Director of Mixing & Compounding (Rubber)

Director of Mixing & Compounding (Rubber)

The Director of Mixing & Compounding will oversee rubber production including milling & textile operations across two manufacturing plants with 200 total employees, 6-8 Direct Reports (Department Managers), responsible for safety, quality, delivery, and cost accountability, acting as leader for both operations.

Location: Columbia, MO (Relocation offered for candidates moving).

Compensation: $175,000 - $210,000 base salary + 15% bonus.

Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, STD, LTD, 401k Match 6%, 3 weeks vacation, Tuition Assistance, etc.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership & Plant Management
• Hold full P&L, safety, quality, delivery, and cost accountability for both mixing and cord production sites, acting as the plant manager for each operation.
• Lead, develop, and hold accountable a team of 6-8 managers who in turn lead roughly 200 salaried and hourly employees across multiple shifts.
• Develop and execute annual operating plans, capital plans, and budgets; manage conversion cost, yield, scrap, rework, material variance, and overhead against targets.
• Balance production schedules and capacity across both sites to meet downstream Belt and Hose demand, optimizing changeovers, inventory, and material availability.
• Partner with the VP of Manufacturing, plant managers of downstream operations, supply chain, and commercial teams on demand planning, capacity strategy, and make-versus-buy decisions.
• Spend meaningful time on the floor at each site, maintaining a visible presence on all shifts and engaging directly with operators and supervisors.

Compound Quality, Technology & Process Control
• Own end-to-end compound consistency, using rheology (Mooney, MDR/RPA), physical properties, and downstream processing and molding results as the measures of success.
• Reduce process variation through structured methods such as design of experiments (DOE), statistical process control, capability studies, and root cause analysis.
• Develop, standardize, and improve mixing programs (load order, ram pressure, rotor speed, mix time, dump temperature, energy-based and multi-stage mixing) for new and existing compounds, including EPDM, CR, HNBR, NBR, SBR, and NR systems.
• Oversee textile operations (cord unwinding, coating, and rewinding) and raw material handling, heating, and cooling to ensure consistent adhesion and reinforcement performance in finished belts and hoses.
• Lead cross-functional troubleshooting with chemists, the materials lab, process and manufacturing engineers, and downstream operations, leading investigations through disciplined experimentation.
• Establish a single, controlled system of work instructions, batch cards, and process parameters across both sites so that the same compound is produced the same way regardless of site, shift, or operator.
• Evaluate and recommend mixing equipment, automation, weighing/batching, and tooling options for current and new processes and products.

Mill Operations: raw materials are received and handled, then weighed, mixed, heated, and cooled to produce uniform rubber compound for downstream belt and hose production.

Textiles Operations: cord is carefully unwound, coated, and rewound to specification, giving finished products consistent strength and adhesion.

Safety, Compliance & Culture
• Champion a zero-harm safety culture, including lockout/tagout, machine guarding, mill nip and pinch-point hazards, hot surfaces, combustible dust, and chemical handling.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, environmental permitting, SDS requirements, and applicable customer, ISO/IATF, and corporate standards.
• Drive 5S, standardized work, and lean manufacturing practices; treat housekeeping as both a safety and a quality requirement.
• Build a culture of accountability in which following the documented process is the standard and deviations are surfaced openly.

Talent Development & Organizational Capability
• Build a bench of operators, leads, supervisors, and managers through structured training, skills matrices, cross-training, and succession planning.
• Set clear expectations, conduct performance reviews, and partner with HR on coaching, corrective action, recognition, and labor relations.
• Capture experienced operators' tribal knowledge and convert it to documented, teachable standards.
• Attract, hire, and retain top technical and operational talent in a competitive labor market.

Strategy & Continuous Improvement
• Work with the plant leadership and engineering leadership to define annual improvement initiatives, then align cross-functional teams to targets and track results.
• Lead capital projects, technology transfers, and new-process launches from concept through ramp-up.
• Use KPIs, trend charts, and daily management routines to drive visibility, problem solving, and sustained results.
• Contribute to the North American and global compounding strategy, sharing best practices with sister sites and corporate technology teams.

Key Performance Indicators
• Safety: recordable incident rate, near-miss reporting, and audit results
• Compound first-pass quality and out-of-spec rate; rheology capability and variation reduction
• Downstream molding and processing results attributable to compound and cord
• Schedule attainment and on-time delivery to downstream operations
• Scrap, rework, yield, and material and conversion cost versus budget
• Equipment uptime and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
• Operator qualification coverage and cross-training depth
• Employee engagement, turnover, and leadership bench strength

Qualifications Seeking:
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Chemical, Polymer, Mechanical, Materials, or Industrial), Chemistry, or a related technical field preferred. Experience in lieu of Bachelors will be considered.
• 8+ years of manufacturing experience, including 5–10 years of hands-on polymer or rubber compounding and mixing experience.
• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience managing managers and multi-shift operations, including responsibility for safety, quality, cost, and delivery.
• Strong working knowledge of internal mixers (tangential and intermeshing), two-roll mills, TSE, weigh-up/batching, and compound testing (Mooney, MDR/RPA, specific gravity, dispersion).
• Demonstrated experience reducing process variation using DOE, SPC, and structured problem-solving methods.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional troubleshooting with chemists, lab, engineering, and production teams.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, direct without being abrasive.
• Willingness and ability to travel approximately 30% between sites and to work on the floor in a manufacturing environment.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Master's degree in Polymer Science, Chemistry, or Engineering, or an MBA.
• Experience in belt, hose, or other engineered rubber product manufacturing, with understanding of rheology and downstream extrusion, calendering, and molding.
• Experience with cord treatment, textile reinforcement, or adhesive systems.
• Experience managing multi-site operations and leading change across sites.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Green Belt certification, or equivalent.
• Familiarity with ERP/MES systems, mixing control software, and automation for production and material traceability.
• Experience leading capital projects, new-equipment commissioning, or greenfield/expansion launches.

Core Competencies Seeking:
• Technical depth: credible expert in rubber chemistry, rheology, and mixing who can coach engineers and operators alike.
• Leadership: develops managers, builds accountability, and engages a unionized or non-union frontline workforce.
• Systems thinking: standardizes work and builds sustainable processes rather than relying on individual heroics.
• Analytical rigor: makes decisions with data, experimentation, and clear trend visibility.
• Business acumen: manages cost, capital, and capacity with a P&L mindset.
• Learning agility: quickly learns new technologies and applies them to business needs.