Manufacturing Transfer Program Lead

Advantest America; Lake Forest (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Advantest America is seeking a Manufacturing Transfer Program Lead to plan and execute the transfer of new product lines from internal manufacturing to contract manufacturers in Malaysia. This role serves as the primary program leader at the US host factory to ensure a seamless transition from prototype and pilot production into high‑volume manufacturing.

You will lead cross‑functional teams across engineering, supply chain, quality, procurement, operations, and contract manufacturing to

Qualifications

• Lead cross-functional teams across engineering, supply chain, quality, procurement, operations, and contract manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Lead all phases of product transfer from internal manufacturing to contract manufacturing.
• Develop and execute detailed transfer plans, schedules, resource plans, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Coordinate prototype builds, pilot runs, first article builds, qualification activities, and volume ramp.
• Establish inventory strategies, logistics flows, and supplier readiness in Malaysia.
• Ensure manufacturing processes meet quality standards and customer requirements.
• Provide regular status updates to executive leadership and cross-border stakeholders.

Skills

Project leadership

Cross-functional coordination

Manufacturing transfer

Program governance

Job description

Manufacturing Transfer Program Lead

The Manufacturing Transfer Program Lead will be responsible for planning, leading, and executing the transfer of new product lines from internal manufacturing operations to contract manufacturing partners in Malaysia. This role serves as the primary program leader responsible at the host factory in the US for ensuring a seamless transition from prototype and pilot production into high-volume manufacturing to a CM in Malaysia while meeting cost, quality, delivery, and customer requirements. The successful candidate will lead cross-functional teams across engineering, supply chain, quality, procurement, operations, and contract manufacturing organizations to establish scalable manufacturing capabilities and supply chain readiness in Malaysia. This Project Lead will have an equivalent person leading the effort in Malaysia to ensure both the current and future locations for manufacturing and the associated project plan are executed seamlessly.

Key Responsibilities:

Program Leadership

• Serve as the overall program manager for manufacturing transfer activities.
• Develop and execute detailed transfer plans, schedules, resource plans, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Lead cross-functional teams across Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Procurement, and Contract Manufacturing.
• Drive program reviews, executive updates, milestone tracking, and issue resolution.
• Escalate critical risks and develop recovery plans when necessary.
• Ensure transfer milestones are completed on schedule and within budget.

Contract Manufacturer Management

• Act as the primary interface between ATS and the contract manufacturer.
• Establish and manage operational governance with CM leadership.
• Ensure manufacturing processes, documentation, work instructions, test procedures, and training programs are fully implemented.
• Monitor CM readiness, capacity, quality performance, and delivery metrics.
• Drive accountability for CM execution and continuous improvement activities.

Manufacturing Transfer Execution

• Lead all phases of product transfer from internal manufacturing to contract manufacturing.
• Coordinate prototype builds, pilot runs, first article builds, qualification activities, and volume ramp.
• Ensure manufacturing equipment, tooling, fixtures, test systems, and materials are available and qualified.
• Manage transfer checkpoints and ensure completion of all deliverables prior to production release.
• Validate production readiness before volume shipment authorization.
• Lead the interaction with the R&D team to ensure the product stability and readiness before the transfer and works with the marketing and customer team to make sure we have a monthly forecast, etc.

Supply Chain & Operations Readiness

• Coordinate sourcing, procurement, inventory transfer, and supplier readiness activities.
• Ensure material availability to support pilot builds and production ramp schedules.
• Establish inventory strategies, logistics flows, and service support models in Malaysia.
• Partner with Procurement to identify cost reduction opportunities and localization strategies.

Quality & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure manufacturing processes meet company quality standards and customer requirements.
• Drive process validation, yield improvement, and corrective action activities.
• Establish KPI dashboards covering:
  • On-Time Delivery
  • First Pass Yield
  • Product Quality
  • Cost Performance
  • Capacity Utilization
• Lead audits, qualifications, and customer manufacturing assessments as required.

Stakeholder & Executive Communication

• Provide regular status updates to executive leadership.
• Coordinate communication across global stakeholders in North America, Asia, and Europe.
• Maintain project documentation, action registers, risk logs, and program trackers.
• Facilitate milestone reviews and decision-making forums.
• All other duties as assigned.