Director, Contract Manufacturing Operations

About the role

The Director of Contract Manufacturing Operations is responsible for identifying, developing, and managing strategic contract manufacturing partners to support the company's growth, innovation, quality, and operational objectives. This leader serves as the primary bridge between internal cross-functional teams—including Engineering, Procurement, Quality, Supply Chain, Operations, and Product Development—and external manufacturing partners to ensure products are designed for manufacturability, launched successfully, and delivered on time, at cost, and to quality expectations. The role owns the end-to-end operational relationship with contract manufacturers, drives performance accountability, and establishes governance processes to ensure continuous improvement, capacity readiness, and supply continuity.

What you will do

• Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), and process readiness activities
• Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions for quality and operational issues
• Develop long-term manufacturing strategies that support business objectives, cost competitiveness, scalability, and risk mitigation
• Lead cross-functional teams to ensure new products are designed and developed for efficient manufacturing and scale-up
• Partner with Engineering, Quality, Procurement, and Product Development to establish manufacturing requirements and production processes
• Lead risk mitigation strategies for supply continuity and business resilience
• Collaborate with Quality leadership to ensure compliance with company standards, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations
• Support Procurement in commercial negotiations and supplier development initiatives
• Drive productivity, working capital, inventory, and cost improvement opportunities within the contract manufacturing network
• Manage operational budgets and support annual business planning activities
• Collaborate with Procurement to evaluate supplier manufacturing capability and capacity

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in manufacturing engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, or related field required
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, operations, supply chain, or contract manufacturing environments
• Proven experience identifying, qualifying, and managing contract manufacturing partners
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional teams through product development, commercialization, and manufacturing scale-up

Skills & competencies

• MBA or advanced technical degree preferred
• Working knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies

Pay

Base Pay: $139,268.00 - 167,122.00 USD Annual + bonus

Benefits

• Medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, FSAs, HSAs, accident insurance, pet insurance, company-paid life and AD&D insurance, company-paid long-term and short-term disability insurance, 401(k) with employer match, paid time off (PTO), and paid holidays