Director Refining & Foundry (m/w/d)

Role overview

In this leadership role, you will take full accountability for the foundry and recycling center of the Global Extruded and Cast Products business unit at the Vöhringen site. The area employs around 150 people and produces copper and copper-alloy billets for internal downstream processing as well as for external customers.

Production responsibility

You will oversee the complete manufacturing operation and the associated plant equipment, covering melting, refining, alloying, casting large production volumes, and the manufacture of special products. Your mandate includes maintaining a safe, stable, and cost-effective production environment while continuously improving safety, quality, and productivity.

Leadership and team development

You will manage production leadership and shift organization both functionally and disciplinarily. Together with your leaders, you will build a high-performing structure, make sound decisions in challenging situations, provide clear direction, and develop employees and managers in a targeted way.

Process and plant improvement

Working closely with process engineering and maintenance, you will optimize existing manufacturing processes, support the introduction of new products and plant components, and drive the ongoing development of the equipment park. You are expected to question established methods, weigh value against effort, and implement improvements in a sustainable manner.

Cross-functional collaboration and strategy

You will collaborate closely with downstream processing, quality, Human Resources, and Safety, Health & Environment teams to ensure strong cross-functional cooperation. As a member of the leadership team for Global Extruded and Cast Products Operations, you will help shape the strategic development of the site with plant management, define objectives, and ensure their long-term implementation. You will also be responsible for compliance with all relevant regulations and core management systems.

Your profile

You should have successfully completed a technical degree, for example in metallurgy, materials engineering, process engineering, mechanical engineering, or a similar field. Several years of leadership experience in a manufacturing company are required, ideally in metallurgy, foundry operations, or a comparable metal-processing industry. Experience with complex production areas and larger organizational units is important.

You are expected to think entrepreneurially, identify improvement opportunities, and make well-founded decisions while balancing opportunities, risks, and the relationship between benefit and effort. Lean management, operational excellence, and continuous improvement should be part of your daily leadership approach.

Personally, you bring strong initiative, a high sense of responsibility, and the confidence to drive decisions through. At the same time, you know how to motivate people, guide change successfully, and foster a culture of trust and appreciation. You also enjoy working across departments, communicate as an equal with different stakeholders, and create sustainable results with your team.

Benefits

You will join a pleasant working environment with a motivated team. The company offers extensive social benefits, including company pension support, childcare, Christmas gifts for children, employee gifts, a canteen with healthy meals, and various employee discounts.

To support your health and wellbeing, you can access programs such as Wellpass, Vitalwerkstatt, and sports groups. In addition, on-site company doctors and paramedics are available for health-related concerns, together with an orthopaedic express service. For everyday questions or serious personal or professional challenges, you and your family can also use a free external counseling service.

Contact

For questions, the contact person is Marina Tikvic, phone +49 731 944 1223.