Auto req ID: 53493
Title: IT Site Operations Manager
Job Function: Information Technology
Location: PILGRIM
Company: Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Full or Part-Time: Full Time
Shift: SHIFT1
At Harley-Davidson, we are building more than machines. It’s our passion and commitment to continue the evolution of this storied brand, and heighten the desirability of the Harley-Davidson experience. To keep building our legend and leading our industry through innovation, evolution, and emotion we need the best and brightest talent. We stand for the timeless pursuit of adventure. Freedom for the soul. Are you ready to join us?
Our Powertrain Operations facility, located on Pilgrim Road in Menomonee Falls, WI, is where the “jewel” of the motorcycle comes to life. Pilgrim Road employees produce engines and transmissions for the final assembly plant in York, Pennsylvania, as well as transmissions, and replacement parts for sale through Harley-Davidson® Genuine Motor Parts and Accessories business. Join our team as a IT Site Operations Manager and help build the world’s most sought-after motorcycles.
Job Summary
The IT Manager – Plant Operations is responsible for the reliability, availability, and continuous improvement of information technology services supporting manufacturing operations across three production plants. The role ensures daily uptime of shop-floor systems, leads and develops site IT staff, and serves as a trusted partner to plant leadership to enable safe, efficient, and uninterrupted production. The position acts as the primary IT operations leader for assigned plants, balancing tactical execution with strategic alignment to enterprise IT standards and manufacturing priorities.
Job Responsibilities
This role is accountable for end-to-end plant IT operations, including:
- Ensure production uptime of shop-floor systems (Critical Operations Ownership)
- Own the availability and performance of manufacturing IT/OT services (e.g., MES/SCADA interfaces, industrial PCs, label/scan/traceability, plant network, shop-floor applications) to prevent and minimize production disruptions.
- Lead incident response and restore service quickly (Major Incident Management)
- Run the escalation bridge for plant-impacting outages, coordinate cross-functional recovery (IT/OT, vendors, operations, engineering), and communicate status, ETA, and workarounds to plant leadership.
- Partner with plant leadership to align IT priorities with production needs
- Translate operational priorities into IT execution plans, participate in plant operating rhythms (tier meetings/production reviews), and ensure technology decisions support safety, quality, throughput, and cost.
- Drive continuous improvement and problem management
- Use data and root-cause discipline to eliminate repeat incidents, standardize processes, and improve reliability and user experience over time.
- Execute change with production-grade control
- Plan and deliver changes, upgrades, and deployments in live manufacturing environments using disciplined change control to minimize risk and downtime.
- Manage resources and service partners
- Balance urgent operational needs with strategic work; manage staffing, vendor support, and budgets across multiple sites with transparency and rigor.
Leadership & Collaboration
- Build trusted relationships with Plant Managers and functional leaders; influence priorities and decisions.
- Take end-to-end accountability for plant IT uptime; ensure disciplined execution of incident, problem, and change processes.
- Lead calmly under pressure; make fast, high-quality decisions during outages and coordinate cross-functional recovery.
- Apply systems thinking across IT/OT and manufacturing processes; anticipate downstream impacts and prevent failures.
- Communicate status, risk, and tradeoffs with clarity and brevity; tailor messaging for operators, plant leadership, and enterprise IT executives.
- Coach, develop, and retain high-performing site teams; clarify expectations and promote accountability and engagement.
Work Environment & Travel
- Primary work location: Plant/site-based with regular presence on the shop floor to support operations.
- Travel: Regular travel between assigned plants; occasional travel for enterprise IT planning and vendor engagement (frequency varies by need).
- Schedule: Must support production operations and may participate in on-call/after-hours major incident response.
Education Requirements
High School Diploma or Equivalent Required
Education Specifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Business, Computer Science, or related technical discipline is Required
Experience Requirements
Required Qualifications
- Experience leading and mentoring distributed teams, including outsourced resources, with consistent service delivery across regions.
- Strong understanding of plant IT environments, including MES, industrial PCs, production networks, barcode/labeling systems, and manufacturing applications that directly impact uptime.
- Proven ability to lead major incidents, restore service quickly, perform root cause analysis, and implement permanent fixes to prevent repeat production disruptions.
- Demonstrated ability to partner with Plant Managers, Operations, Engineering, Quality, and Maintenance leaders to align IT execution with production, safety, and quality priorities.
- Experience managing the interaction between IT infrastructure, operational technology (OT), and manufacturing processes, anticipating downstream impacts of issues and changes.
- Experience executing system changes, upgrades, and deployments in live manufacturing environments using disciplined change control to minimize risk and downtime.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting multi-site manufacturing operations and 24x7 production environments.
- Familiarity with industrial networking, shop-floor endpoint management, and plant cybersecurity practices.
- Experience with service management practices (incident/problem/change), operational metrics, and continuous improvement methods.
Harley-Davidson is an equal opportunity employer that continues to build a culture of inclusion, belonging and equity through our commitment to attracting and retaining diverse talent from all backgrounds, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. We believe in fairness and providing a level playing field for all. We foster a culture that thrives on diverse perspectives and contributions to ignite the creativity and innovation to fuel our business and enhance the employee and customer experience.
The pay range shown represents the national average pay range for this role. Your pay may be more or less than the stated range and is dependent on your geographic location and level of experience.
We offer an inclusive compensation package for all full-time salaried employees including, but not limited to, annual bonus programs, health insurance benefits, a 401k program, onsite fitness centers and employee stores, employee discounts on products and accessories, and more. We welcome everybody to join our family and be united no matter who you are or where you come from. Learn more about Harley-Davidson here.
Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States.
Direct Reports: Yes
Travel Required: 10 - 25%
Pay Range: $119,700 - $179,500
Visa Sponsorship: This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship or visa transfer
Relocation: This position is not eligible for relocation assistance
