Vice President of Operations

VP of Operations | Nox Metals | Ferndale, MI or Los Angeles, CA

American factories deserve a supply chain that moves as fast as they do. Nox Metals is building it, along with the tools that run it. We’re a technology company supplying raw metal to frontier American manufacturers. We use software and automation to supply metal to factories faster than the industry thought possible.

We’re hiring a VP of Operations to build and lead the factory operations behind Nox Metals’ growth. You will set up new factories, hire the teams they need, train people to do the work well, and build the leadership structure that keeps every facility running at a high standard.

This is one of our most significant leadership roles. You will own factory launches and operational execution across our facilities, from getting a new site ready to produce to developing the managers and teams who run it every day. We need someone who has built factories before, or who has hired at significant scale and led large operational teams through rapid growth.

You will spend real time on the factory floor. You will make decisions, remove bottlenecks, develop leaders, and stay close to the work as the organization grows.

You will:

• Own new factory setup and launch, including site readiness, layout, equipment installation, staffing, training, and production ramp

• Build the organization each facility needs, hiring plant leaders, supervisors, operators, and the support teams required to execute

• Lead hiring at scale, with clear staffing plans and a high bar for the people who join the team

• Establish hands-on onboarding, training, and qualification programs so new hires can work safely and perform reliably

• Hire, coach, and manage leaders who can run large teams, develop their people, and take ownership of results

• Own day-to-day factory performance across sites, with clear accountability for safety, quality, throughput, productivity, and on-time delivery

• Build staffing models, shift structures, and management routines that support growth and reliable execution

• Set practical operating standards, work instructions, shift handoffs, and daily and weekly reviews that teams actually use

• Work directly with teams on the floor to resolve bottlenecks, address performance issues, and improve how the operation runs

• Partner with engineering and software teams to put better tools and automation into the hands of factory teams

• Turn successful factory launches, hiring methods, and training systems into a repeatable playbook for future facilities

You are:

• An operator with a proven record of opening and ramping factories, or hiring at significant scale and leading large operational teams

• Experienced building teams and management structures through rapid growth, with concrete results to show for it

• Strong at identifying talent, making hiring decisions, training people, and developing effective managers

• Comfortable owning operations across multiple facilities while staying close to the details on the floor

• Uncompromising about safety, quality, and accountability

• Direct, decisive, and calm under pressure; you make the call and follow through

• Practical and organized; you turn ambitious plans into clear priorities, owners, and execution

• Fluent in operational metrics and able to use them to improve performance

• High agency and low ego; you take ownership and do the work required to help the team succeed

Nice to have:

• Experience launching or scaling a network of factories or industrial facilities

• Experience building high-volume hiring, onboarding, or workforce training programs

• Experience leading teams across multiple sites or shifts

• Familiarity with metals, machining, aerospace, defense, logistics, or other demanding industrial environments

• Experience introducing automation or improving factory workflows with software

This role is full time and in person at our Los Angeles or Ferndale facility, with travel between sites as needed.

Nox Metals is an equal opportunity employer. We hire based on skill, attitude, and fit for the work, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, height, weight, marital status, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law.

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, and the California Fair Chance Act.