Director, cost reduction

Job Description

We are seeking a highly analytical and operationally grounded Director, Cost Reduction to lead enterprise-wide cost optimization initiatives across product development, engineering, operations, and supply chain functions.

This role will partner closely with the CFO, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Engineering Officer to drive transparency, accountability, and measurable savings across the organization. The ideal candidate combines strong financial acumen with hands-on operational experience in manufacturing, shop floor environments, and/or supply chain operations. They will play a critical role in identifying inefficiencies, tracking cost reduction programs, flagging financial or operational risks, and ensuring alignment between product roadmap decisions and business objectives.

This position requires a strategic thinker who is equally comfortable operating at the executive level and engaging directly with technical and operational teams.

Cost Reduction & Financial Oversight

• Lead and track enterprise-wide cost reduction initiatives across engineering, operations, procurement, and supply chain functions.
• Develop reporting frameworks and dashboards to monitor savings targets, operational spend, and program performance.
• Identify cost leakage, inefficiencies, and margin improvement opportunities through data analysis and cross-functional reviews.
• Partner with finance leadership to evaluate ROI, cost structures, and operational trade-offs related to product and engineering decisions.
• Provide regular executive-level updates to the CFO and senior leadership team on savings progress, risks, and corrective actions.

Product Roadmap & Operational Alignment

• Collaborate closely with CTO, Chief Engineering Officer, and Engineering leadership to evaluate product roadmap implications on cost, scalability, and operational feasibility.
• Challenge assumptions and proactively flag concerns related to budget overruns, operational complexity, or resource allocation.
• Drive transparency and accountability around engineering investments, vendor utilization, and development priorities.
• Support decision-making by balancing innovation goals with financial discipline and operational realities.

Supply Chain & Operational Optimization

• Analyze procurement, manufacturing, and supply chain processes to identify sustainable cost-saving opportunities.
• Work with operational teams to improve material utilization, vendor management, inventory efficiency, and production costs.
• Support initiatives focused on process standardization, waste reduction, and operational productivity improvements.
• Participate in supplier negotiations and cost benchmarking activities where appropriate.

Governance & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Establish governance mechanisms for cost tracking, initiative ownership, and reporting cadence.
• Build strong working relationships across Finance, Engineering, Operations, Procurement, and Product teams.
• Facilitate alignment between strategic business priorities and execution teams.
• Ensure data integrity and consistency in financial and operational reporting.

Ohmium Cultural Values

As a Leader at Ohmium, you are expected to embody and champion our core cultural values:

• Accountability: I own my tasks and execute on time.
  • Demonstrate strong accountability by owning deliverables and decisions, ensuring timely and consistent results.
• Teamwork: I will not let other teams fail.
  • Takes ownership beyond own team to support cross-team success and prevent failures, thereby fostering a collaborative work environment.
• Learning Mindset: I drive change and learn from mistakes.
  • Exhibits a strong growth mindset by proactively leading meaningful change and consistently learning from experience.
• Winning Attitude: I compete to win.
  • Showing up every day with a strong perspective, to drive results and be the BEST in Green Energy.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in finance, engineering, supply chain, operations management, business, or related field from a premier institute (mandatory)
• Master of Business Administration from a premier institute (preferred)
• Advanced knowledge of MS Excel, MS PPT is (mandatory)
• Excellent knowledge of project management tools (e.g. MS Project, Smartsheet, Asana) is preferred.
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or cost optimization certifications are a plus.
• 12+ years of experience in cost reduction, finance, operations, supply chain, manufacturing, or related functions.
• Experience working in engineering-driven, manufacturing, hardware, or product-centric organizations is preferred.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional cost optimization initiatives.
• Prior experience supporting executive leadership teams and presenting business insights to senior stakeholders.
• Experience with shop floor operations, manufacturing processes, or supply chain management is strongly preferred.
• Background combining finance and operational leadership experience is highly desirable. Collaborative yet willing to escalate concerns when needed Previous experience in the renewable energy sector a plus.
• Experience working directly with R&D/Engineering, Operations, Marketing and Sales teams is required.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills with ability to use data and metrics for making assumptions and decisions is required.

Ohmium is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.