Pilot Plant Operations Leader — Scale-Up & Process Excellence

Ultimate Staffing; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Onsite in Durham, NC

100% onsite position

Career growth opportunities

Job summary

Ultimate Staffing in Durham, NC seeks a Pilot Facility Operations Manager to lead end-to-end pilot-scale manufacturing for advanced materials, bridging R&D and full-scale production. You will oversee production planning, material delivery, safety, and compliance while driving continuous improvement.

This hands-on leader partners with engineering, quality, EHS, and commercial teams to translate research into repeatable, scalable workflows, optimize yield and throughput, and maintain rigorous

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline (materials science, chemical, mechanical, or metallurgy).
• 5+ years in advanced materials, pilot production or process development.
• Experience leading manufacturing teams with safety and execution responsibility.
• Experience scaling from development to production.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily pilot manufacturing operations from production planning through material delivery.
• Ensure safe, reliable, and on-time execution of production and testing plans.
• Monitor operational performance and proactively resolve issues impacting production goals.
• Translate R&D processes into robust pilot-scale workflows; lead process optimization and continuous improvement.
• Oversee raw materials, WIP, and finished goods; coordinate material staging and inventory control.
• Develop and maintain SOPs, work instructions, and KPI tracking; manage schedules, resources, and equipment readiness.

Skills

Leadership

Operations management

Process engineering

KPI management

Cross-functional collaboration

Safety compliance

Problem solving

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Materials Science/Engineering/Metallurgy

Job description

Ultimate Staffing in Durham, NC seeks a Pilot Facility Operations Manager to lead end-to-end pilot-scale manufacturing for advanced materials, bridging R&D and full-scale production. You will oversee production planning, material delivery, safety, and compliance while driving continuous improvement.

This hands-on leader partners with engineering, quality, EHS, and commercial teams to translate research into repeatable, scalable workflows, optimize yield and throughput, and maintain rigorous