Job Details

Director of Manufacturing Role | Start-up Cosmetics, Wellness, Personal Care Products Company

My client is seeking a hands-on, strategic manufacturing leader to architect and scale a novel production system from the ground up. In this high-impact role, you'll convert an ambitious, technically complex concept into real-world, high-volume production—building a cohesive global supply chain to deliver a category-defining product at scale.

Working closely with the Founder and the R&D and science team, you'll take ownership of the full manufacturing journey—from early prototypes to commercial readiness. You'll lead sourcing and partnerships with contract manufacturers, optimize for manufacturability, establish quality processes, and troubleshoot technical and operational roadblocks as they emerge.

Success in this role requires more than just experience—you need to thrive in ambiguity, move fast without a predefined playbook, and bring a bias toward action. This is a fit for someone with deep manufacturing experience, ideally in hardware or consumer products, who's comfortable operating across time zones, managing international vendor relationships, and wearing both strategic and tactical hats.

This San Francisco–based position involves frequent travel and tight coordination with partners around the world. Candidates must be LOCAL to the greater San Francisco area OR are willing to relocate to the region as there are 1-2 days a week of mandatory onsite time as a team.

Key Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in manufacturing or operations leadership
• Proven ability to scale physical products from prototype to production (0 to 1)
• Strong experience working with U.S.-based contract manufacturers and vendors
• Skilled at solving production challenges and optimizing processes in real-time
• Strong communicator with a low-ego, high-ownership mindset
• Comfortable working on-site and collaborating across time zones
• Willingness to travel regularly, including international travel (1x/month max)
• Authorized to work in the U.S.

Preferred Experience

• Background in consumer durables, cosmetics, health & wellness, vitamins & supplements; open to medical device & biotech (must have experience developing a consumer durable)
• Familiarity with direct-to-consumer supply chains, including 3PLs and co-packers
• Knowledge of Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and regulated product standards
• Understanding of material behaviors (e.g., polymers, adhesives, biologics)
• Experience with high-throughput production, especially of ingestible products
• Exposure to sterilization methods (e.g., gamma, e-beam, autoclave)
• Ability to build and manage quality systems (e.g., cGMP, FDA compliance)