Our Operations Director currently manages engineering, production, and warehouse logistics, and the entire delivery pipeline is bottlenecked because the scope is too wide. How do we cleanly split one overloaded operational seat into distinct seats on the chart before we have the budget to hire a second director?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

An operational bottleneck at eight million dollars usually happens because technical design, factory manufacturing, and supply chain fulfillment require fundamentally different skill sets. When an Operations Director holds all three, they spend their days putting out warehouse fires while engineering deadlines slip.

Do not wait until you can afford a second six-figure director before fixing the structure. Build the right chart today. Under the Integrator, split the operational function into two distinct seats: Engineering and Technical Design, and Manufacturing and Logistics. Write the five roles for both seats to establish clear boundaries.

Next, evaluate where the current Operations Director delivers the highest leverage. If their core genius is manufacturing floor throughput and lean logistics, confirm them as the Head of Manufacturing and Logistics. Leave the Engineering seat open on paper.

To bridge the gap without adding executive payroll, look one level down. Identify your strongest senior engineer who has GWC for technical oversight but may not have executive management experience. Elevate them to Lead Engineer or Technical Manager, reporting directly to the Integrator. Scope their seat tightly around design accuracy, engineering turnaround speed, and production handoffs.

If no internal candidate exists, the current director temporarily retains both seats on the chart, but with distinct scorecard metrics and separated Level 10 Meeting accountabilities. This isolates where the true failure occurs. You can then use fractional engineering leadership or offload clerical drafting tasks to free up the director until company cash flow justifies the permanent executive hire.