Director of Advanced Manufacturing

About the Role

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 drives 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 collaborates closely with Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Operations, and external manufacturing partners to support rapid growth and operational excellence.

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.
  • 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.

Requirements

• 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 Qualifications

• 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.

Pay

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

Benefits

• 100% employer-covered medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401K program.
• Standard paid holidays.
• Unlimited PTO.