Director of Advanced Manufacturing

Director Of Advanced Manufacturing

Tract Capital adopts a unique approach to digital infrastructure investment. Leveraging experience and strategic insights honed over three decades of creating successful companies in the space, we excel in nurturing and advancing leading-edge digital infrastructure enterprises. Our team of specialized experts are united by a singular purpose: to support the growth of digital infrastructure. Tract Capital goes beyond simple investment by acting as a strategic partner and catalyst for innovation within the sector.

We ensure our engagements not only generate strong financial results but also develop essential digital infrastructure to meet growing demands.

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…