Director of Operational Technology

<div class="content-intro"><p><strong>Who We Are:<br></strong>Challenge Manufacturing’s mission is to manufacture with operational excellence by empowering our employee-owners. As a leading tier 1 supplier of complex metal assemblies for the global automotive industry, we drive innovative solutions for future mobility. We believe the best ideas come from individual unique perspectives. These ideas combined with the teamwork of industry leaders allow us to accomplish any challenge. Our team members take pride in the work we do and embody our core values of safety, ownership, and teamwork every day; they are the true driving force in our operations.</p> <p>Challenge is proud to be one of the largest employee-owned automotive companies in North America. One of the many benefits of joining the Challenge team is the ESOP program. This program allows Challenge to give shares of the Company to all employee-owners annually. These shares are an additional retirement benefit that will continue to grow during your time at Challenge. Being part of an ESOP means our employee-owners share in Challenge’s success!</p> <p>Challenge is <em>#QualityDriven and #PeoplePowered!</em></p></div><p><strong>Who We Want:<br></strong>A strategic and innovative OT leader to define and execute our enterprise-wide operational technology strategy across multiple automotive plants. This individual will spearhead Industry 4.0 initiatives—integrating advanced automation, IIoT, robotics, digital twins, and predictive analytics—to drive production efficiency, quality, and safety. They will oversee cross-functional OT teams, ensure secure, resilient, and scalable OT infrastructure, and support new vehicle program launches and high-volume production schedules. Acting as the OT thought leader, this role represents OT at the executive table and shapes our smart-factory future.</p> <p><strong>What You'll Do:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Develop and implement a multi-year OT strategy aligned with corporate objectives and Industry 4.0 roadmaps.</li> <li>Lead multi-site OT teams: Automation Robotics, Smart Manufacturing, Analytics IIoT, Field Support, and Infrastructure Cybersecurity.</li> <li>Oversee deployment, integration, and optimization of MES, SCADA, HMI, robotics, IIoT, AI/ML, and predictive maintenance solutions.</li> <li>Ensure compliance with OT cybersecurity, safety, and automotive quality standards (IATF 16949, ISO/SAE 21434, IEC 62443).</li> <li>Partner with IT to enable secure OT/IT convergence, real-time data availability, and cloud/edge integration.</li> <li>Establish, monitor, and report OT KPIs including uptime, production efficiency, quality metrics, and incident response.</li> <li>Drive continuous improvement using data analytics, root-cause analysis, and lean manufacturing principles.</li> <li>Support new vehicle program launches and plant expansions with OT system readiness.</li> <li>Evaluate and pilot emerging technologies (AI, robotics, digital twins, AR/VR, smart sensors) and recommend adoption.</li> <li>Manage OT budgets, resource allocation, and vendor relationships across sites.</li> <li>Ensure OT systems are scalable, standardized, and adaptable for future production growth.</li> <li>Represent OT in executive leadership meetings and strategic planning sessions.</li> <li>Mentor and develop OT leadership and technical teams; build a pipeline of talent.</li> <li>Maintain OT documentation, SOPs, risk registers, and disaster-recovery plans.</li> <li>Lead initiatives to reduce operational risk, improve quality and efficiency, and support sustainability goals (energy monitoring, waste reduction).</li> <li>Champion change management to successfully roll out smart-factory technologies across plants</li> </ul> <p><strong>When and Where:<br></strong>This position is located at our<strong> </strong>Corporate Office in Walker, MI.<strong><br></strong><br>Occasionally, this may require you to arrive early, stay late, or work on weekends, outside of our regular ho ... (truncated, view full listing at source)