Senior Manager, Operations

Build a career powered by innovations that matter!  At Novanta, our innovations power technology products that are transforming healthcare and advanced manufacturing—improving productivity, enhancing people’s lives and redefining what’s possible.  We create for our global customers engineered components and sub-systems that deliver extreme precision and performance for a range of mission-critical applications—from minimally invasive surgery to robotics to 3D metal printing.

Novanta is one global team with over 26 offices located in The Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.  Looking for a great place to work?  You have found it with a culture that embraces teamwork, collaboration and empowerment.  Come explore Novanta.

Senior Manager, Operations

Bedford, MA

Precision Manufacturing

Role Summary:

The Senior Manager, Operations oversees Bedford’s production activities and ensures the teams deliver safe, reliable, and consistent manufacturing performance. The role focuses on meeting safety, quality, delivery, and cost expectations while maintaining a stable operating environment and preparing the production organization for future needs. The position provides clear visibility into performance trends, risks, and operational priorities to site and business leadership. 

Primary Responsibilities 

Operational Leadership 

• Leads the Precision Manufacturing production teams with accountability for output, schedule adherence, labor efficiency, quality performance, and cost.  

• Maintains steady operating routines, consistent standard work, and disciplined shop‑floor behaviors that support safety, quality, and stable execution.  

• Reviews and interprets key performance indicators, identifies performance shifts, and coordinates timely actions to stabilize or improve results.  

• Works closely with Manufacturing Engineering to support process reliability, evaluate production impacts, and ensure readiness for changes and improvements.  

• Partners with Supply Chain and Planning on SIOP alignment, material readiness, inventory accuracy, and risk mitigation.  

• Coordinates with Quality and EHS to address non‑conformances, support corrective actions, maintain safety expectations, and ensure audit and compliance requirements are met.  

• Facilitates daily and weekly cross‑functional operating rhythms to align priorities, escalate risks early, and coordinate recovery actions. 

• Contributes to longer‑range planning by informing capacity needs, staffing strategy, equipment requirements, and operational risks that may impact customer commitments. 

Safety, Quality & Compliance 

• Champion a zero incident, safety-first culture across all levels of the organization.  

• Drive continuous improvement to enhance product reliability and customer satisfaction. 

• Identify cost-saving opportunities and lead initiatives to reduce waste. 

People Leadership & Culture 

• Leads production supervisors and team leads, ensuring the teams have the skills, training, and operating routines needed for consistent performance. 

• Provides coaching and support to help supervisors build capability in decision‑making, communication, and problem solving. 

• Promotes open communication and encourages employees to raise issues promptly and participate in structured problem solving. 

Customer & Stakeholder Engagement