Operations Leader

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We boldly go.

Where is the work:

What's in It for You
Trane Technologies – Thermo King is seeking a dynamic, results‑driven Operations Leader for our Greenville, SC facility. If you're ready to make a real difference in a state‑of‑the‑art manufacturing environment, this role puts you at the center of it all. You'll lead a dedicated team of 5 salaried leaders and approximately 125 hourly production and support employees, shaping performance and culture across a high‑energy manufacturing operation.

You'll own the daily rhythm of the operation—planning and assigning work, driving accountability, and elevating standards in safety, quality, delivery, inventory, and productivity. Your leadership will fuel continuous improvements in production methods, equipment optimization, operating procedures, and workplace efficiency. You will also play a critical role in maintenance leadership, partnering closely with maintenance teams to strengthen equipment reliability, reduce unplanned downtime, and ensure the plant's assets support safe, stable, and efficient operations. Your influence will drive preventive and predictive maintenance strategies, elevate technician capability, and embed a culture of equipment ownership and uptime excellence across the site.

This isn't just another operations job, it's a high‑impact opportunity to champion lean manufacturing at scale. You'll leverage lean methodologies to eliminate waste, streamline flow, and build a culture devoted to operational excellence. Your ability to lead with clarity and purpose will ensure we meet our commitments—delivering superior products safely, on time, and within cost targets. If you are energized by developing people, inspiring teams, strengthening equipment reliability, and unlocking performance through process discipline and operational excellence, this is your platform. Join us—and help lead a world‑class operation forward.

What You Will Do
• Own the performance of your assigned area, ensuring excellence in safety, quality, delivery, inventory and productivity performance.

• Lead the deployment of talent management systems, ensuring disciplined use of tools and processes that strengthen behavior‑based performance across the organization.
  • Act as the primary communication link between the leadership team and production employees to ensure clarity, alignment, and engagement.
  • Lead continuous improvement initiatives using Operational Excellence tools such as 5S, standardized work, value stream mapping, root‑cause analysis, and kaizen events.
  • Collaborate with the Technical Training team to ensure every employee is trained to operate safely, deliver high‑quality work, and meet targeted productivity expectations.
  • Foster a culture of problem‑solving, visual management, and daily management system adoption to enhance operational discipline and transparency.
  • Partner with and provide leadership to the maintenance organization to improve equipment uptime, asset reliability, and plant infrastructure stability.
  • Support preventive and predictive maintenance programs that minimize unplanned downtime and extend equipment life.
  • Use data and root‑cause analysis to identify chronic equipment issues and drive sustainable corrective actions.
  • Champion maintenance best practices, ensuring strong work planning/scheduling, technician development, and compliance with safety and regulatory requirements.

What You Will Bring
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, or a related field.
• A minimum of 10 years of manufacturing leadership experience.
• Proven success leading lean manufacturing and operational excellence initiatives.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence, motivate, and build trust.
• Excellent planning, analytical thinking, problem‑solving, and organizational skills.
• Ability to make timely, effective decisions in fast‑paced or high‑pressure environments.
• Ability to listen to customers and translate needs into clear, actionable requirements.
• A collaborative, team‑focused mindset with strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
• A servant leadership approach that prioritizes employee development, empowerment and respect.

Annual Base Salary Range or Hourly Base Pay Range:

Compensation Type:

Incentive Eligible:

Sales Commission Eligible:

Disclaimer: We strive to provide competitive compensation for this position, tailored to a variety of factors. The actual compensation will depend on elements such as seniority, merit, geographic location, education, experience, travel requirements, and union designation. Our compensation range is generally based on the national average for the country. Additionally, benefits may vary depending on the region, business alignment, union involvement, and employee status.

Safety Sensitive Role:

The company designates certain roles as Safety Sensitive. Safety Sensitive roles may require that you pass additional drug screening.

We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits and programs. We are an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, pregnancy, age, marital status, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any legally protected status.