Maintenance Operations Director - UK, Ireland & Benelux

About Exotec

At Exotec, we design elegant, plug-and-play, and reliable end-to-end warehouse robotics solutions. As a leading Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Integrator, we support some of the world’s most iconic brands in their transition to automation. We’re proud to design technology that doesn’t just redefine warehouse automation, it also makes warehouses safer, faster, more efficient, and less physically demanding for the people working inside them.

Why does this role matter?

As Exotec continues to grow in the United Kingdom, we are looking for a Maintenance Operations Director - Warehouse Automation to lead and scale our Maintenance Operations activity within the Deployment organization. This role is key to ensuring our customer projects are delivered successfully from the design phase with clients through installation, system commissioning, and handover to Maintenance, while meeting the highest standards for safety, quality, timing, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.

What you’ll do

• Lead project operations delivery: Supervise and support the Maintenance Operations team across your business scope, with a focus on structure, delivery excellence, and future team growth.
• Ensure successful deployment: Oversee projects from the design phase with clients through installation, system commissioning, and handover to the Maintenance team, ensuring milestones, customer expectations, and financial targets are met.
• Drive safety and quality: Supervise the application of on-site safety procedures and ensure Exotec standards and processes are respected by internal teams, subcontractors, and external partners.
• Build and scale the team: Be responsible for the structure, growth, and success of the Maintenance Operations team, while conveying Exotec’s culture and ways of working.
• Collaborate across functions: Work closely with Project Integration on project studies and act as a key interface between Deployment, R&D, Maintenance, Sales, subcontractors, and customers.
• Improve deployment practices: Support Exotec in structuring, organizing, and continuously improving deployment processes as the business scales.
• Support the sales phase: Partner with the Sales team during offer validation, client meetings, and early project discussions to ensure operational feasibility and delivery alignment.

Requirements

• Senior operations leadership experience in a complex, multi-site or cluster environment.
• Experience leading a multi-level corporate structure, including leaders of leaders such as SAMs, Area Managers or equivalent regional managers.
• Demonstrated P&L ownership and strong command of operational, customer and financial KPIs.
• Strong understanding of OTD processes and end-to-end operational delivery.
• Ability to coach leadership teams, drive accountability and improve execution across multiple countries or sites.
• Operations, service, field service, maintenance or industrial automation background.
• Experience in automated warehouse, industrial automation, materials handling or customer-site service environments is strongly preferred.
• Strong client-facing communication skills and the ability to represent Exotec with senior customer stakeholders.
• Analytical mindset, strong problem-solving ability and a pragmatic approach to operational decision-making.
• Fluent English required; Dutch, French or German are a plus depending on location and market scope.

Why you’ll love working here

• Make an impact by building technology that improves business performance and people's everyday work.
• Grow faster by solving complex challenges in a fast-moving company where innovation and ambition accelerate your development.
• Belong to a global team where diversity, inclusion and collaboration drive better decisions and stronger solutions.
• Connect beyond work by sharing passions, celebrating milestones and building lasting relationships that strengthen the way we work together.