Sr. Manager, IT

Description & Requirements

AESC is looking to add a Sr. Manager, IT to our team in Smyrna, TN.

• Full-Time
• On-site

AESC is an exciting, newly created global organization committed to solving the challenges of a sustainable future and becoming the leading supplier of full-value-chain battery solutions. Our lithium-ion batteries can be found in nearly one million electric vehicles worldwide and have a stellar safety record of zero-critical issues. AESC US is leading the way in battery technology. We design and manufacture EV battery technology for various electric vehicles and equipment. We are working hard towards unlocking the full potential of sustainable energy and climate change mitigation. We will continue to build upon our successes and expand into new markets and industries, producing innovative and competitive products and technologies that advance the goal of a zero-carbon emission future. AESC is headquartered in Japan and has battery manufacturing locations in Japan, UK, China, and the U.S.

AESC Mission

Our mission is to solve the challenges for a sustainable future. Together, we can make a meaningful impact.

About The Role

We are seeking a visionary and results-driven IT Senior Manager to lead our IT operations in Smyrna, TN. This is a high-impact leadership role focused on ensuring that our IT infrastructure and business systems fully support 24/7 manufacturing excellence. Instead of deep technical coding, we are looking for a leader who excels at strategic alignment, team development, and cross-functional collaboration between the factory floor and corporate IT functions.

What You Will Do

This role requires high visibility and constant engagement. You won't be tucked away in an office; you will be embedded in the plant’s heartbeat.

• Walk the Floor: Maintain a daily presence on the production floor to understand the intersection of technology and manufacturing, building rapport with operations teams.
• Bridge the Gap: Translate complex IT roadblocks into plain business language for plant leadership, and conversely, translate production challenges into actionable requirements for corporate IT.
• Command the Incident: Lead the response during critical system outages, serving as the escalation point and the "single source of truth" for plant leadership until resolution.
• Advocate & Influence: Act as the voice of the Smyrna plant within the global IT organization, ensuring our specific needs for uptime, traceability, and speed are prioritized at the corporate level.
• Mentor & Coach: Actively develop your onsite IT staff, shifting them from reactive "firefighters" to proactive systems stewards.

• Strategic Alignment: Act as the IT Business Partner for the plant leadership team, ensuring IT initiatives directly support production goals, safety, and efficiency.
• Operational Excellence: Ensure high availability and performance of plant-critical systems supporting production, quality, traceability, labeling, and shipping.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Build deep working relationships with Production, Maintenance, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, EHS, Finance, and HR to ensure IT priorities align with plant performance goals.
• Production Readiness: Partner with Operations to support ramp-ups, new line launches, and shift coverage planning from an IT readiness standpoint.
• Operational Technology (OT) Integration: Collaborate with Controls/Automation and Engineering teams to support plant connectivity and system integration while maintaining strict cybersecurity standards.
• Governance & Compliance: Manage local IT budgets (CapEx/OpEx), oversee asset lifecycles, and ensure the facility remains fully compliant with all corporate security standards and IT audits.
• Vendor & Support Management: Act as the primary liaison with global SAP (ERP) and Apriso (MES) support teams to ensure plant requirements are prioritized and met.

What You Need

• Leadership Experience: 10+ years of experience in IT, with at least 5 years in a significant management or leadership role. Proven track record of leading teams in a manufacturing or industrial environment.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in IT, Business Management, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).
• Stakeholder Management: Exceptional ability to communicate with both technical staff and non-technical plant leadership.
• Crisis Management: Strong leadership presence under pressure, with the ability to lead incident response in a 24/7 environment.
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to see the "big picture" of how IT enables the manufacturing business.

• Familiarity with SAP and MES (Apriso) workflows within a manufacturing context.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma methodologies.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or ITIL certifications.

Welcome to AESC, supporting our state-of-the-art Gigafactories, where you'll have the opportunity to tackle the world's most fascinating challenges alongside exceptionally talented individuals who are driven to make a difference. At AESC, we offer a comprehensive compensation package. In addition, we provide a range of valuable benefits, such as 401K,and health insurance. We strive to ensure that our employees are well taken care of, enabling them to focus on their work and contribute to our collective mission of changing the world.

• An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages professional and personal development.
• Highly automated, clean, safe, and temperature-controlled production environment
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• HSA and Flexible Spending Accounts
• 401K with company match
• Life Insurance (Company paid and additional voluntary life available)
• Paid Vacation and 14 Paid Holidays
• Short term and long-term disability coverage (Company Paid)
• Tuition reimbursement

Even if you don't meet every requirement listed, if you believe this role suits you well, we encourage you to apply. Your application gives us the opportunity to learn more about you and explore potential fits within our team.

Following the submission of your application, we are committed to providing timely responses to all applicants, though response times may vary depending on the volume of submissions. If you do not receive an immediate response, please rest assured that this in no way reflects on the quality of your candidacy. Your application will be retained in our files, and we may reach out to you for future roles that align with your skills and interests. As our organization experiences rapid growth, we appreciate your patience in this process. We are actively working each day to enhance our application procedures to ensure a smoother and more efficient experience for all applicants. Thank you for your understanding and enthusiasm for joining our dynamic team.

Equal Employment Opportunity

At AESC, we are committed to providing Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) to all individuals. We participate in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S Join us in our passion to design, manufacture, and sell high-performance products, contributing to a sustainable and zero-carbon emission future.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

• Ability to sit for extended periods of time.
• Ability to read, write, speak, hear; stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach and lift with hands and arms frequently throughout the day.
• Required to occasionally lift, push, pull and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally required to lift, push, pull and/or move up to 35 pounds.

The work environment is primarily an automated manufacturing plant with a concrete floor and is characterized by some temperature extremes, moderate noise, and forklift traffic. The individual must be able to perform all essential functions as appropriate on the plant floor, in meetings, and with employees, management, customers and suppliers.

Candidate must perform the essential duties and responsibilities with or without reasonable accommodation efficiently and accurately, and without causing significant safety threat to self or others. The statements made herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this job classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive and inclusive list of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required of personnel so classified.