Field Service Organization (FSO) Central Operations Director, Non-Technical Project/Program Director

Key Responsibilites:  

This position will be located in AMNA, with a preference for Austin, Phoenix, Hillsboro, Richardson, or Boise. 

• Provides leadership within the team and functional areas that deliver strategic focus to the AGS FSO. 

• Works closely with the FSO team to provide guidance and co-develop quarterly operational reports that meet and exceed company expectations. 

• Ensures operational objectives are implemented and executed effectively by FSO leaders, resulting in the successful achievement of SPO KPI and productivity project/program objectives. 

• Maintains full responsibility for headcount management within the FSO team, including Customer Engineers, Field Managers, and Site Operations Administrators, ensuring appropriate headcount allocation to achieve productivity and financial goals. 

• Delivers operational insights and leadership while driving solutions to overlooked issues, including operational KPIs that can improve gross margin, engineer utilization, and productivity. 

• Proactively collaborates with cross-functional teams within the region and at headquarters to support decision-making and change management initiatives. 

• Ensures that specific project and program objectives are defined for areas of responsibility and that necessary preliminary activities (e.g., defining outcomes, milestones, feasibility studies, and resource planning) are completed to enable effective execution. 

• Ensures that all assigned projects and programs are completed according to predetermined requirements, with particular attention to product/process specifications, project/program costs, resource utilization, and timely completion. 

• Ensures that all phases of project, program, and/or process development are documented and that required information is communicated, shared, or transferred appropriately across functional areas. Ensures compliance with company policies regarding engineering/laboratory notebooks, patents, confidentiality, and safety. 

• Ensures that the utilization of all material and financial resources is carried out in an effective manner. 

• Effectively assigns work to team members, supporting professional development while maximizing organizational productivity. 

• Spearheads the research and development of new technologies, as appropriate, and ensures that newly developed processes, designs, and methodologies are incorporated into Applied Materials products and services or shared with other areas as needed. 

Qualifications & Requirements 

• Ability to act as a key influencer and change agent, while proactively driving continuous process improvement. 

• People management experience, field operational knowledge, understanding of the service business, and knowledge of key financial fundamentals preferred. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; highly disciplined and responsive. 

• Ability to observe, provide clear direction, develop team members, and build trust among colleagues. 

• Strong project management skills with the ability to successfully lead multiple global projects. 

• Uses analytics and data to drive effective business practices and decision-making. 

• Solution-oriented approach to managing ambiguous and complex projects and programs. 

• Field Service experience at Applied Materials preferred.