Production Operations Manager

TerraClear applies artificial intelligence, robotics, and world-class mechanical design to solve some of the most data deficient and labor intensive jobs on the farm. These technologies are rapidly transforming agricultural intelligence, allowing farmers to make faster and more informed decisions that translate into highly precise actions and more productive farms. Our first application solved one of the most disliked tasks on the farm: clearing rocks. The annual emergence of news rocks impacts nearly half of farms in North America, slowing farming, damaging equipment, and causing downtime during seeding and harvesting. Solving this problem frees farmers to focus on higher-value tasks and brings their operations into a new era of farming. Leveraging our commercial success in rocks, we are now expanding our core technologies to new farm applications including the precise management of weeds, pests, disease and overall plant health. Our team is tight-knit and believes in the power of teamwork. We value learning directly from the farmers we serve, getting our hands dirty, and tackling tough challenges together. You will thrive at TerraClear with a positive attitude, a collaborative mindset, a healthy dose of grit and a passion for solving real-world problems. We’re looking for a Production Operations Manager to lead post-flight processing, quality control, and delivery of TerraClear’s map products. Our commitment is to provide farmers with high-quality maps by the day after image capture—and you’ll be accountable for the operational metrics that make that possible. In this role, you’ll work closely with our Flight Operations team as a critical link in the production chain, ensuring accurate, reliable map products move quickly from captured imagery to our farmer customers. This is a highly hands-on leadership role. You’ll manage a small team of specialists as well as seasonal processing technicians, providing day-to-day direction while building the capabilities needed to scale. You’ll develop and execute seasonal operating plans, strengthen the tools, processes, and systems that support production, and work alongside your team to consistently deliver at a high level. In this role, you will: Own on-time, high-quality map deliveryOwn delivery of maps next day after image capture, at quality standardOversee a team that runs 24/7 in-season Develop, report, and improve turnaround and quality metricsWork with each shift to prioritize and strategically clear daily order queuesTriage and rapidly resolve pipeline errors and order issuesDeliver Sales and Customer Success reliable order statuses and delivery datesImprove the production pipelineTroubleshoot and drive recurring failures to a permanent fix with Product and Engineering teamsIdentify and implement process improvements and automation to raise throughput per shift and per personCoordinate with Flight Operations on image capture quality, timing, and handoff protocolImplement field and customer feedback into the production operations processLead and staff the Production Operations teamManage the production operations specialists, including weekly 1:1s, goal setting, and performance feedbackRecruit, onboard, and train seasonal processing techs (approximately 3 in fall, 9 in spring, every year)Plan seasonal shift coverage alongside production operations specialistsWrite and maintain process documentation, SOPs, and training materialsPlan capacity for the seasonBuild seasonal capacity plan and communicate required budget, staffing, and infrastructureRepresent production operations in quarterly and annual planning cyclesBring new map products into commercial productionDefine process, quality control protocol, and training regimen for new map productsPartner with Flight Operations, Product, and Engineering to implement processes that will scale commercially with growth of new products What we're looking for: Required3+ years managing/operating a production, fulfillment, processing, or data-operations function with a daily throughput or turnaround commitmentExperience owning, creating and planning shift schedulesA track record of building processes, executing them, and owning responsibility of metrics of successExperience managing a small team, including recruiting and training seasonal or temporary staffHands-on technical expertise: Windows environments, troubleshooting software and server error messages, and building tracking and reporting in Google SheetsExperience writing SOPs, and training materials,, developing metrics, and capacity planningStrong attention to detail, and the organizational discipline to hold a quality bar under time pressureDirect, clear communication that leads to action, with customer-facing teams as well as your ownComfort in a fast-paced startup where process is built rather than inheritedDesiredExposure to agriculture, geospatial or remote sensing work, drone imagery, or GISExperience scaling an operation through a step change in volume, or standing up a new product line in an existing operationFamiliarity and comfort discussing technology (AI, software, automation)Bachelor's degree in operations management, business, engineering, geospatial science, or a related field Location: U.S. remote based is an option Base salary pay range: $120-140k USD We offer competitive compensation and benefits to our full-time regular employees, including: Pre-IPO stock options (tax-advantaged ISOs)Competitive base salaryMedical, dental, and vision insurance - 100% of premiums paid for employees and 85% of premiums paid for dependentsGenerous paid time off and holidays 401(k) PlanAn inclusive and tight company culture that is mission driven If you’re excited about TerraClear, fit the above qualifications and are passionate about solving hard problems, please apply now! TerraClear is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to fostering an inclusive culture with extraordinary employees. We provide employment opportunities without regard to any legally protected status. If there are preparations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please let us know.