Director of External Manufacturing

Gorilla Commerce is seeking a Director of External Manufacturing to serve as the company’s senior U.S.

-based leader responsible for production readiness, cost validation, and supplier execution across the product lifecycle.

This role sits at the critical intersection of Product Development and Sourcing — ensuring that product intent translates into manufacturable, cost-realistic, and scalable outcomes, and that suppliers ultimately deliver against those expectations.

As Gorilla scales its product portfolio and retail footprint, the need for tighter upstream production discipline has become a clear organizational priority. Too much cost problem-solving and production iteration currently sits downstream — with suppliers and in the sourcing process — rather than being resolved at the point of design and specification. This role is designed to shift that dynamic: building the internal capability, rigor, and decision quality needed to improve first-pass execution, reduce avoidable iteration cycles, and deliver products to market at the right cost, quality, and speed.

We’re a leading e-commerce company focused on creating high-quality, affordable products that make everyday life easier.

Headquartered in Norwalk, CT, Gorilla Commerce is a Top 10 Amazon U.S. seller with rapid growth and expanding into an omnichannel presence.

Known for our flagship brand, Gorilla Grip, we combine creativity with data-driven insights to deliver obsession-worthy products.

Fast-paced, collaborative, and customer-focused environment where innovation and growth thrive.

We’re a rapidly growing e-commerce company with ambitious plans to expand our reach and evolve into a true omnichannel business.

• Production Ownership & Cost Validation
• Own U.S.
  
  -side production readiness across new product development, supplier transitions, and retail programs — from brief to build-ready.
• Validate product specifications for manufacturability, completeness, and cost feasibility before they enter the sourcing and manufacturing process.
• Translate product concepts and design intent into executable manufacturing plans, defining materials, construction, tolerances, process requirements, and packaging with the precision required for first-pass supplier execution.
• Develop and own should-cost frameworks — including BOM breakdowns, labor and process assumptions, and packaging cost structures — to ensure cost realism upstream and reduce gaps at the negotiation stage.
• Pressure-test manufacturability early, identifying technical risks, cost implications, and required decisions before supplier engagement begins.
• Cost Engineering & Margin Delivery
• Partner with Product Development to validate design-to-cost assumptions, ensuring that design choices are grounded in production and cost reality.
• Drive tradeoffs when design intent conflicts with cost targets, manufacturability, or scalability — bringing structured recommendations rather than open questions.
• Shape cost upstream through material selection, design simplification, process optimization, and packaging engineering — before positions harden in the sourcing process.
• Provide Sourcing with clear, structured cost targets and detailed cost breakdowns to enable sharper negotiation and more effective supplier dialogue.

Accountability model:
Product Development defines target cost intent. This role validates cost feasibility and shapes cost upstream. Sourcing owns final cost execution and delivery with suppliers.

• External Manufacturing Capability & Supplier Strategy
• Build and manage a North America external manufacturing ecosystem spanning finishing, packaging, display, and value-add operations.
• Evaluate suppliers based on technical capability, process maturity, cost structure, and scalability — with a view toward long-term partnership, not transactional fit.
• Lead supplier onboarding with a focus on production readiness, quality execution, and mutual accountability.
• Support supplier selection decisions where manufacturing capability and cost feasibility are the primary determinants of fit.
• Provide strategic direction and operational…