Chief Operating Officer - Nutraceutical Contract Manufacturing

Chief Operating Officer

The Chief Operating Officer will own and strengthen the operating system across both manufacturing facilities. This executive will convert available capacity into reliable, compliant, and profitable output by improving scheduling, throughput, accountability, cross-functional coordination, and management discipline.

This is a highly visible, floor-facing role for a hands-on operator who can establish structure without creating unnecessary bureaucracy. The COO will reduce dependence on founder-led daily decision-making by implementing repeatable operating rhythms, clear decision rights, effective escalation paths, and stronger accountability.

The Vice President of Operations will report to the COO and continue to lead day-to-day plant execution. The COO will own the broader operating system, cross-functional alignment, organizational development, and scaling discipline.

Operating Leadership

• Own the daily and weekly operating cadence across both facilities.
• Establish disciplined production, scheduling, constraint-management, and issue-resolution processes.
• Ensure plant priorities reflect customer commitments, labor availability, materials, Quality release timing, and actual capacity.
• Improve batch planning, changeover discipline, and schedule reliability.
• Establish clear operating rules for escalation, staffing, equipment needs, and schedule changes.

Manufacturing and Throughput

• Stabilize operations across powders, capsules, tablets, gummies, liquids, bottling, packaging, and warehousing.
• Identify and address production bottlenecks without compromising cGMP compliance, traceability, cleaning, or product quality.
• Coordinate labor, staging, materials, and packaging around the highest-priority constraints.
• Use operational evidence to determine when additional staffing, automation, or capital investment is justified.
• Convert existing capacity into increased output and profitable revenue growth.

Cross-Functional Execution

• Build clear handoffs among Operations, Planning, Quality, Engineering, Procurement, Warehouse, Account Management, Sales, and ownership.
• Translate new business and product launches into realistic labor, material, capacity, production, and release plans.
• Establish clear accountability and escalation paths for cross-functional issues.
• Align customer commitments, production efficiency, Quality release flow, and capacity allocation within one operating process.

Quality and Compliance

• Operate effectively within a dietary supplement cGMP manufacturing environment.
• Respect the Quality unit's independent authority over compliance and product release.
• Build production plans around batch records, quarantine controls, cleaning requirements, traceability, work-in-process management, and release timing.
• Ensure throughput improvements do not create compliance, documentation, inventory-control, or audit risk.

People and Organizational Development

• Lead and develop the Vice President of Operations, planning, site leadership, supervisors, leads, and operational support functions.
• Clarify accountability and decision-making throughout the organization.
• Develop managers and supervisors who can independently lead their functions.
• Help define and sequence future operations leadership hires.
• Establish consistent performance-management and accountability practices.

Systems and Metrics

• Use ERP data, scheduling tools, production trackers, and floor-level evidence to manage the business.
• Establish practical metrics covering schedule reliability, throughput, labor utilization, inventory readiness, Quality release flow, and issue closure.
• Use data to identify constraints early and improve decision-making.
• Partner with ownership and Engineering to prioritize automation and capital projects based on demonstrated operational needs.

First-Year Priorities

• Reducing founder involvement in routine operating decisions
• Installing a consistent daily and weekly management rhythm
• Stabilizing execution across both facilities
• Improving visibility into capacity constraints and production bottlenecks
• Strengthening coordination among Production, Quality, Planning, Procurement, Warehouse, and Engineering
• Improving schedule reliability and Quality release planning
• Clarifying leadership responsibilities and escalation paths
• Making staffing and capital decisions based on measurable evidence
• Converting available capacity into reliable and profitable growth

Ideal Candidate

Required Qualifications

• Hands-on plant operations leadership experience in a regulated manufacturing environment
• Experience in dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, food, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, or another cGMP-regulated industry
• Strong understanding of batch records, Quality release, quarantine, cleaning, changeovers, traceability, and audit-ready processes
• Experience leading multi-line, labor-sensitive manufacturing operations
• Demonstrated success improving scheduling, throughput, cross-functional handoffs, and operating discipline
• Experience managing managers,…