Director, Eng & Ops, Transformation

Make a +Difference at Kraton!

At Kraton, we make a Positive Difference, and we are looking for individuals who are also looking to make a difference in their jobs, for our customers and to the world.  We are looking to hire a key member of our team at our Global Headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas.

The Director of Operational Engineering & Transformation is a key enterprise leader responsible for shaping and elevating Kraton’s global manufacturing, operations, and engineering performance. This role holds broad authority to analyze, challenge, and improve manufacturing methods, productivity standards, cost structures, S&OP execution, and asset utilization.

Key Responsibilities

Acting as a principal advisor to the Chief Transformation Officer, the Director defines transformation priorities, drives strategic initiatives, and ensures disciplined execution across all sites and functions.

In addition, it includes but is not limited to the following responsibilities:

Operational Diagnostics & Strategy

• Lead enterprise-wide diagnostics of plant and project performance to identify cost drivers, systemic bottlenecks, and major improvement opportunities.
• Assess variable and fixed costs, including material efficiency, energy usage, and asset utilization, using engineering-based analyses.
• Propose strategic recommendations based on evaluations and diagnoses that guide long-term operational direction.

Transformation Leadership

• Champion operational transformation initiatives to improve cost effectiveness, reliability, and productivity across operations and engineering.
• Use data-driven hypotheses to challenge existing workflows, validate assumptions and define sustainable improvements.

Strategic Advisory & Investment Governance

• Serve as the primary operational advisor to the Chief Transformation Officer on performance insights and improvement priorities.
• Lead technical and financial evaluations of major CapEx/OpEx investments, validating assumptions and establishing risk mitigation plans.

Metrics, Forecasting & Continuous Improvement

• Develop and govern enterprise KPIs to measure operational performance and project execution health and drive continuous improvement.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Procurement, Operations and Finance to ensure alignment with financial and business objectives.

Governance & Culture

• Promote a culture of safety, quality, and continuous improvement
• Establish governance processes that ensure transparency, accountability, and disciplined execution of operational initiatives.
• Act as liaison with parent company collaborative teams to ensure alignment on transformation goals.

Required Skills

• Fluent in Korean and English.
• 10+ years in operations, engineering, manufacturing, or transformation roles; chemical industry experience preferred.
• Strong financial, analytical, and operational acumen.
• Demonstrated leadership in cross-functional initiatives and enterprise-level change.
• Lean Six Sigma/Operational Excellence expertise.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office; Power BI preferred.

Education, Certifications & Licenses

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Operations Management, or related field required.
• MBA or advanced technical degree preferred.

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The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this classification.  Statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for this position.

Kraton’s internal talent acquisition team manages our recruiting efforts and from time to time works with pre-selected/pre-approved external staffing agencies. We do NOT accept unsolicited resumes or candidate referrals from recruiters and/or agencies who are not pre-selected/pre-approved.

Kraton is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.