Director of Manufacturing Operations, California

California Manufacturing Operations Leadership – Dispatch Goods

Dispatch Goods is a female-founded industrial services startup on a mission to eliminate packaging waste through a circular supply chain, backed by top tier Silicon Valley investors and leadership talent coming from Google, UC Berkeley, Bain, Plenty, Lyft, IDEO, and others. We are scaling our California operations and seeking motivated leaders for our facilities in Hayward (currently operating) and Santa Ana (currently launching).

We are looking for a dynamic thinker and solution-driven leader who excels at outside-the-box thinking and thrives in a fast-paced, data-driven Series A stage startup environment.

This role requires a “doer and thinker” with prior multi-unit experience to manage operations across our California locations while maintaining rigorous quality standards and operational excellence, with a key focus on cost.

• Scrappy (like…actually scrappy) – resourceful, adaptable, and willing to roll up your sleeves to get things done
• Super relentless – driven to accomplish goals and see initiatives through to completion, no matter the obstacles
• Down-to-earth with high confidence, low ego – humble, approachable, and secure enough to admit when you don’t know something and learn from others
• Analytical – loves data-driven decision making and can balance analysis with decisive action in fast-paced environments
• Excellent at something – could be volleyball, chess, or biochemistry
• Mission-driven – passionate about our vision to reduce waste, and energized by the impact of your work

We cannot teach culture fit, scrappiness, relentless execution, or genuine care for our mission – we’re looking for leaders who already embody these qualities. For reference, our cultural values (which are more important than relevant experience) are:

• Ask the dumb question
• Act fast, learn faster
• Dig deep, make it happen

Commute:
Candidates must reside within driving distance of either our Hayward, CA operation or our Santa Ana, CA operation and have reilable transportation to travel locally

Travel:
This role requires the ability to travel ~two weeks per month to support operations at our other warehouse locations.

Depending on experience level, roles range from West Coast Director of Operations to West Coast Market Manager, focusing on the overall success of the California processing facilities.

You will own our facilities operations end-to-end across California—from labor management and scheduling to cost optimization, quality control, and process improvement. This is a hands‑on management role where you’ll spend time on the operations floor, identifying bottlenecks and driving scrappy solutions that move the needle.

• Team Leadership
  :
  Build, train, and coach high-performing warehouse teams while fostering an inclusive team culture.
• Daily Operations: Supervise associates to ensure daily processing goals are met, including dishwashing and cleaning processes. Review production forms and provide coaching to underperforming team members and build rewards/recognition for top performing team members. Ability to analyze the hurdles the team is facing to achieve production goals and build plans to help remove barriers and increase production.
• Financial & Strategic Management
  :
  Manage the market P&L, prepare monthly budgets, and identify areas for cost reduction across labor, supplies, and facilities. Own P&L responsibility and drive relentless cost optimization across labor, materials, and facility spend while maintaining quality standards.
• Operational Planning: Translate financial goals into operational plans, targets, and opportunities
• Quality & Safety: Enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and ensure all operations comply with safety, quality, and regulatory standards. Work within all QA documentation for each product line.
• Performance Tracking: Monitor and report on revenue captured, production metrics, and inventory to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Hands‑on Engagement: Actively monitor line performance and directly participate in production when necessary to ensure…