K

Koch Industries

Private conglomerate in energy and materials

Operations Leader - Paper

Full-Time
No salary listed
Mid
Bachelor's
Clatskanie, OR, USA
In Person

About the job

Requirements
  • Leadership experience in a paper manufacturing environment.
  • Experience leading continuous improvement, reliability, or process improvement initiatives.
  • Experience coaching, mentoring, training, or developing leaders to improve capability and performance.
Responsibilities
  • Lead the Paper Department with Principle-Based Management, fostering a culture of safety, ownership, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
  • Provide leadership and direction to department leaders, ensuring alignment on priorities, operational excellence, and long-term business objectives.
  • Develop, coach, and mentor leaders and employees while building organizational capability and succession strength across the department.
  • Own the overall performance of the Paper Department, driving results in safety, quality, production, cost, reliability, and environmental stewardship.
  • Lead transformational change initiatives that improve operational effectiveness, organizational capability, and business performance.
  • Partner with operations, maintenance, engineering, reliability, and quality teams to improve asset utilization, operating capability, and manufacturing performance.
  • Drive strategic improvement efforts focused on productivity, yield, efficiency, waste reduction, fiber utilization, energy optimization, and product quality.
  • Establish and communicate a clear vision and operating strategy for the Paper Department while aligning resources to achieve business objectives.
  • Lead capital improvement initiatives, outage planning, and major operational projects that create sustainable value for the mill.
  • Utilize data, performance metrics, and operational insights to identify opportunities, remove barriers, and accelerate results.
  • Ensure compliance with all safety, environmental, quality, and regulatory requirements while promoting risk identification and mitigation throughout the department.
  • Collaborate with mill leadership to achieve integrated manufacturing objectives and support the overall success of the Wauna Paper Mill.
Desired Qualifications
  • Bachelor's Degree or higher in Engineering, Paper Science, Bioresource Engineering, or a related technical field.
  • Paper and/or Pulp experience.
  • Experience providing leadership to teams in a manufacturing environment, formally or informally.
  • Experience using process analytics and maintenance systems such as PI Vision, PARCview, SAP, or similar platforms.

About the company

Koch Industries is a large, private, diversified conglomerate that operates in energy, chemical processing, and manufacturing. It started from an innovation that turned heavy crude oil into gasoline and grew through long‑term investments rather than short‑term market moves. The company generates value by refining fuels and producing chemical products, and it operates Georgia-Pacific, a major maker of paper and building products. Its business model relies on reinvesting most earnings back into the company to fund steady, long‑term growth rather than paying out frequent dividends or seeking quick profits. Koch differentiates itself from many competitors by staying privately owned, which reduces pressure from public markets and enables longer‑range planning. The company’s goal is to build scale and durability across its holdings by sustainable, multi‑decade growth rather than rapid, episodic gains.

Company Size

5,001-10,000

Company Stage

Growth Equity (Non-Venture Capital)

Total Funding

$985.2M

Headquarters

Wichita, Kansas

Founded

1940

Get referred to Koch Industries

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Koch raised $224.4 million in equity financing on March 10, 2026, preserving dry powder.
  • Koch's Africa fertilizer foothold expands global phosphate reach from Morocco's Jorf complex.
  • Closed Tacoma gypsum plant concentrates capital into stronger Georgia-Pacific assets and higher-margin lines.

What critics are saying

  • DOJ opened a fertilizer antitrust probe in March 2026, risking criminal charges and damages.
  • Farmers filed class actions in March and June 2026 against Koch Agronomic Services.
  • Georgia-Pacific will close Tacoma's gypsum plant on October 30, 2026, cutting 125 jobs.

What makes Koch Industries unique

  • Private since 1940, Koch reinvests earnings for decades, not quarterly Wall Street optics.
  • Koch Fertilizer expanded into Morocco on June 30, 2026 through Jorf Fertilizers ownership.
  • Georgia-Pacific and Koch Agronomic Services give Koch integrated positions across packaging and fertilizers.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account

Paid Vacation

Professional Development Budget

Fertility Treatment Support

Parental Leave

Adoption Assistance

Hybrid Work Options

Educational Assistance

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

↓ -59%

1 year growth

↓ -59%

2 year growth

↓ -59%
MarketScreener
Mar 10th, 2026
Koch says it has raised about $224.4 million in equity financing

Koch, Inc. : Koch Inc says it has raised about $224.4 million in equity financing - SEC FILING ...

CPP Investments
Oct 1st, 2025
Planet and dMY IV Announce Upsized PIPE - Additional $50 Million from CPP Investments | CPP Investments

San Francisco and Toronto – September 16, 2021 – Planet Labs Inc. (“Planet”), a leading provider of daily data and insights about Earth, and dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV (NYSE:DMYQ) (“dMY IV”), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced that they have received a commitment for a US$50 million investment in dMY IV from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”).

PR Newswire
Nov 14th, 2024
Molex to Acquire AirBorn for Expansion

Molex has announced an agreement to acquire AirBorn, Inc., enhancing its position in the aerospace and defense market. This acquisition will combine Molex's engineering and manufacturing capabilities with AirBorn's expertise in rugged connectors and electronic components, offering growth opportunities in the $5 billion aerospace and defense interconnect market. The deal aims to better serve the needs of customers in this rapidly expanding global sector.

Business Wire
Aug 16th, 2024
EliseAI, World Leader in AI-Enabled Solutions for Housing, Raises $75 Million Series D Round Valuing Company in Excess of $1 Billion

EliseAI, the largest and most advanced conversational AI platform for the housing industry, today announced its Series D raise of $75 million at a val

PR Newswire
Jun 6th, 2024
Amy Steinman Joins Scientific Games' Executive Leadership Team As New Chief Human Resources Officer

ATLANTA, June 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientific Games has named Amy Steinman as the company's new Chief Human Resources Officer and the newest member of the company's executive leadership team. An experienced strategic and hands-on HR professional, Steinman will lead the global lottery company's growing workforce of 3,000 employees in 16 countries through its next era of transformation to serve government-regulated lotteries and partners on six continents.Scientific Games has named Amy Steinman as the global lottery company's new Chief Human Resources Officer. Post this Twenty-five year Koch Industries veteran Amy Steinman was named Chief Human Resources Officer at Scientific Games and newest member of the company's executive leadership team. She'll lead Scientific Games' growing workforce of 3,000 employees in 16 countries through its next era of transformation to serve government-regulated lotteries and partners on six continents.Steinman joins Scientific Games following a 25-year career with Koch Industries, a world-leading, privately held company with 120,000 employees and 11 operating companies, most recently serving as the Koch Industries executive responsible for integrating Infor, a newly acquired multitenant SaaS business, into Koch, overseeing organizational design, talent development and building a values-based, collaborative global culture.Previously, she served in the role of Business Transformation Change Management Executive, developing Koch's change leadership approach for global, enterprise-wide digital and process transformation initiatives. Steinman has also held HR leadership roles at INVISTA and Georgia-Pacific.Pat McHugh, CEO of Scientific Games, said, "Amy is a seasoned, energetic people leader with deep experience working across all areas of HR. She has a track record of building successful, high-performing global teams and industry-specific operating models to create a platform for the organization's growth