Director of Advanced Manuacturnig

Position Overview

The Director of Advanced Manufacturing will lead the manufacturing strategy for complex data center infrastructure products, overseeing the transition from prototype to full-scale production. This role is responsible for manufacturing footprint decisions, automation strategy, production scalability, quality, and partner selection while ensuring products are delivered efficiently, cost-effectively, and at the highest quality standards. The position works closely with Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Operations, and external manufacturing partners to support rapid growth and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Manufacturing Strategy & Scale

• Define end-to-end manufacturing strategy, including make-vs-buy decisions, manufacturing footprint, partner selection, capacity planning, and regional deployment strategy.
• Evaluate tradeoffs across cost, quality, lead time, logistics, supply chain risk, automation opportunities, and customer requirements.
• Develop manufacturing roadmaps supporting new product introduction, production ramp-up, and long-term scaling.

• Process, Automation & Industrialization

• Establish manufacturing methods, tooling, fixtures, test systems, production flows, and equipment strategies.
• Lead adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies including robotics, automation, machine vision, digital work instructions, and data-driven process controls.
• Possess knowledge of data center infrastructure, thermal systems, liquid cooling, HVAC, power distribution, or mission-critical equipment.
• Partner with engineering teams to ensure products are designed for manufacturability, testability, serviceability, and production scale.

• Operations & Performance

• Build production systems that achieve throughput, cycle time, labor efficiency, and capacity targets.
• Lead pilot builds, process validation, production readiness, staffing plans, and volume production transitions.
• Implement KPIs and dashboards to monitor yields, schedule attainment, bottlenecks, and overall manufacturing performance.

• Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Define manufacturing quality strategies, in-process controls, testing requirements, and acceptance criteria.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for manufacturing, supplier, and field quality issues.
• Drive improvements in first-pass yield, defect reduction, process capability, and operational discipline.

• Workforce & Partner Leadership

• Develop scalable training programs, work instructions, certification requirements, and operating procedures.
• Lead relationships with contract manufacturers, OEMs, integrators, equipment suppliers, and automation partners.
• Drive partner performance across quality, cost, capacity, responsiveness, and delivery metrics.

• Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the manufacturing leader across Product Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Program Management, Operations, and Customer Delivery.
• Provide executive-level recommendations on manufacturing investments, risks, sourcing strategies, and scaling opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, or a related field.
• 10+ years of manufacturing, operations, industrialization, or advanced manufacturing experience.
• 5+ years leading manufacturing strategy, process development, or production scale-up for complex hardware products.
• Proven experience with manufacturing footprint decisions, automation strategies, contract manufacturing, OEM partnerships, and production system design.
• Track record of improving quality, throughput, capacity, and on-time delivery.
• Experience launching products from prototype or pilot production into volume manufacturing.

Preferred

• Master's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, or Business.
• Experience with data center infrastructure, thermal systems, liquid cooling, HVAC, power distribution, or mission-critical equipment.
• Experience implementing robotics, automation, and advanced manufacturing technologies.
• Knowledge of global manufacturing strategies, supply chain risk management, and multi-site production scaling.
• Experience in highly regulated, safety-critical, or uptime-sensitive environments.

Travel

Required travel to manufacturing facilities, supplier sites, test labs, and deployment locations.

Expected Salary Range

$200,000 - $300,000 base salary plus discretionary bonus.

Tract Capital Employment

Tract Capital employees enjoy competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits, including 100% employer-covered medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401K program, standard paid holidays, and unlimited PTO.

Note

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties to meet the organization's ongoing needs.