Head of Manufacturing Ops — Scale a Rugged Hardware Factory

Orchard; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Job summary

Orchard is seeking a Director of Manufacturing Operations & Factory to design, launch, and run its San Francisco factory. This hands-on role owns production, capacity planning, technician training, procurement, inventory, and quality, partnering with Hardware Engineering on DFx and BOMs.

You will report to the CEO and drive safety, throughput, and cost metrics as the company scales its rugged, field-deployed hardware offerings.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of experience in manufacturing engineering, manufacturing operations, production, or related hardware field.
• Experience building or scaling production for complex electromechanical products.
• Comfortable leading technicians while remaining hands-on with assembly, tooling, inventory, and production processes.
• Experience with procurement, suppliers, inventory, BOMs, production planning, and ERP/MRP systems.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing quality, documentation, process control, and root-cause analysis.
• Hands-on mechanical and electrical intuition, and willingness to do whatever it takes to deliver.
• High agency and proactive: identify risks early, solve problems directly, and build systems that prevent them from recurring.
• Low ego, highly organized, and able to manage many moving pieces without losing attention to detail.
• High standards for safety, quality, documentation, and delivery.
• Experience with rugged electronics, robotics, automotive, industrial equipment, or other field-deployed hardware is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, launch, and run Orchard’s SF factory and production lines.
• Own production readiness with BOMs, design-for-manufacturing improvements.
• Lead electromechanical assembly technicians and manage training.
• Own supply chain and inventory, manage suppliers and lead times.
• Establish QA, tracing, and documentation throughout production.
• Monitor KPIs like throughput, first-pass yield, and cost.
• Deliver finished systems ready for deployment to Operations.

Skills

Manufacturing leadership

Hands-on

Process improvement

Project management

ERP/MRP familiarity

Root-cause analysis

Safety compliance

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

Orchard is seeking a Director of Manufacturing Operations & Factory to design, launch, and run its San Francisco factory. This hands-on role owns production, capacity planning, technician training, procurement, inventory, and quality, partnering with Hardware Engineering on DFx and BOMs.

You will report to the CEO and drive safety, throughput, and cost metrics as the company scales its rugged, field-deployed hardware offerings.