Plant Processing Operations Director

Roles & Responsibilities

• Direct all commercial and pre-commercial seed processing activities, including cleaning, de-hulling, quality assurance, pelleting, treating, coloring, packaging, and coordination of commercial seed distribution to market and sing agencies.
• Provide visible, proactive leadership within the production process, prioritizing safety and quality throughout while coaching leaders and senior supervisors in daily execution.
• Develop clear objectives and implement developmental plans for the Processing Management Team, full-time employees, and temporary staffing.
• Direct the building and management of inventory, including supplies and materials relating to production and facility management, to ensure disciplined inventory control and accurate reporting.
• Provide leadership to triage and resolve production bottlenecks; drive practical countermeasures and sustained improvements.
• Oversee plant equipment maintenance and investment planning to support reliability, capacity, and process capability.
• Recommend and administer policies and procedures to enhance operations and standardize best practices.
• Partner with Product Management and Sales to ensure supply and quality expectations meet commercial product needs.
• Work with the Production and Processing teams to align, lead, and implement new quality assurance and seed improvement processes and technologies.
• Ensure required quality control sing is executed consistently and that seed batches meet defined quality standards.
• Establish and reinforce adherence to SOPs, batch traceability, and in-process checks where deviation are investigated and corrected.
• Maintain strong documentation practices and audit readiness, including record retention aligned to internal requirements.
• Lead the processing team in root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions for quality deviations, customer complaints, or nonconforming lots; prevent recurrence through process control improvements.
• Oversee that all standards (safety, cleanliness, etc.) within the facility are maintained, recorded, and reviewed.
• Build a culture of accountability and engagement where safe work and quality execution are non-negotiable expectations.
• Promote positive relations with stakeholders, vendors, and distributors.
• Communicate on an ongoing basis with corporate leadership to ensure overall goals and priorities are achieved.
• Set and prioritize goals, manage multiple priorities, and drive execution through others.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in Business, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related technical discipline; Master’s degree preferred.
• 10 + years of production or manufacturing management experience.
• 5 + years in senior leadership roles overseeing plant operations and teams.
• Demonstrated success leading operations where adherence to quality control is critical.
• Experience in regulated or highly disciplined manufacturing environments with strong traceability requirements. To include experience in Quality Control and Quality Assurance.
• Experience leading capital planning, reliability/maintenance strategies, and capacity expansion.
• Ability to lead, develop, and motivate teams while managing multiple priorities and tight timelines.
• Effective written and verbal communication and ability to facilitate effective team meetings and engage stakeholders.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office; comfortable with operating and capital budget preparation and strategic execution.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental
• Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Flex spending account
• HSA
• 401K matching

About the Role

The Plant Processing Operations Director leads the day-to-day operations of a seed processing facility and quality control and assurance by ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable production that delivers consistent supply and performance to customers. This role is accountable for end-to-end plant execution across commercial and pre-commercial seed processing, distribution, inventory control, and plant maintenance. A core responsibility is to establish and sustain a strong manufacturing culture where adherence to quality, process discipline, and operational excellence are owned at every level.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required in Business, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related technical discipline; Master’s degree preferred.
• 10 + years of production or manufacturing management experience.
• 5 + years in senior leadership roles overseeing plant operations and teams.
• Demonstrated success leading operations where adherence to quality control is critical.
• Experience in regulated or highly disciplined manufacturing environments with strong traceability requirements. To include experience in Quality Control and Quality Assurance.
• Experience leading capital planning, reliability/maintenance strategies, and capacity expansion.
• Ability to lead, develop, and motivate teams while managing multiple priorities and tight timelines.
• Effective written and verbal communication and ability to facilitate effective team meetings and engage stakeholders.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office; comfortable with operating and capital budget preparation and strategic execution.