Director of Manufacturing

Role Summary

The Director of Manufacturing is responsible for overseeing and optimizing manufacturing operations for reagents at our Minneapolis headquarters. The site serves as our corporate headquarters and future Reagents Focused Factory, where we manufacture and ship recombinant proteins, antibodies, ELISA kits, Luminex assays, cell culture media, and other products used in academic research, bio-pharma drug discovery, quality control, and more. You will lead and execute strategies to meet the demand of high-mix product lines, including ELISA kits, Luminex assays, and other protein analysis products, while developing a strong team, driving operational excellence, and managing capital and operating budgets. Success requires delivering on safety, quality, delivery, and cost metrics with urgency and discipline, collaborating across Quality, Planning, Supply Chain, and Engineering.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operations for protein analysis reagent manufacturing, including bottling, labeling, and final kit packaging across multiple product lines.
• Partner across functions to streamline processes, reduce variability, and improve delivery performance.
• Build and coach a high-performing team focused on accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Bring structure and discipline to operations—leveraging SOPs, KPIs, tier meetings, and visual management systems.
• Champion process improvements using lean manufacturing or other data-driven methodologies.
• Manage capacity planning, budgeting, and staffing to support growth and operational scale.
• Ensure compliance with internal quality systems and applicable industry standards (ISO 9001, ISO 13485).
• Collaborate with leadership on strategy, infrastructure planning, and organizational priorities.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of leadership experience in manufacturing operations, ideally within biotech, life sciences, or similarly complex environments
• Strong understanding of downstream processing, with exposure to automation preferred
• Proven ability to lead and grow diverse operations teams while fostering a high-performance, engaged culture
• Demonstrated success in attracting, developing, and retaining top talent
• Skilled in operational systems, production metrics, and structured problem-solving, with experience managing multiple complex product lines
• Track record of driving continuous improvement through KPIs and data-driven decision making
• Experience leading in regulated settings (RUO; IVD or GMP exposure is a plus)
• Financial acumen in budgeting, expense management, and forecasting
• History of successfully introducing new technologies into manufacturing and scaling processes effectively
• Comfortable managing change and guiding cultural evolution within dynamic organizations
• Strong communicator with high integrity, emotional intelligence, and a collaborative, cross-functional mindset
• Excellent project management, organizational, and change leadership skills

Education

• Bachelor's degree required (engineering, chemistry, biology, or business preferred); Advanced degree or MBA is a plus.