Electrical engineering · VP of Operations
VP of Operations search for electrical engineering
We recruit the operations leaders who turn engineering capability into production: yield, throughput, equipment and the people who run them.
The role
Where engineering capability becomes production
Engineering can design a great product and sales can land the contract. The VP of Operations makes sure the plant can build it at the volume, quality and cost the business needs.
They own yield, throughput and equipment utilization, and the daily discipline that keeps a facility out of firefighting mode.
Why it's hard
Why this operations search is different
- Yield needs a specific kind of leader: someone who knows the statistical controls and can sense trouble on the floor before the data shows it.
- Ramping is risky. New lines, process qualification and customer requalification often land at the same time.
- Equipment is a capital problem. One tool going down can ripple through the schedule for weeks.
- Many of these plants run around the clock across sites, so the shift leaders making calls at 2am need developing too.
What we look for
What a strong VP of Operations looks like
We test for four things, in interviews and in references from the people they've led.
- Years inside fabs or advanced manufacturing plants, with credibility earned on the floor.
- They tie every operating decision to yield and to the money.
- They've built operating systems: SOPs, manufacturing execution systems and the measures that make results repeatable.
- They set the safety culture in plants with hazardous materials and high-voltage systems, and hold it under schedule pressure.
How it works
How the search runs
The Bullseye Meeting
We sit down with the CEO and leadership team and map how this person will work with engineering, quality, maintenance and supply chain.
Mapped search
We approach operations leaders running fabs, advanced manufacturing plants and high-precision production today, in confidential conversations.
Mutual-fit assessment
We test yield and ramp experience, equipment programs and safety leadership, and talk to people who've worked for them.
Onboard & follow through
We advise on the offer, then stay in touch through the first 90 days, while the new leader sets the operating rhythm.
Questions
VP of Operations search: common questions
A VP of Operations runs production: yield, throughput, equipment and the shifts that run them. A COO usually brings manufacturing, supply chain, quality and engineering together into one operation and partners with the CEO. We work out which seat you need in the Bullseye Meeting.
Typically one to three weeks to calibrate, candidate recommendations from around week four to week eight, and an offer to your top candidate between weeks eight and twelve for a leadership role or twelve and sixteen for an executive role. Searches finish faster when you're ready to move as soon as the right person surfaces.
You pay a deposit to launch the search, nothing more until you hire, a payment at hire, and a final payment thirty days after your new leader starts. Fees depend on the role, and we quote them plainly in the first conversation.
Every FireSeeds search carries a guarantee. If the placement doesn't work out within the agreed period, we re-run the search. The specifics are set out in the engagement letter before we start.
Ready to hire a VP of Operations?
Tell us about the seat you need to fill. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right team to fill it.