Our Expertise
Sunbolt Group is built on a background most search firms don't have. Our founder brings a JD and law-trained precision, working experience as Farm Manager of the family farm, and more than 15 years of full-cycle executive search across manufacturing, engineering, and technology. That combination shapes how we run searches, structure agreements, and protect both clients and candidates through the hiring process.
We serve clients across automotive, industrial automation, consumer packaged goods, aviation and aerospace, and chemical and plastics, from closely-held manufacturers to Fortune 500 operations. The mix of legal precision, operational grounding, and search discipline means we notice things other recruiters miss: the contract clause that will cost you later, the operations leader whose resume reads fine but whose plant tour reveals the truth, and the candidate who says the right things in an interview and the wrong things when the offer comes together.
Jump to Area of Expertise
Engineering Leadership
Engineering leaders are the backbone of innovation in manufacturing. We specialize in recruiting engineering executives and managers who drive product development, process optimization, and technological advancement. Our candidates bring expertise in R&D, design engineering, manufacturing engineering, and cross-functional leadership.
Typical Roles We Fill
- VP of Engineering / Chief Engineer
- Engineering Director / Manager
- Manufacturing Engineering Manager
- Product Development Director
- Process Engineering Manager
- R&D Leader / Innovation Director
What Separates Top Engineering Leaders
The strongest engineering executives we place combine technical expertise with the business judgment to make hard decisions under pressure. We look past credentials and probe for the experience and potential that matters: products taken from concept to production launch, the instinct to know when "good enough" ships and when it doesn't, cross-functional credibility with operations and quality peers, and the ability to translate engineering decisions into language the CFO will fund.
Advanced degrees matter in some contexts and distract in others. We calibrate to your actual business rather than a generic checklist. An R&D-heavy medical device role and a process engineering role at a stamping plant need different people, and we know the difference.
Our Approach: We recruit engineering leaders who combine technical depth with business judgment, with the ability to lead design decisions, manage cost and quality, and contribute to the financial performance of the business.
Industrial Automation Leadership
Industrial automation leaders sit at the intersection of engineering, operations, and IT. They are responsible for the controls systems, robotics, and connected equipment that keep modern plants running, and increasingly for the Industry 4.0 initiatives that turn plant data into operating decisions. The discipline has its own tools, its own vendors, and its own talent market. We recruit for it as a specialty, not as a subset of engineering.
Typical Roles We Fill
- Director of Automation / VP of Automation
- Controls Engineering Manager
- Automation Engineering Manager
- Systems Integration Manager
- Robotics Engineering Leader
- Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing Leader
What Separates Top Automation Leaders
The automation market is flooded with candidates who can list PLC platforms on a resume. The list is table stakes. What matters is whether a candidate can architect a controls strategy across a multi-line facility, lead a team through a migration from legacy DCS to modern platforms, and translate shop-floor reality into a capital plan the CFO will fund.
We probe for the specifics: hands-on depth with Rockwell, Siemens, and the other platforms you actually run; integration experience across PLC, SCADA, HMI, and MES layers; judgment on when to build in-house versus partner with a system integrator; and credibility with both the controls engineers on the floor and the IT leadership who now share ownership of the network. Industry 4.0 experience matters, but we separate candidates who have shipped connected-factory projects from candidates who have attended conferences about them.
Our Approach: We recruit automation leaders who can run a controls project, lead a team, and hold their own in a conversation with operations, IT, and finance about where the automation investment goes next.
Operations Leadership
Operations leaders transform manufacturing facilities into high-performing, efficient operations. We recruit executives who excel in plant management, supply chain optimization, production planning, and operational excellence. These leaders drive productivity, reduce waste, and build world-class manufacturing teams.
Typical Roles We Fill
- VP of Operations / COO
- Plant Manager / General Manager
- Operations Director
- Production Manager / Superintendent
- Supply Chain Director
- Materials Manager / Logistics Leader
What Separates Top Operations Leaders
Plant managers and operations VPs live or die by their ability to read a floor. You can screen for skills or certifications on a resume, but those don't tell you whether a candidate can walk a facility and spot the three things that will become problems in 90 days.
We assess for operating judgment that resumes don't capture: how candidates handled a down quarter, how they built relationships with leadership when the prior plant manager had burned them, what they changed in their first 100 days at their last site, and what they deliberately left alone. We look for leaders who own metrics (OEE, throughput, cost per unit, and safety performance) and who lead their people through the rough patches too.
Our Approach: We interview operations candidates the way your best plant manager would, with specific questions about specific problems, not behavioral generalities.
Continuous Improvement Leadership
Continuous improvement professionals drive sustainable change through Lean, Six Sigma, and operational excellence methodologies. We recruit CI leaders who embed improvement cultures, eliminate waste, and deliver measurable results. These experts transform organizations through data-driven problem solving and employee empowerment.
