Director of Manufacturing

The Company

Halo Industries has invented a revolutionary technology to replace a decades-old semiconductor material slicing process. Our laser-based technology eliminates waste, improves material cost and performance, and drives advancements in high-growth markets like automotive, telecommunications, and power electronics. Founded in 2014 at Stanford University, Halo secured significant funding in 2024 and is poised for rapid growth, engaging strategic customers and preparing for volume manufacturing.

The Opportunity

The Director of Manufacturing is a critical leadership role responsible for qualifying new product designs and executing the strategic vision for all manufacturing-related research, process innovation, and technology development. This role ensures the successful rapid transition of new products from R&D into stable and well-documented production state for future volume transfer, while managing the inherent complexity of frequent engineering changes and qualification lots on the pilot line.

The Director will lead and mentor a team of manufacturing personnel, manage a significant budget, and collaborate closely with cross-functional executive teams including Product Development, Operations, and Quality.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and Vision

• Define and champion the long-term strategic roadmap for manufacturing technology and process innovation, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives and product pipeline.

• Identify Emerging Technologies:
Research, evaluate, and implement cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, automation.

Process Development and Optimization

• R&D/Engineering Partnership:
Serve as the primary manufacturing liaison, establishing and maintaining a strong partnership with R&D and Design Engineering to ensure new product designs are robust, scalable, and optimized for manufacturing transfer.

• Oversee and guide the seamless transfer of new product and process technologies from the R&D lab environment to full-scale internal manufacturing.

• Prioritization and Change Management:
Own daily prioritization for the Santa Clara line, rapidly allocating resources to manage conflicting demands from engineering changes (ECs), new products and processes, and qualification runs.

• Continuous Improvement:
Lead and implement Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement methodologies across all production processes to reduce waste, increase throughput, and lower unit costs.

• Ensure all new and modified manufacturing processes are rigorously documented and validated according to regulatory and quality standards (ISO).

Leadership and Management

• Team Leadership:
Lead, mentor, and develop a high-urgency, rapidly changing NPI environment, promoting a culture of rapid problem-solving and documentation.

• Develop, justify, and manage the annual budget for manufacturing initiatives, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within scope.

• Act as a key partner to Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Product Development to ensure cohesive execution from concept to commercialization.

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Engineering (e.g., Manufacturing, Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial) or a related technical field.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in Manufacturing, R&D, or Process Engineering, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership/Director role.

• Proven track record of successfully bringing new products and processes from the pilot stage to high-volume commercial production.

• Extensive experience in high-speed assembly, transferring new processes/products from R&D to Pilot/Volume Production, advanced material processing.

Preferred Qualifications

• Exceptional strategic thinking with the ability to translate technical opportunities into business value, while executing tactically in a highly dynamic environment.

• Deep expertise in Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and advanced quality methodologies, with a strong emphasis on root cause analysis and rapid yield/process maturity ramp-up (e.g., Six Sigma Black Belt certification is a plus).

• Strong financial acumen to manage capital projects (Cap Ex) and operating budgets (OpEx).

• Excellent…