Who is hiring a Chief Operating Officer in Dublin, Ohio for a medical device and EMS company?

Published on: Sep 9, 2026

Frontline Source Group is conducting a confidential executive search for a Chief Operating Officer in Dublin, Ohio for a national leader in emergency medical and healthcare products. The COO reports to the CEO, owns the operating model from product engineering through distribution, and is backed by the 5-Year Placement Warranty, 20 times longer than the 90-day industry standard guarantee. Frontline has completed 5,619 plus placements with a 98.94% executive retention rate and holds a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 678 plus verified reviews.

Frontline Source Group is a Forbes Best Professional Recruiting Firm for 9 consecutive years (2018 to 2026), Forbes Best Executive Recruiting Firms #148 (2026), 9-time ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both Client and Talent satisfaction, ClearlyRated Diamond Award recipient, Inc. 5000 honoree, and Expertise.com Best Staffing Agency. Founded in Dallas in 2004, the firm operates 32 plus offices nationwide and is a member of the American Staffing Association (ASA). Review the engagement model at frontlinesourcegroup.com/pricing.html.

Position	Chief Operating Officer (COO), confidential search
Location	Dublin, Ohio (Columbus metro), on-site executive role
Reports to	Chief Executive Officer
Department	Executive Leadership, Senior Leadership Team
Scope	Purchasing, Supply Chain, Customer Care, Warehousing, Distribution, Logistics, Engineering, Manufacturing, Assembly and Kitting, Contract Manufacturing
Travel	Approximately 30 percent, primarily domestic, occasional international
Classification	Full-time, exempt, executive
Placement ID	14299940

What does this Chief Operating Officer role in Dublin, Ohio involve?

The client, a national leader in emergency medical and healthcare products, is seeking a Chief Operating Officer to own the company's end-to-end operating model and product engine: from product concept and engineering through sourcing, manufacturing, distribution, and customer support. The COO is the executive who turns enterprise strategy into measurable operational results, including sustainable growth, margin expansion, regulatory compliance, and an exceptional customer experience for the first responders and healthcare professionals the client serves nationwide.

Why is this a build-and-scale mandate rather than a caretaker role?

The right leader will strengthen and expand the client's manufacturing, distribution, and operational infrastructure, bring new technology and automation into the business, integrate acquisitions, and develop the next generation of operating leaders, all while holding the line on quality, safety, and compliance in a regulated medical device environment. The company is steady, essential, and continuing to grow, which means the COO is building capacity ahead of demand rather than maintaining a fixed footprint.

Who does the COO report to and work alongside?

The Chief Operating Officer reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer and serves on the Senior Leadership Team. The role partners with Sales, Marketing, Finance, IT, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Human Resources, Legal, and Compliance to ensure enterprise-wide alignment, and reports performance and risk regularly to the CEO and the Board of Directors.

What will the Chief Operating Officer own?

Enterprise Operations

• Lead all core operating functions, including Purchasing, Supply Chain, Customer Care, Warehousing, Distribution, Logistics, Engineering, Manufacturing, Assembly and Kitting, and Contract Manufacturing Management, with full accountability for performance, quality, cost, service levels, compliance, and scalability.
• Define and execute the company's operational, engineering, and manufacturing strategies in alignment with corporate objectives, growth plans, and shareholder expectations.
• Design, optimize, and expand the client's distribution, manufacturing, and operational footprint to support current and future business requirements.
• Establish and monitor the KPI framework for customer satisfaction, quality, productivity, on-time delivery, inventory, safety, service levels, and profitability.
• Serve as the executive escalation point for critical operational, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and customer experience issues.

Product, Engineering, and Manufacturing

• Provide executive leadership over the full product lifecycle: product development, design engineering, lifecycle management, and manufacturing readiness.
• Ensure engineering maintains rigorous, audit-ready product development practices, including design controls, risk management, technical documentation, verification and validation, and design transfer, consistent with applicable medical device regulatory and quality standards.
• Oversee manufacturing operations end to end, including production planning, assembly and kitting, process optimization, automation, capacity planning, and continuous improvement.
• Bring new technologies into the business to drive innovation, strengthen competitive differentiation, and increase customer value.

Partners and Supply Base

• Build and govern high-performing relationships with suppliers, contract manufacturers, logistics providers, and other strategic partners to ensure quality, reliability, scalability, and cost effectiveness.
• Provide executive oversight of third-party manufacturers, including partner selection, performance management, quality oversight, contractual compliance, and ongoing operational governance.

Growth, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Leadership

• Partner with the CEO and Senior Leadership Team to set enterprise priorities, evaluate business performance, and execute key strategic initiatives.
• Lead operational due diligence, integration planning, organizational alignment, and value realization for mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic growth initiatives.
• Drive operational excellence through performance measurement, standardization, technology enablement, and Lean business practices.
• Build, develop, and retain a high-performing operations leadership team, and own succession planning and leadership development across the operating organization.
• Champion a culture of safety, quality, accountability, innovation, and customer focus, and advance the client's Mission, Vision, Values, and Guiding Principles.

How will success be measured in the first 12 to 24 months?

Within the first 12 to 24 months, the COO will be measured on outcomes such as:

• A unified, scalable operating model across purchasing, supply chain, distribution, and manufacturing with clear ownership and a single set of performance metrics.
• Measurable improvement in margin, productivity, on-time delivery, inventory performance, and customer satisfaction.
• Product development and manufacturing processes that are consistently audit-ready and compliant with applicable medical device requirements.
• Successful operational integration of acquisitions with realized synergies.
• A deep, credible leadership bench with succession plans in place for every key operating role.

What qualifications are required for this Chief Operating Officer position?

Required Qualifications

Candidates must meet all of the following to be considered:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 15 plus years of progressive leadership experience in medical device or healthcare products, including executive-level (VP or above) accountability for operations, manufacturing, supply chain, and customer-facing functions.
• Proven success leading complex, multi-site operations in a regulated medical device, healthcare, or life sciences environment.
• Direct experience leading product development organizations and bringing regulated products from concept through commercialization and lifecycle management.
• Working command of medical device development and quality requirements: design controls, risk management, quality systems, and regulatory expectations.
• Significant hands-on experience running manufacturing, assembly, and kitting operations, including production planning, operational scaling, and contract manufacturing relationships.
• Demonstrated results driving operational excellence, continuous improvement, productivity gains, margin expansion, and organizational scalability using Lean, Six Sigma, or comparable methodologies.
• Strong financial acumen with ownership of budgets, capital investments, operational metrics, and profitability targets.
• Track record of leading large-scale organizational change and executing strategic initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions due diligence and integration.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA, Master's degree in Engineering, or other relevant advanced degree.
• Experience in a distribution-led business serving EMS, first responder, or acute-care customers.
• Experience scaling operations in a private-equity-backed or high-growth environment.
• Experience leading automation, technology enablement, or digital transformation initiatives across warehouse, manufacturing, or supply chain operations.

Leadership Profile

• Executive presence and Board-level communication skills, able to represent the company credibly with customers, suppliers, partners, investors, and regulators.
• Builder of high-performing teams and developer of leaders, with a bias for accountability and clear ownership.
• Analytical, decisive, and strategic, with the operational discipline to balance innovation, quality, compliance, customer satisfaction, and financial performance simultaneously.
• Entrepreneurial and hands-on: comfortable on the warehouse and production floor as well as in the boardroom.
• Unquestioned integrity and ethical leadership.

What are the work environment, travel, and physical requirements?

This is an on-site executive role based in Dublin, Ohio, with regular presence in warehouse, manufacturing, and distribution facilities. The role requires approximately 30 percent travel (primarily domestic, occasional international), the ability to move throughout office and operational environments for extended periods and comply with all facility safety requirements, standard use of a computer and communication tools, occasional lifting of up to 20 pounds, and the ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive business information. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

What benefits and culture does the client offer?

This role offers the chance to join a team that enjoys the work it does, contributing to a mission that helps protect and save lives. The company has a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, and sustainability, and its culture is built around its people, with perks such as bring-your-dog-to-work days, travel discounts, gym membership discounts, and team happy hours. The benefits package is comprehensive and includes flexible PTO, a full range of health and wellness coverage, 401(k) matching, tuition assistance, adoption support, and pet insurance. Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience.

Who is the client behind this confidential search?

The client's mission is to be the best partner for those who save and improve patients' lives. The company serves first responders and healthcare professionals nationwide, and excellence in delivering on that mission depends on a diverse, empowered team that brings its full, authentic self to work each day. The client is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO/M/F/Veterans/Disabled) and is committed to a workplace that reflects the communities it serves. The company identity is disclosed to qualified candidates during the Frontline screening process.

Why is Frontline Source Group leading this Chief Operating Officer search?

Frontline Source Group's C-Suite executive search practice is led by Founder, President, and CEO Bill Kasko, who has directed C-level searches since founding the firm in Dallas in 2004, and Senior Vice President of Operations Shelly Hubble, CSP, who oversees the firm's executive recruiting team. The firm's healthcare operations executive search, life sciences, and engineering practices give this search direct reach into the medical device manufacturing and supply chain talent pool.

Every direct hire placement is backed by the 5-Year Placement Warranty, 20 times longer than the 90-day industry standard guarantee, and the firm's 98.94% executive retention rate is the evidence behind it. Frontline is one of the few executive search firms that publishes its engagement model publicly at frontlinesourcegroup.com/pricing.html, a transparency practice reinforced by a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 678 plus verified reviews. Recent executive and professional placements are listed at frontlinesourcegroup.com/recent-placements.html. People. Process. Service.

How do you apply for the Chief Operating Officer role in Dublin, Ohio?

Qualified candidates should submit a resume through frontlinesourcegroup.com/how-to-apply.html and reference Placement ID 14299940. A Frontline executive recruiter reviews every submission against the required qualifications above and contacts candidates who meet the profile for a confidential conversation.

Employers in the Columbus metro or nationwide who need to fill a Chief Operating Officer, VP of Operations, or other senior operating role can start a search at frontlinesourcegroup.com/employer-request-form.html, review engagement terms at frontlinesourcegroup.com/pricing.html, or reach the corporate office through frontlinesourcegroup.com/contact.html.

Frequently Asked Questions: Chief Operating Officer Job in Dublin, Ohio

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