Typical Roles We Fill
- Director of Continuous Improvement
- Lean / Six Sigma Manager
- Operational Excellence Leader
- Kaizen / Process Improvement Manager
- Value Stream Manager
- Business Transformation Leader
What Separates Top CI Leaders
The CI market is full of certified Black Belts who cannot drive change in a skeptical plant. Lean Six Sigma credentials are table stakes, not a differentiator. We look for candidates who can show the cost savings they delivered, name the people who now run kaizens without them, and describe the resistance they faced on the shop floor and how they handled it.
Toyota Production System experience, value stream mapping credentials, and statistical methods matter most when paired with the coaching instinct to make those methods stick after the consultant leaves. We ask candidates to walk us through an improvement that failed. The ones who can answer that question well are usually the ones who succeed in the next role.
Our Approach: We recruit Continuous Improvement leaders who can do more than apply tools and hold certifications. Certifications are necessary, but not sufficient. The real job is driving cultural change and sustaining improvement.
Quality Leadership
Quality leaders ensure products meet or exceed customer expectations while maintaining compliance with industry standards. We recruit quality executives who drive quality management systems, supplier quality, and continuous quality improvement. These professionals protect brand reputation and drive customer satisfaction.
Typical Roles We Fill
- VP of Quality / Chief Quality Officer
- Quality Director / Manager
- Quality Assurance / Quality Control Manager
- Supplier Quality Engineering Manager
- Regulatory Affairs / Compliance Manager
- Metrology / Lab Manager
What Separates Top Quality Leaders
Quality is a certification-heavy field, and for good reason. ISO 9001, IATF 16949, AS9100, and the ASQ credentials each signal real training. We verify them. But verification is where other recruiters stop and we start.
The quality leaders worth hiring build systems that prevent defects rather than catch them at final inspection. We probe for that orientation in every interview: how candidates ran APQP on a launch that slipped, how they used FMEA output to actually change designs, and whether their supplier quality program improved supplier performance or just generated paperwork. Industry fit matters here more than almost anywhere else. Automotive, aerospace, medical device, and food-grade manufacturing each have quality cultures that do not translate cleanly. We screen for the right fit, not just the resume.
Our Approach: We identify quality leaders who bring deep knowledge of industry-specific requirements and the practical judgment to build quality systems that prevent defects, reduce risk, and strengthen customer trust.
Human Resources Leadership
HR leaders in manufacturing build cultures that attract, develop, and retain top talent. We recruit HR executives who excel in talent management, labor relations, organizational development, and workforce planning. These professionals balance compliance requirements with strategic people initiatives that drive business results.
Typical Roles We Fill
- VP of Human Resources / CHRO
- HR Director / Manager
- Talent Acquisition / Recruiting Manager
- Organizational Development Manager
- Compensation & Benefits Manager
- Labor Relations / Employee Relations Manager
What Separates Top HR Leaders
Manufacturing HR is its own discipline. The candidate who ran HR for a 400-person professional services firm will not succeed at a 400-person manufacturing plant, even with the same SHRM-SCP credential on the wall. We screen for the operational reality of the role: comfort on the shop floor, credibility with hourly workers and shift supervisors, composure in a grievance hearing, and judgment in a reduction in force.
Union experience is a differentiator in many of our searches. Not every client needs it, but when it is needed, the depth of that experience is the difference between a productive labor relationship and an avoidable strike. We assess it the way labor counsel would: specific contracts negotiated, specific arbitrations handled, and specific outcomes.
Our Approach: We help companies hire HR leaders who combine plant-level credibility with executive presence, and who understand how to support safety culture, shift-based operations, and a mixed hourly and salaried workforce.
Accounting & Finance Leadership
Finance leaders in manufacturing drive profitability through cost accounting, financial planning, and strategic analysis. We recruit finance executives who understand manufacturing economics, inventory management, and capital investment decisions. These professionals provide the financial insights needed to optimize operations and support growth.
Typical Roles We Fill
- CFO / VP of Finance
- Controller / Assistant Controller
- Cost Accounting Manager
- Financial Planning & Analysis Manager
- Treasury / Cash Management Director
- Internal Audit Manager
What Separates Top Finance Leaders
Manufacturing finance is not corporate finance with inventory bolted on. Cost accounting, standard costing, variance analysis, and capital allocation in a plant environment each require instincts that corporate FP&A backgrounds don't always build. We screen for those instincts specifically.
CPA and CMA credentials matter. MBAs matter in some roles. Transaction experience (M&A, carve-outs, and private equity operating partner exposure) matters when the client is in a transaction cycle and is a distraction when they aren't. We calibrate the search to where you are, not to a generic senior finance profile. And we pay close attention to a trait resumes rarely reveal: whether the candidate can sit with a plant manager and have a useful conversation about why a work order missed standard.
Our Approach: We identify finance leaders who translate the general ledger into practical direction for operations, supporting better decisions on pricing, investment, and performance improvement.
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