delivery, and working capital, and report results and measurable business impact to senior leadership.

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Business, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 8 to 12+ years of progressive experience in supply chain, operations, planning, or business transformation, including 3 to 5 years in SIOP, operations, or transformation leadership roles.
• Experience in high-mix, low-to-medium volume manufacturing environments; precision optics, aerospace and defense, or similar industries preferred.
• Demonstrated success implementing, leading, or improving SIOP or operational excellence processes across complex manufacturing operations.
• Experience leading multi-site process standardization and organizational change.
• Strong knowledge of demand forecasting, capacity planning, inventory management, and supply chain optimization.
• Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems and planning tools, including SYSPRO, SAP, Oracle, or comparable platforms.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex data into actionable business recommendations.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and senior leadership.
• Proven ability to manage competing priorities, navigate operational constraints, and drive accountability and continuous improvement.
• APICS/ASCM certifications (CPIM or CSCP) or IBF certification preferred.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

This job description is not intended to be exhaustive in every respect, but rather to clearly define the fundamental purpose, responsibilities and dimensions for the role. Therefore, this job description does not describe any individual role holder. In addition to the contents of this job description, employees are expected to undertake all other reasonable and related tasks allocated by their line manager.

This position involves access to technology and data controlled under U.S. export regulations (ITAR/EAR); U.S. citizenship is required.

The Company is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment.