INDUSTRIES
Manufacturing and industrial leadership search
Manufacturers are hiring again, but tariffs, automation and a thin bench of experienced plant leaders make the right hire harder to find. Here's what makes each leadership search hard right now, what to look for, and what to watch out for.
The market right now
- (Manufacturing Dive, September 2026)
- (ISM, September 2026)
- (The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte, April 2024)
- (Manufacturers Alliance, January 2026)
- (PwC and The Manufacturing Institute, April 2026)
Leadership roles we recruit
In demand now
- Director of Automation and Industry 4.0
- Director of Manufacturing IT/OT and OT Cybersecurity
- Director of Trade Compliance
- Director of New Plant Start-up
- Director of Industrial Engineering
- Director of Pricing and Commercial Excellence
- Director of Workforce Development
Role guides
Plant Manager and General Manager
- Why it's hard right now
- BLS projects about 17,000 openings a year for industrial production managers, and the role typically requires five or more years of supervisory experience. (BLS, August 2026) Many companies have cut the assistant plant manager roles that used to supply successors, and relocation is a common sticking point.
- What to look for
- Several years of site P&L ownership with results on safety, quality, delivery and cost. Labor relations experience that fits your site. At least one launch, turnaround or automation program. Builds up supervisors instead of doing their jobs.
- Watch out for
- Gains that came only from headcount cuts. Can't quote their plant's safety numbers. A corporate-staff background with no line accountability.
- Pay data
- The BLS median for industrial production managers is $126,060 (May 2025).
VP of Manufacturing and VP of Operations
- Why it's hard right now
- Operations leaders now own digital programs, with 51% of smart manufacturing initiatives owned by operations (Deloitte, May 2025), and tariffs are forcing footprint decisions: 44% of manufacturers report lower international competitiveness. (Manufacturers Alliance, January 2026)
- What to look for
- Multi-plant leadership. Capex and footprint decisions such as consolidation, reshoring or nearshoring. An operating system rolled out across sites. A close working relationship with sales and operations planning.
- Watch out for
- Single-site experience described as network experience. Digital pilots that never scaled.
Director of Quality
- Why it's hard right now
- Quality salaries rose 5.2% year over year, and leadership skills increasingly determine who advances. (ASQ, 2025 Salary Survey)
- What to look for
- End-to-end ownership of the quality system. Registrar or FDA audits they led. CMQ/OE, CQE or Six Sigma Black Belt. Experience with your industry's standard, such as IATF 16949, AS9100 or ISO 13485. Supplier quality.
- Watch out for
- Claims of a personal "ISO certification." Inspection-only fixes. A résumé full of acronyms with no evidence of owning the work.
- Pay data
- The median for quality professionals is $115,000. (ASQ, 2024 survey)
Director of Supply Chain and Procurement
- Why it's hard right now
- 50% of chief supply chain officers say they lack the internal talent to implement AI (Gartner, April 2026), and tariffs have changed what the job requires.
- What to look for
- Supplier diversification under tariff pressure. Landed cost and tariff classification. Sales and operations planning. ASCM CSCP or CPIM, or ISM CPSM.
- Watch out for
- Savings claims with no baseline. Purely transactional buying. A strategy built on one low-cost country.
- Pay data
- The median supply chain salary is $103,000 including bonus, and certified professionals earn 20% more (ASCM, May 2025). The BLS median for purchasing managers is $148,080 (May 2025).
Director of Engineering
- Why it's hard right now
- 69% to 72% of manufacturers report difficulty hiring the IT, OT, data and cybersecurity talent that engineering teams now need. (Deloitte, May 2025)
- What to look for
- Experience matched to the role, whether process or product. New products taken from launch to full production rate. Capex project management. PMP helps.
- Watch out for
- A product-design leader placed in a plant process role, or the reverse. Strong individual engineers who have not led teams.
- Pay data
- The BLS median for architectural and engineering managers in manufacturing is $169,690 (May 2025).
Director of Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence
- Why it's hard right now
- Continuous improvement now overlaps with digital. 78% of manufacturers put more than 20% of their improvement budgets into smart manufacturing (Deloitte, May 2025), and 45% blame failed AI initiatives on frontline leaders not being involved. (PwC and The Manufacturing Institute, April 2026)
- What to look for
- Savings that held for 12 months or more and that finance validated. A daily management system they built. Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt, or Shingo or SME lean certification.
- Watch out for
- Counting belts certified instead of dollars saved. Kaizen events that didn't stick.
Director of Environment, Health and Safety
- Why it's hard right now
- BLS projects 19% growth for occupational health and safety specialists from 2025 to 2035 (BLS), and new plants add environmental permitting to the job.
- What to look for
- CSP, plus CIH where industrial hygiene matters. Environmental permitting for new plants. Leading indicators, not just injury rates.
- Watch out for
- Tracking only lagging measures. A "compliance cop" with no credibility in operations. Little environmental depth when the role includes the E.
- Pay data
- The CSP credential adds more than $30,000 to the salary of someone with no other credentials, and the median safety salary is $105,000. (BCSP and NSC, November 2023)
Director of Maintenance and Reliability
- Why it's hard right now
- 72% of maintenance roles take 60 days or more to fill, and 37% of maintenance teams are chronically understaffed. (MaintainX, a maintenance software company, September 2026)
- What to look for
- A measured shift from reactive to planned maintenance. A maintenance management system they implemented. CMRP. An apprenticeship pipeline they built.
- Watch out for
- Firefighting heroics. Can't state their planned-maintenance percentage.
VP of Sales (industrial)
- Why it's hard right now
- 61% of B2B buyers prefer to buy without a sales rep (Gartner, June 2025), and pricing around tariffs has become a core sales skill.
- What to look for
- Technical, application-level selling. Distributor and channel management. Disciplined pricing. CRM and e-commerce integrated into the sales process.
- Watch out for
- A book of business that won't transfer. Growth that came only from price increases. SaaS or consumer sales leaders with no technical credibility.
How TAP runs this search
We start with an intake that goes deeper than the job description, then map who is doing this job today at companies like yours, including leaders who've run plants in your process type and labor environment. Every candidate is interviewed in depth before you meet them, and you get a private website on each finalist: interview video, a rating on each of your requirements, compensation, timing and why we recommend them. Our goal is your hire from the first two candidates we present.
Hiring for one of these roles, or want a second opinion on how to recruit for it?
Across our careers, we've recruited for roles like these. Tell us what you're hiring for and we'll share what we'd look out for, whether or not you start a search with us.
Frequently asked questions
- Yes. We map leaders within commuting distance first, then candidates open to relocating. Every candidate website shows relocation needs and cost up front, so there are no surprises late in the process.
- Most of our searches take 4 to 10 weeks, depending on the role and the market.
- 25% of the new leader's first-year compensation. On most packages, an engagement fee paid at the start is credited toward it, and the placement fee is invoiced on your new leader's start date. See the full fee guide.
Sources
- Manufacturing Dive, August jobs, September 2026: https://www.manufacturingdive.com/news/us-manufacturing-adds-16000-jobs-in-august/829655/
- ISM Manufacturing PMI, September 2026: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/manufacturing-pmi-at-54-6-august-2026-ism-manufacturing-pmi-report-302865127.html
- The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte, April 2024: https://themanufacturinginstitute.org/manufacturers-need-as-many-as-3-8-million-new-employees-by-2033/
- Manufacturers Alliance, tariff impact update, January 2026: https://www.manufacturersalliance.org/research-insights/tariff-impact-update-evolving-manufacturer-responses-uncertainty
- PwC and The Manufacturing Institute via Manufacturing Dive, April 2026: https://www.manufacturingdive.com/news/frontline-leaders-ai-adoption-pwc-manufacturing-institute/816483/
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, industrial production managers: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/industrial-production-managers.htm
- Deloitte, 2025 Smart Manufacturing Survey, May 2025: https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/manufacturing-industrial-products/2025-smart-manufacturing-survey.html
- ASQ Salary Survey: https://asq.org/quality-progress/salary-survey
- Gartner, supply chain AI survey, April 2026: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026-04-29-gartner-survey-finds-technology-integration-and-talent-perceived-as-key-roadblocks-to-scaling-ai-in-supply-chain
- ASCM Supply Chain Salary and Career Report, May 2025: https://www.ascm.org/globalassets/ascm_website_assets/docs/press-releases/5.20.2025-ascm-supply-chain-salary-and-career-report.pdf
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, purchasing managers: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/purchasing-managers-buyers-and-purchasing-agents.htm
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, architectural and engineering managers: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/architectural-and-engineering-managers.htm
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, occupational health and safety specialists: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/occupational-health-and-safety-specialists-and-technicians.htm
- ISHN, BCSP and NSC safety salary survey, November 2023: https://www.ishn.com/articles/113972-median-safety-salary-tops-six-figures-in-latest-bcsp-nsc-survey
- MaintainX survey of maintenance leaders, September 2026: https://krdo.com/stacker-small-business/2026/09/08/what-211-maintenance-leaders-said-about-skilled-labor-shortages/
- Gartner, B2B buyer survey, June 2025: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-06-25-gartner-sales-survey-finds-61-percent-of-b2b-buyers-prefer-a-rep-free-buying-experience
Last reviewed September 2026