Central Operations Director - Field Service Organisation

Who We Are

Applied Materials is the global leader in materials science and engineering solutions that are at the foundation of virtually every new semiconductor chip and advanced display in the world. The equipment that we create and service is essential to advancing AI and accelerating the commercialization of next-generation semiconductor chips. Join us and push the boundaries of materials science and engineering in a company at the foundation of the electronics industry. The work we do together advances the world’s technology.

What We Offer

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Applied Materials is seeking a Central Operations Director to support our growing Field Service Organisation (FSO) in Europe. This is a key regional leadership role within the Strategic Program Office (SPO), focused on driving operational alignment, effective communication, and strategic program execution across our European FSO teams during a period of significant growth and transformation.

Reporting to the Regional SPO Head, the Central Operations Director will work with the newly expanded FSO Strategic Program Office, which is focused on strategic projects and program management. This role will lead the Central Operations team, supporting the SPO and facilitating cadence and alignment with FSO site leaders and administrators to enable the organization to successfully execute its strategy.

This position will be based at one of our Applied Materials locations in Europe, preferably in France, Ireland, Germany, or Italy. We welcome applications from interested candidates, with a preference for those located within close proximity to one of our Applied Materials Europe offices.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provides leadership within the team and functional areas that deliver strategic focus to the AGS FSO.
• Maintains full responsibility for the development, quality, and delivery of quarterly operational reports, ensuring accurate performance tracking, actionable insights, and alignment with company objectives
• Drives operational objectives implementation and execution effectively by FSO leaders, resulting in the successful achievement of SPO KPI and productivity project/program objectives to ensure consistent delivery of targeted business results.
• Maintains full responsibility for headcount management within the FSO team, including Customer Engineers, Field Managers, and Site Operations Administrators, ensuring appropriate headcount allocation to achieve productivity and financial goals.
• Maintains accountability for operational performance outcomes, including gross margin, engineer utilization, productivity, and other key operational KPIs, driving corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives to achieve targeted financial and business objectives.
• Proactively collaborates with cross-functional teams within the region and at headquarters to support decision-making and change management initiatives.
• Ensures that specific project and program objectives are defined for areas of responsibility and that necessary preliminary activities (e.g., defining outcomes, milestones, feasibility studies, and resource planning) are completed to enable effective execution.
• Ensures that all assigned projects and programs are completed according to predetermined requirements, with particular attention to product/process specifications, project/program costs, resource utilization, and timely completion.
• Ensures that all phases of project, program, and/or process development are documented and that required information is communicated, shared, or transferred appropriately across functional areas. Ensures compliance with company policies regarding engineering/laboratory notebooks, patents, confidentiality, and safety.
• Ensures that the utilization of all material and financial resources is carried out in an effective manner.
• Effectively assigns work to team members, supporting professional development while maximizing organizational productivity.
• Spearheads the research and development of new technologies, as appropriate, and ensures that newly developed processes, designs, and methodologies are incorporated into Applied Materials products and services or shared with other areas as needed.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Ability to act as a key influencer and change agent, while proactively driving continuous process improvement.
• People management experience, field operational knowledge, understanding of the service business, and knowledge of key financial fundamentals preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; highly disciplined and responsive.
• Ability to observe, provide clear direction, develop team members, and build trust among colleagues.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to successfully lead multiple global projects.
• Uses analytics and data to drive effective business practices and decision-making.
• Solution-oriented approach to managing ambiguous and complex projects and programs.
• Field Service experience at Applied Materials preferred.

Additional Information

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The salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on multiple factors including location, hire grade, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and with consideration of internal equity of our current team members. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable.

For all sales roles, the posted salary range is the Target Total Cash (TTC) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target bonus amount at 100% goal achievement.

Applied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.