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.
- 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. This role requires strong strategic judgment, operational rigor, and the ability to shape the long-term manufacturing model of a rapidly growing digital infrastructure business.
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.
Tract Capital is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants are considered for employment regardless of age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status. If you need assistance applying for any of our open positions, please contact us at
info@tract.com
.