Director of Manufacturing
General Description
The Director of Manufacturing provides strategic and operational leadership for all manufacturing activities within a
dietary supplement and nutraceutical co-manufacturing environment. This position is accountable for overall
manufacturing performance, including safety, quality, service, cost, capacity, workforce capability, and continuous
improvement across multiple departments and shifts.
The Director of Manufacturing leads the manufacturing organization through production managers and department
leaders and is responsible for translating company strategy and customer requirements into effective plant-level
execution. This role partners closely with executive leadership, Quality, Supply Chain, Engineering, Maintenance,
R&D, Finance, Human Resources, and Commercial teams to ensure manufacturing operations support profitable
growth, customer satisfaction, regulatory compliance, and long-term business objectives.
The Director serves as a senior operational leader within the organization and is expected to build scalable
systems, develop strong manufacturing leadership, identify and eliminate operational constraints, and establish a
culture of accountability, safety, quality, and continuous improvement.
Duties and Responsibilities
Provide strategic leadership and direction for manufacturing operations across blending, encapsulation,
tableting, powder processing, packaging, sanitation, and other production-related functions.
Lead, develop, and hold accountable Senior Production Managers, Production Managers, department
leaders, and other manufacturing leadership personnel across multiple shifts.
Develop and execute the manufacturing strategy necessary to support company growth, customer
requirements, profitability, capacity expansion, and long-term operational objectives.
Establish annual and multi-year manufacturing objectives aligned with organizational goals, including
capacity, productivity, labor, quality, service, cost, and capital requirements.
Own overall manufacturing performance and ensure production plans are executed safely, efficiently,
compliantly, and in accordance with customer commitments.
Provide executive-level visibility into manufacturing performance, operational risks, capacity constraints,
resource requirements, and improvement opportunities.
Establish and maintain manufacturing KPIs and operating rhythms that drive accountability and data-based
decision-making throughout the manufacturing organization.
Drive performance improvements in OEE, throughput, labor efficiency, schedule attainment, downtime,
yield, scrap, changeover performance, and cost per unit.
Partner with Supply Chain and Planning leadership to align production capacity, labor availability, inventory,
customer demand, and production schedules.
Develop short- and long-term capacity strategies, including equipment utilization, shift structures, labor
models, outsourcing considerations, and capital investment requirements.
Partner with Finance to develop and manage manufacturing budgets, forecasts, labor plans, operating
expenses, and cost-reduction initiatives.
Identify manufacturing cost drivers and implement sustainable improvements that increase productivity and
improve plant profitability.
Ensure manufacturing operations comply with applicable cGMP requirements, FDA regulations, OSHA
requirements, NSF and SQF standards, internal quality systems, and customer-specific requirements.
Partner closely with Quality and Regulatory leadership to maintain inspection readiness and support
regulatory inspections, customer audits, investigations, deviations, corrective and preventive actions
(CAPAs), and quality improvement initiatives.
Ensure manufacturing leadership maintains appropriate documentation, process controls, training, line
clearance, sanitation, and operational discipline required within a regulated manufacturing environment.
Champion a strong safety culture and ensure manufacturing leaders proactively identify hazards, investigate
incidents, implement corrective actions, and continuously improve employee safety.
Provide leadership for Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement programs across
manufacturing operations.
Establish structured problem-solving and root-cause analysis processes to eliminate recurring operational
losses and improve manufacturing reliability.
Partner with Engineering and Maintenance to establish equipment reliability strategies, preventive
maintenance priorities, capital plans, automation opportunities, and facility improvement initiatives.
Develop and prioritize capital investment recommendations based on capacity requirements, operational
risk, return on investment, customer demand, and long-term business strategy.
Support the evaluation, selection, installation, qualification, and successful operational implementation of
new manufacturing equipment and technologies.
Partner with R&D, Quality, Commercial, and Supply Chain teams to ensure successful new product
introductions, technology transfers, process scale-up, customer onboarding, and commercialization
activities.
Ensure manufacturing readiness for new products by evaluating equipment capability, process
requirements, labor requirements, training, capacity, and operational risks prior to launch.
