Director of Parts and Production

About the role

The Director of Production & Parts leads the EMS Dallas modification shop and the parts and materials that feed it, working alongside the yard and trailer leadership. This person is on site in Dallas, leads the shop crews day to day, and is accountable for delivering container modifications on time, on budget, and to the EMS standard of workmanship.

EMS builds and modifies shipping containers (offices, ground-level and specialty mods, conex units) and manages container inventory for commercial, industrial, military and nuclear-sector customers. Our reputation rides on clean welds, finished paint, and jobs that ship when we said they would. This role exists to protect that reputation in Dallas and to run the shop the same way we run Houston: one system, one standard, one team.

The Director works hand in hand with the Houston shop and yard leaders and the operations team to keep Dallas tied to company-wide processes for purchasing, receiving, inventory, safety and reporting.

Qualifications

Required

• 7+ years running production in a container modification, steel fabrication, or modular building shop, including 3+ years leading the whole shop.
• Hands-on knowledge of welding and fabrication, coatings and paint, and container structure; able to judge workmanship on sight.
• Track record of delivering multiple concurrent jobs on schedule and on budget.
• Experience buying parts and materials, managing vendors, and controlling shop inventory.
• Proven ability to recruit, train and hold accountable a skilled trades crew (welders, painters, fitters, electricians).
• Working knowledge of shop safety, hot work and OSHA requirements.
• Comfortable with tablets, job-tracking and inventory software, and email as daily tools.
• Willing to be based in, or relocate to, the Dallas area and work on site.

Preferred

• IICL container inspector certification, or ability to earn it.
• Experience building to military, nuclear, or other strict customer specifications.
• Experience with ERP or inventory systems and job costing.
• Experience bringing a struggling shop back on schedule, or standing up a second location.
• Familiarity with intermodal and container yard operations.

Responsibilities

Production and quality

• Run the Dallas mod shop day to day: schedule jobs, assign crews, and keep each project on its committed timeline.
• Own workmanship. Inspect welds, paint and finish before units ship, and require rework when they fall short of the EMS standard.
• Hire, upgrade and develop welders and painters; pay for higher skill where quality demands it.
• Ensure the site has at least one IICL-certified container inspector, and support crew members working toward certification, so we can inspect and verify units for military and nuclear projects.
• Track labor hours and material cost by job so we know true job cost before final billing.

Parts, purchasing and receiving

• Forecast parts and material needs from the job schedule so crews are never waiting on materials.
• Follow the company PO process: requisition, approval routing, and purchase orders for every buy.
• Run receiving to the company SOP: check every delivery against the PO and delivery ticket, log it, and put it away in a labeled location.
• Keep the parts room organized and inventory accurate in the inventory system; reduce lost, duplicate and obsolete stock.
• Build vendor relationships in the Dallas market for steel, doors, windows, electrical, HVAC, paint and consumables, and negotiate price and delivery.

Equipment, safety and yard coordination

• Coordinate with the yard and trailer leads on units coming into and leaving the shop: which units are next, when they move, and what the shop needs from make-ready.
• Keep a census of tools and equipment (welders, spray foam rigs, lifts) and run preventive maintenance so repairs don't become five-figure surprises.
• Lead safety: daily housekeeping, PPE, hot-work practices, and a clean, functional facility for the crew.

People, communication and reporting

• Be the visible leader on the Dallas floor. Make sure the crew has the tools, tablets, system access and answers it needs to get jobs done.
• Keep information flowing between sales/project management, the yard and the shop so job specs and changes reach the people building them.
• Report weekly to leadership on schedule status, quality issues, job costs, staffing and purchasing.
• Work with the Houston shop leadership to keep both locations on one set of processes, and share crews, parts and ideas when it helps the business.