Vice President of Operations

Job Title: Vice President of Operations – Digital Commercial Printing Company - ISO Certified Location: Pittsburgh area A growing mid-sized digital commercial print company in the Pittsburgh market is seeking an experienced Vice President of Operations to lead production, workflow, quality, and operational performance. This executive will be responsible for improving throughput, strengthening process discipline, maximizing equipment and labor efficiency, and optimizing financial performance including revenue growth, gross margin and EBITDA . The ideal candidate brings strong leadership experience in commercial printing and a track record of improving operational execution in a deadline-driven manufacturing environment. This role is highly visible and works closely with ownership and senior leadership to improve operational excellence, efficiency, profitability, scalability, and customer satisfaction and retention. Key Responsibilities Lead all day-to-day production operations including prepress, digital printing, finishing, mailing, fulfillment, shipping, and scheduling. Drive operational and financial performance improvement through labor productivity gains, throughput improvements, and excellent equipment utilization. Culture of accountability, communication, process discipline, quality consistency, and continuous improvement. Establish and manage key operating metrics including quality, reliability, gross margin, on-time delivery, labor efficiency, turnaround time, spoilage, and plant throughput. Identify workflow bottlenecks and implement process improvements that increase capacity by optimizing resources and overhead. Partner with sales, customer service, estimating, and ownership to align production capabilities with customer expectations and margin goals. Lead staffing, workforce planning, coaching, and performance management across production and operations teams. Oversee preventive maintenance, production scheduling, and capital planning for equipment and automation investments. Strengthen quality management systems, standard operating procedures, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and process consistency. Support annual budgeting, forecasting, and strategic planning initiatives tied to operational growth and profitability. Qualifications 8–15+ years of progressive leadership experience in digital commercial printing, direct mail, graphic communications, or related manufacturing. Proven success improving EBITDA, operational efficiency, and production performance. Strong understanding of digital print production workflows, finishing, fulfillment, variable data, scheduling, and production economics. Demonstrated ability to lead multiple departments in a fast-paced manufacturing environment with tight deadlines. Experience implementing KPIs, process controls, quality systems, and continuous improvement initiatives. Strong financial acumen with the ability to manage labor, waste, throughput, and margin performance. Excellent leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills. Preferred Experience Experience with production platforms i.e. Canon, HP Indigo. Familiarity with print MIS/workflow systems such as Printer’s Plan, EFI Pace. Experience in an ISO 9001 environment is highly desirable. Compensation Competitive base salary Performance-based bonus tied to operational and EBITDA goals Health benefits Paid time off Retirement plan Job Type: Full-time Pay: $90,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year Benefits 401(k) Paid time off Work Location: In person