Build organizational capability by developing manufacturing leaders, establishing succession plans,
strengthening supervisory effectiveness, and creating clear career development pathways.
Evaluate organizational structure and staffing requirements to ensure manufacturing resources appropriately
support current operations and anticipated growth.
Establish clear performance expectations and accountability throughout the manufacturing organization.
Foster a high-performance culture centered on safety, quality, customer service, operational discipline,
continuous improvement, employee engagement, and accountability.
Lead significant manufacturing transformation and change-management initiatives as the organization
grows, introduces new technology, expands capacity, or modifies operating models.
Serve as a senior escalation point for significant manufacturing issues affecting customers, quality, safety,
production schedules, capacity, or financial performance.
Perform other duties and strategic operational assignments as required by executive leadership.
Required Skills and Qualifications
12+ years of progressive manufacturing and operations experience within dietary supplement, nutraceutical,
pharmaceutical, food, consumer packaged goods, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.
Minimum of 7 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including significant experience
leading managers and multi-department manufacturing organizations.
Demonstrated success leading complex, high-volume, multi-line and multi-shift manufacturing operations.
Strong knowledge of dietary supplement cGMP requirements and FDA-regulated manufacturing
environments.
Strong understanding of manufacturing quality systems, including deviations, investigations, CAPAs, change
controls, documentation practices, and audit readiness.
Demonstrated ability to develop and execute manufacturing strategies aligned with organizational growth
and financial objectives.
Strong financial and business acumen with experience developing budgets, managing labor costs,
controlling operating expenses, evaluating capital investments, and improving manufacturing profitability.
Proven ability to improve operational performance through Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Theory of
Constraints, or other structured continuous improvement methodologies.
Strong understanding of production planning, capacity planning, labor modeling, manufacturing scheduling,
and inventory management.
Demonstrated experience establishing and managing manufacturing KPIs and performance-management
systems.
Experience leading capital projects, equipment installations, manufacturing automation, and capacity
expansion initiatives.
Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with demonstrated ability to identify root causes and
implement sustainable corrective actions.
Proven ability to build, develop, and retain high-performing manufacturing leadership teams.
Excellent leadership, communication, organizational, interpersonal, and change-management skills.
Ability to effectively communicate manufacturing performance, risks, priorities, and recommendations to
executive leadership.
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, customer-focused contract manufacturing environment with
changing priorities and production requirements.
ERP/MRP system experience required.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Performance for the Director of Manufacturing may be measured against the following:
Plant throughput and overall capacity utilization
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
Production schedule attainment
On-Time In-Full (OTIF) delivery performance
Labor efficiency and productivity
Manufacturing cost per unit
Yield, scrap, rework, and material utilization
Equipment downtime and manufacturing reliability
Changeover time and line utilization
Manufacturing budget performance
Customer service and manufacturing-related customer escalations
Quality deviations and manufacturing-related CAPAs
Audit and regulatory compliance performance
Safety performance and incident reduction
Employee turnover, retention, and engagement
Leadership development and succession readiness
Continuous improvement savings and productivity gains
Capital project performance and return on investment
Preferred Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Business
Administration, or a related field required.
Master’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related discipline
preferred.
Lean Six Sigma certification or equivalent continuous improvement training preferred.
Experience within dietary supplement or nutraceutical contract manufacturing strongly preferred.
Experience overseeing manufacturing processes including blending, encapsulation, tableting, powder filling,
bottling, packaging, and sanitation preferred.
Experience with manufacturing automation, equipment modernization, facility expansion, and high-growth
manufacturing environments preferred.
Leadership Expectations
The Director of Manufacturing is expected to operate beyond the day-to-day management of production. This
position is responsible for building the systems, leadership capability, capacity, and operational discipline
necessary for the manufacturing organization to scale.
Success in this role requires balancing immediate production requirements with long-term operational strategy
while maintaining uncompromising standards for employee safety, product quality, regulatory compliance,
customer service, and financial performance.
The Director must be a visible and engaged leader on the manufacturing floor while also possessing the strategic
and financial capabilities necessary to influence executive-level decisions and the future direction of manufacturing
operations.
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
