At DuPont, our purpose is to empower the world with essential innovations to thrive. We work on things that matter. Whether it’s providing clean water to more than a billion people on the planet, producing materials that are essential in everyday technology devices from smartphones to electric vehicles, or protecting workers around the world. Discover the many reasons the world’s most talented people are choosing to work at DuPont. Why Join Us | DuPont Careers
Multi-Site Manufacturing Leader
DuPont Water Solutions is seeking a passionate and high-performing individual to lead our reverse osmosis (RO) and ultrafiltration (UF) manufacturing network. The Multi-Site Manufacturing Leader is responsible for leading a global portfolio of (7) manufacturing sites and driving safe, reliable, customer-focused, and cost-effective operations aligned to DuPont’s business strategy. This role provides enterprise manufacturing leadership across a diverse network of sites, partnering closely with business, commercial, supply chain, engineering, quality, EHS, technology, and operational excellence leaders to align manufacturing priorities with customer needs, deliver performance, build capability, maximize value, and enable growth.
This individual will be accountable for establishing and sustaining a lean manufacturing culture that improves every day, reduces waste and variation, strengthens daily management, and develops problem-solving capability at all levels of the organization. Success requires a visible, hands-on leader who can set strategy, drive disciplined execution, inspire global teams, and role model DuPont’s core values of Safety & Respect, Integrity & Accountability, Grow and Improve, and Solve Problems with Customers.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead global manufacturing performance: Own performance across the portfolio of RO and UF manufacturing sites, delivering results in safety, quality, delivery, inventory, productivity (cost), compliance, asset reliability, and customer service.
- Drive lean manufacturing and operational excellence: Establish and deploy lean manufacturing practices, daily management systems, standard work, visual management, value stream mapping, kaizen, structured problem solving, root cause analysis, and waste elimination across the manufacturing network.
- Align manufacturing strategy to business priorities: Develop and execute integrated manufacturing plans that support growth, margin improvement, customer commitments, supply reliability, and long-term competitiveness.
- Sponsor and ensure progress of priority projects and investments: Develop priorities for capital investments based on economic models and ensure proper resource allocation to support realization of business strategy. Partner with capital organization and manufacturing technology on developing optionality and strong basic data with cross functional review in support of capital allocation process.
- Improve customer experience through end-to-end excellence: Partners closely with commercial, customer service, procurement, logistics and supply chain to ensure end-to-end processes supporting customer expectations around lead time and excellent delivery performance. Sponsor efforts to streamline processes and drive improvements across the order-to-cash process.
- Partner with Commercial to align on customer needs and value creation: Work closely with commercial and business leaders to understand customer requirements, market expectations, service priorities, and growth opportunities; translate those needs into manufacturing initiatives that improve reliability, responsiveness, quality, cost competitiveness, and overall customer value.
- Build a culture of continuous improvement: Create an environment where leaders and teams challenge the status quo, solve problems at the source in real-time, learn from failures, and continuously improve processes, performance, and ways of working.
- Lead through metrics and operating cadence: Use KPIs, bowler metrics, tiered accountability, operating reviews, and data-driven insights to identify performance gaps, prioritize improvement opportunities, develop action plans, execute Kaizens and sustain results.
- Develop manufacturing talent and capability: Attract, develop, coach, and retain strong manufacturing leaders and technical talent; build lean capability, succession depth, and engaged shop-floor teams across regions.
- Strengthen manufacturing systems and standards: Partner with Operational Excellence, Engineering, Quality, EHS, Supply Chain, and IT/OT teams to standardize best practices, codify tools and processes, and accelerate adoption of scalable manufacturing systems.
- Lead change across a global network: Influence and align stakeholders across businesses, regions, functions, and sites. Partner with sites and manufacturing technology to develop the Kaizen funnel and top opportunities across the portfolio and ensure improvements are implemented, sustained, and leveraged to sister sites.
- Improve cost, productivity, and asset effectiveness: Drive productivity, yield improvement (reduce cost of poor quality), cycle-time reduction, scrap and waste elimination, energy efficiency, and asset utilization while maintaining strong safety, quality, and compliance standards.
- Role model DuPont culture and values: Set the tone through consistent behaviors, decision-making, and communications that reinforce safety, respect, integrity, accountability, continuous improvement, and customer-focused problem solving.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, or a related discipline required.
- 10+ years of progressive manufacturing, operations, engineering, or supply chain leadership experience. Experience leading manufacturing operations in a multi-site or global environment preferred.
- Proven track record delivering sustained improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, asset reliability, and customer performance.
- Deep practical experience applying lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, operational excellence, and structured problem-solving methods; Lean Six Sigma certification preferred.
- Experience leading significant transformation at manufacturing sites, including culture change, operating system deployment, capability building, and performance management.
- Strong financial acumen with the ability to connect manufacturing performance, productivity, and cost actions to business strategy, margin improvement, and enterprise value.
- Demonstrated ability to lead in matrixed global organizations and influence across senior leaders, plant teams, commercial partners, functional partners, and business stakeholders.
- Strong knowledge of EHS, quality, compliance, process safety, management of change, and operational risk management expectations in manufacturing environments.
- Ability and willingness to travel globally to manufacturing sites as business needs require.
Expected Leadership Capabilities
- Strategic and enterprise-minded: Understands business strategy, customer needs, commercial priorities, and market dynamics; makes decisions that optimize enterprise value rather than local or functional outcomes alone.
- Execution-focused: Translates strategy into clear priorities, operating rhythms, accountability, and measurable results; drives issues to closure with urgency and discipline.
- Lean practitioner and teacher: Coaches leaders and teams in lean thinking, daily management, problem solving, standard work, kaizen, and continuous improvement behaviors.
- Visible and people-centered: Builds trust on the shop floor, engages teams directly, listens actively, and creates an environment where people are empowered to identify and solve problems.
- Change leader: Leads transformation with clarity, resilience, and practical execution; anticipates resistance and ensures new ways of working are embedded and sustained.
- Talent builder: Develops strong leaders, builds succession depth, creates growth opportunities, and holds teams accountable for both performance and behaviors.
- Collaborative influencer: Partners effectively across Operations, Commercial, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, EHS, Technology, HR, and Finance to deliver integrated business outcomes.
- Data-driven problem solver: Uses facts, metrics, benchmarking, and structured analysis to identify root causes, prioritize action, and improve performance.
Preferred Experience
- Experience leading or operating within a business system or production system-driven organization.
- Demonstrated success deploying lean manufacturing practices across multiple sites, regions, or business units.
- Experience leading global manufacturing networks that include varied technologies, operating models, customer requirements, and regulatory or compliance expectations.
- Experience partnering with commercial and supply chain leaders to connect manufacturing performance to customer value, service reliability, and growth.
- Experience using digital tools, automation, analytics, or IT/OT systems to improve manufacturing visibility, productivity, and decision-making.
Location and Travel
- Preferred locations are Edina, Minnesota, Midland, MI or Wilmington, Delaware.
- 30% Global travel to manufacturing sites is expected.
#LI-DP1
Join our Talent Community to stay connected with us!
DuPont is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability or any other protected class. If you need a reasonable accommodation to search or apply for a position, please visit our Accessibility Page for Contact Information.
DuPont offers a comprehensive pay and benefits package. To learn more visit the Compensation and Benefits page.
