Contract Manufacturing Manager (Durham, NC, MY, 27703)

Penguin Computing; North Carolina; On-site; USD 60,000 - 89,000; Full time

Job summary

Cree LED, a Penguin Solutions brand, seeks a Contract Manufacturing Manager to lead global CM partners, drive cost-effective, high-quality production, and optimize site performance. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, manage supplier performance, and guide improvements across multiple sites, including international plant transfers.

The role requires strong leadership, supplier management, and experience in semiconductor fabrication and packaging, with willingness to travel

Qualifications

• BS in Engineering.
• Experience with semiconductor wafer fabrication and packaging.
• Strong analytical background with understanding of core statistical techniques.
• Be willing and able to travel internationally.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy, execution, and performance management of global contract manufacturing partners to ensure reliable, cost-effective production.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to monitor product performance across sites.
• Oversee product transfers and site qualifications, ensuring performance targets are met.
• Manage supplier performance through KPIs, scorecards, and reviews.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and operational excellence across CM sites.
• Develop and execute process and product improvement projects to enhance performance-cost roadmaps.

Skills

Semiconductor fabrication

Data analysis

Cross-functional communication

Willing to travel internationally

Education

BS in Engineering

Tools

SQL

JMP

MS Access

Job description

Cree LED, a Penguin Solutions brand, offers one of the industry’s broadest portfolios of application-optimized LED chips and components, leading the industry in performance and reliability. With more than 35 years of innovation, our strong IP portfolio and unique business model ensures supply chain continuity. We deliver best-in-class technology and breakthrough solutions for focused applications in high power and mid-power general lighting, horticulture, specialty lighting and video screens. For more information, visit cree-led.com.

Job Overview

The Contract Manufacturing Manager is responsible for leading the strategy, execution, and performance management of global contract manufacturing partners to ensure reliable, cost-effective, and high-quality production. This role focuses on establishing and scaling production at new manufacturing sites while optimizing existing partner operations to drive improvements in quality, yield, cost, delivery, and customer satisfaction. The position serves as the primary interface between internal cross-functional teams and external manufacturing partners, ensuring alignment to business objectives and demand requirements. Success in this role requires strong leadership, supplier management, and operational expertise to deliver sustainable growth and best-in-class manufacturing performance.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for management of multiple outsourced LED contract manufacturing chip and packaging partners.
• Work with a cross-functional contract manufacturing team to create a unified product performance monitoring process across multiple contract manufacturer sites.
• Oversee product transfers and site qualifications ensuring performance targets are met.
• Manage supplier performance through KPIs, scorecards, and reviews.
• Drive operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead cross-functional alignment between internal teams and external partners.
• Develop and execute process and product improvement projects to push the performance-cost roadmaps.
• Work with planning and procurement to align demand and factory capabilities.
• Own supplier quality and customer satisfaction outcomes.
• Drive data-based decision-making using manufacturing analytics.
• Ensure change management and qualification processes are documented.
• Coordinate equipment readiness and production ramp-up.
• Establish monitoring and escalation processes.
• Communicate performance, risks, and status to leadership.
• Work closely with quality on Supplier and Customer CAPA.
• Track CMs KPI
• Train with the Asia LED and US LED engineers on systems, attend weekly staff meetings
• Hold external weekly CM meetings for Malaysia & China
• Hold internal weekly CMM meetings with US/Asia team
• Integrate with internal quality team to understand how they work together within the CMM team and how the SQE's support your CM's and you as a CMM
• Travel to global manufacturing sites have passport / Visa in place for international travel as needed.

Qualifications

• BS in Engineering.
• Experience with semiconductor wafer fabrication and packaging processes.
• Strong analytical background with understanding of core statistical techniques.
• Ability to interface with people of different backgrounds and at every level of the organization.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong drive to produce results in a timely fashion and have strong sense of competitive urgency.
• Be willing and able to travel internationally.
• Ability to multitask effectively.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with off-site factory support
• Chip to component manufacturing experience
• Component to board / SMT experience
• 5+ years recent experience as a Product/Process/Quality Engineer in a semiconductor environment
• Strong track record of effective problem-solving, good engineering judgment and decision-making skills
• Strong self-motivation and project management experience.
• MS or Ph.D. in Electrical, Chemical, Materials Science, or Mechanical Engineering.
• Experience with SQL, JMP, MS Access, etc.
• Experience at identifying patterns and defect clusters in manufacturing data.
• Experience at failure analysis and understanding of typical failure analysis techniques (SEM, EDS, FIB, Auger, etc.)
• Able to communicate and read in Mandarin is a plus

Location

This role is based in Penang, Malaysia.

Travel

20%