Manager – Americas Productivity and Cost Engineering

POSITION SUMMARY

The Manager, Americas Productivity and Cost Engineering is fully dedicated to accelerating productivity and efficiency across Americas manufacturing plants and major operations projects. This role owns the regional productivity pipeline and benefit-realization process, converts plant actions into verified cost and capacity outcomes, and gives leadership clear visibility to performance, risks, and required decisions. The position works closely with plant managers, finance, the Vertiv Operating System, planning, quality, safety, supply chain, manufacturing engineering, and project leaders. The role establishes operating standards, evaluates improvement opportunities, validates financial benefits, tracks execution, and partners with operations and finance to improve labor efficiency, conversion cost, capacity utilization, and project returns.  The expected balance of activities includes approximately:

• 60% regional productivity governance and benefit realization
• 25% targeted site intervention
• 15% capability building and standardization

Location: Westerville, Ohio preferred; another major Americas manufacturing location may be considered.
Direct reports: None. Special physical requirements: None.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Establish and own a consistent regional productivity governance process covering all Americas plants and major operations projects. Maintain one prioritized pipeline of productivity and efficiency initiatives with accountable owners, milestones, risks, investment requirements, and monthly benefit realization.
• Develop plant productivity baselines, annual targets, and forecasts using earned standard hours, labor hours, conversion cost, material usage, overhead absorption, capacity utilization, and other agreed measures. Evaluate proposed initiatives and validate expected labor, material, overhead, capacity, inventory, quality, lead-time, and cash impacts before approval. Partner with plant finance and regional finance to ensure savings are measurable, auditable, and appropriately reflected in budgets, forecasts, and standard costs.
• Partner with Advanced Manufacturing Engineering and Manufacturing Sites to conduct targeted industrial engineering studies, including time studies, labor standards, staffing models, line balancing, layout, material flow, equipment utilization, and capacity analysis. Standardize industrial engineering methods, templates, assumptions, and benefit-calculation rules across the region. Ensure productivity improvements are sustainable and do not compromise employee safety, product quality, customer delivery, or regulatory compliance.
• Review plant and project performance, identify gaps and root causes, and drive recovery plans when benefits or milestones are at risk. Prepare concise monthly reporting for operations leadership showing performance to target, projected outcomes, major variances, risks, and decisions required.
• The role has authority to establish regional productivity methods and governance requirements, challenge or return unsupported benefit claims, and escalate initiatives that are materially off plan. Final financial recognition remains subject to finance approval.
• Measures of success:
  • Delivery of the annual Americas productivity commitment 
  • Finance-validated realization of approved benefits 
  • Adequate qualified pipeline coverage against the annual target 
  • Accuracy and timeliness of monthly productivity forecasts 
  • Improvement in labor efficiency and conversion cost 
  • Recovery or escalation of initiatives that fall behind plan

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering, systems engineering, or a closely related field.
• Seven plus years of progressive experience in industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, operational excellence, cost reduction, or productivity leadership.
• Demonstrated success delivering measurable productivity and cost improvements in a complex manufacturing environment.
• Experience supporting multiple plants and influencing plant leaders without direct reporting authority.
• Strong working knowledge of labor standards, work measurement, line balancing, capacity analysis, manufacturing cost structures, and financial benefit validation.
• Ability to connect operational metrics to financial results and clearly distinguish cost avoidance, capacity creation, and realized savings.
• Advanced analytical capability using Microsoft Excel, enterprise data systems, and data-visualization tools.
• Strong project-management, problem-solving, facilitation, and executive-communication skills.
• Professional proficiency in English is required.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in engineering, operations, or business administration.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or comparable advanced continuous-improvement certification.
• Training or demonstrated knowledge in manufacturing cost accounting, standard costing, and capital-project financial analysis is preferred.
• Experience in engineered-to-order, configure-to-order, or complex assembly manufacturing is preferred.
• Spanish language capability.

TRAVEL REQUIRED

• 25% travel, including regular visits to manufacturing sites in the United States and Mexico.

The successful candidate will embrace Vertiv’s Core Principles & Behaviors to help execute our Strategic Priorities.  

OUR CORE PRINCIPLES:  Safety.  Integrity. Respect.  Teamwork.  Diversity & Inclusion.

OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

• Customer Focus
• Operational Excellence
• High-Performance Culture
• Innovation
• Financial Strength

OUR BEHAVIORS

• Own It
• Act With Urgency
• Foster a Customer-First Mindset
• Think Big and Execute
• Lead by Example
• Drive Continuous Improvement
• Learn and Seek Out Development
• Promote Transparent & Open Communication

At Vertiv, we’re on a mission to empower the people that will power the future. From a simple swipe to life-changing medicines, from push notifications to generative AI. We design, manufacture, and service the products and solutions that keep the world connected.  With $6.9 billion in revenue, a strong customer base and global reach spanning nearly 70 countries, we are uniquely positioned to deliver greater value to our customers and create new opportunities for our people. 

Vertiv is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We promote equal opportunities for all with respect to hiring, terms of employment, mobility, training, compensation, and occupational health, without discrimination as to age, race, color, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy status (including childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity / expression (including transgender status or sexual stereotypes), genetic information, citizenship status, national origin, protected veteran status, political affiliation, or disability. If you have a disability and are having difficulty accessing or using this website to apply for a position, you can request help by sending an email to [email protected]. If you are interested in applying or learning more about this role, please visit the company’s career page located on Vertiv.com/Careers

Work Authorization

No calls or agencies please. Vertiv will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States. This is not a position for which sponsorship will be provided. Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, or TN or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire.