COO Visa Sponsorship Jobs in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's COO hiring spans Philadelphia's financial and healthcare sectors, Pittsburgh's growing tech and energy industries, and major employers like University of Pennsylvania Health System, PNC Financial, and Carnegie Mellon University-affiliated companies. International candidates pursuing COO roles here will typically need employer-sponsored visa support, most often through H-1B visa or O-1 visa pathways.
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Company Statement: Graham Packaging is a people, planet and values-based company and a leader in sustainable packaging manufacturing. From the kitchen to the laundry room, Graham Packaging is part of your everyday life. For employees at Graham, our Blue Culture is part of their everyday lives, too. In other words, Blue is how we do things here. At Graham, we are united by a clear vision. We know our part and help those around us know theirs, encouraging one another to continuously improve. We create a safe, challenging environment to innovate by supporting creative ideas and new ways of thinking. We take the initiative to cultivate our individual growth and help others do the same, while keeping ourselves and one another accountable. And we actively promote cooperation, collaboration, integrity and respect across regions and teams to foster an engaged, diverse and connected workforce. We value our employees, and a Blue Culture allows for the most rewarding employee experience as part of the Graham family. Blue is how we feel about what we do—together—to create a better tomorrow. Working at Graham means you lead constructively with clear goals, use diverse thinking to drive excellence, accountability, innovation, as well as demonstrating collaboration, embracing learning, and taking action for continuous improvement and growth.
Overview:
The Director of Operations Engineering provides strategic and technical leadership across the plant network, driving operational excellence by improving operational flow, reliability, safety, cost, and sustainability. This leader directs an integrated engineering organization that supports planned projects and continuous improvement while responding rapidly to developing issues and operational emergencies to restore flow. The Director establishes priorities, governance, resource plans, and standard work for the Operations Engineering function. Using disciplined project management, structured problem solving, and data-based decision making, the organization delivers sustainable solutions, restores stable production, develops plant capability, and replicates proven practices across the network. The position reports to the Vice President of Engineering and partners closely with Operations, Plant Leadership, Safety, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Procurement, OEMs, and external technical resources.
Responsibilities:
- Set the strategy, priorities, resources, and performance expectations for Operations Engineering across the plant network.
- Lead and develop the Operations Engineering organization by aligning roles and resources, managing performance, building technical capability, and strengthening succession plans. Coach and mentor plant operational resources, and foster a culture of safety, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Act as a subject matter expert and technical authority for one or more of GPC’s critical processes.
- Manage planned plant-support projects from scope of work through execution, startup, handoff, and benefits realization.
- Drive maintenance standardization and continuous improvement to increase reliability and throughput, reduce downtime, and control maintenance costs.
- Analyze SAP PM equipment and functional-location work history to identify predictive-maintenance and reliability opportunities.
- Use SAP PM, Intelligent Factory, and quality data to track progress, verify improvements, and sustain results.
- Partner with OEMs and third-party vendors to resolve persistent mechanical, quality, and process issues.
- Validate corrective actions that improve availability and reliability and leverage successful solutions across plants and sites.
- Direct engineering support during developing issues and operational emergencies to safely restore flow, correct root causes, and prevent recurrence.
- Apply engineering fundamentals to develop scopes of work, prepare bid documents, and assemble and present business cases to GPC leadership.
- Lead using structured problem-solving tools, including A3, 8D, and FMEA; Six Sigma Black Belt certification is preferred, with Green Belt certification acceptable.
- Apply disciplined project management and structured problem solving while managing budgets, technical standards, risks, and communication with plant and cross-functional leaders.
Qualifications
Leadership Competencies
- Enterprise leadership: Connects plant needs with network strategy and allocates resources for the greatest overall impact.
- Operational urgency: Responds quickly while maintaining disciplined risk assessment, communication, and execution.
- Sustainable problem solving: Addresses root causes and designs solutions that protect people, reduce waste, and remain effective over time.
- Talent development: Builds capable leaders and technical experts who can maintain, improve, and restore operational flow.
- Influence and partnership: Creates alignment across functions, sites, suppliers, and senior leadership without relying solely on direct authority.
- Results orientation: Establishes clear outcomes, tracks commitments, verifies benefits, and holds teams accountable for sustained performance.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline; Electrical or Plastics Engineering preferred.
Typically 12 or more years of progressive experience in manufacturing engineering, operations, reliability, maintenance, capital projects, or continuous improvement, including significant multi-site leadership experience.
Demonstrated success leading technical teams, complex project portfolios, plant recoveries, and cross-functional improvement initiatives.
Strong knowledge of manufacturing equipment, automation, utilities, material handling, maintenance and reliability systems, and industrial safety.
Proven ability to translate technical issues into business risk, priorities, recovery plans, investment decisions, and measurable results.
Experience managing capital and expense budgets, business cases, contractors, OEMs, schedules, and project governance.
Proficiency with structured problem solving, Lean or continuous-improvement methods, project-management tools, and data analysis.
Ability to travel extensively (up to 75%) and respond outside normal business hours when significant operational events require leadership support.
The standard compensation for this role is $147,700 - $221,100. Salary offers will be determined based on final candidate qualifications, experience, skillset, and other relevant factors.
Compensation Statement: The expected salary range for the position described in this posting is made in accordance with the legal mandates of certain jurisdictions within the United States. The final agreed-upon compensation is based on individual qualifications and experience.
Benefits Statement: Benefits include medical, dental, vision and basic life insurance. Employees are able to enroll in the company’s 401K Employee Saving Plan and may participate in its Employee Wellness Program. Employees will also receive paid time off in accordance with company policy and state law requirements.
Graham Packaging is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, religion, creed, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.
COO Job Roles in Pennsylvania
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Search COO Jobs in PennsylvaniaCOO Jobs in Pennsylvania: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies sponsor visas for COOs in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania's largest visa-sponsoring employers for senior operations roles include PNC Financial Services, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Jefferson Health, Comcast, and various Pittsburgh-based technology and energy firms. Professional services firms with Philadelphia offices, including major consulting and financial institutions, have also sponsored executive-level positions. Sponsorship at the COO level is less common than mid-tier roles and depends heavily on the organization's size and international hiring experience.
Which visa types are most common for COO roles in Pennsylvania?
The H-1B is the most frequently used visa for COO roles, provided the position requires at minimum a bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as business administration, finance, or operations management. The O-1A is an alternative for candidates with demonstrated extraordinary ability through awards, publications, or significant industry recognition. Executives transferring within a multinational organization may also qualify for an L-1A intracompany transferee visa.
Which cities in Pennsylvania have the most COO sponsorship jobs?
Philadelphia accounts for the largest share of COO-level sponsorship activity in Pennsylvania, driven by its concentration of healthcare systems, financial institutions, and professional services firms. Pittsburgh follows as a secondary hub, with sponsorship activity tied to its technology, robotics, and energy sectors, including companies connected to Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Smaller markets like Harrisburg and Allentown see limited COO sponsorship overall.
How to find coo visa sponsorship jobs in Pennsylvania?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for international candidates and filters COO roles in Pennsylvania by visa sponsorship availability, so you're not sorting through listings that won't support your status. Because COO positions are relatively senior and sponsorship commitments vary widely by employer, using a focused platform like Migrate Mate saves significant time. You can browse current openings and filter by location across Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other Pennsylvania metros.
What state-specific factors should international COO candidates know about Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania's two dominant hiring markets, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, have distinct industry profiles that shape sponsorship patterns. Philadelphia leans toward healthcare, insurance, and financial services, where established HR infrastructure often supports visa processing. Pittsburgh's tech-adjacent growth, including AI and robotics firms with ties to Carnegie Mellon, has expanded senior-level international hiring. Pennsylvania has no state-level sponsorship incentives, so sponsorship decisions rest entirely with individual employers based on their existing legal and HR capacity.
What is the prevailing wage for sponsored coo jobs in Pennsylvania?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.