Production Manager in Durham

The Production Manager is the single accountable leader for Sennos’s manufacturing floor — owning the people, processes, and systems required to deliver product on time, to spec, and at scale. This role sits at the intersection of engineering, operations, and sales, requiring strong cross-functional communication and the ability to translate commitments into executable production plans. The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who drives decisions with data, builds structure in ambiguous environments, and holds a high bar for quality and operational discipline. This is an ownership role: if something is broken, you fix it.

Responsibilities

• Team Leadership
  • Lead a cross-functional production team across assembly, test, calibration, and QC.
  • Hire, develop, and retain production technicians, leads, and operators as headcount scales.
  • Plan and execute temporary staff augmentation for peak production periods.
• Production Operations
  • Own daily production output and inventory status (fully built hardware & parts).
  • Track throughput, yield, and on-time delivery against committed schedules.
  • Establish and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for every stage of manufacturing.
  • Maintain clear escalation paths so blockers are surfaced fast and resolved without bureaucracy.
• Process Improvement & Quality
  • Map end-to-end production flow, drive root-cause analysis on yield losses and escapes, and implement corrective actions on bottlenecks and rework hot spots.
  • Implement measurement systems to track process capability and drive ongoing improvements in build time, material waste, and labour efficiency.
  • Partner with engineering to make products easier to build.
  • Ensure production meets quality, regulatory, and customer requirements; maintain traceability records, inspection documentation, and production travelers.
• Planning & Scheduling
  • Translate sales forecasts and customer commitments into a master production schedule; proactively identify and communicate capacity constraints before commitments are made.
  • Establish regular cadences to keep production, sales, and finance aligned on plan vs. actuals.
• Supply Chain & Inventory
  • Partner with procurement to qualify suppliers, manage lead times, build buffers, and ensure component availability.
  • Own finished goods inventory accuracy; reduce excess and obsolete inventory.
  • Hold suppliers accountable when incoming material quality misses spec.
• Scaling & Infrastructure
  • Build production infrastructure needed to 10x volume.
  • Lead establishment of contract manufacturing relationships for mature components.
  • Identify and deploy the right MES, ERP, or production tracking tools; define metrics and systems to sustain quality and throughput at scale.
  • Work with operations to plan updates to and expansion of physical manufacturing and inventory space.
• Financial Visibility
  • Track and report current production and service costs (material and labour) to CFO.
  • Forecast changes to production and service costs.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field; equivalent experience considered.
• Experience: 5+ years of production or manufacturing management in a hardware or high-tech environment. Track record of building or scaling a production operation, not just running steady-state. Experience with complex, multi-step electromechanical or precision assembly processes. Expertise with lean manufacturing, six sigma, or equivalent continuous improvement frameworks. Strong ability to read and communicate production data (yield, OEE, cycle time, capacity utilization) from executive level to the broader organisation. Direct experience coordinating production schedules with sales or customer-facing teams.
• Skills: Production planning and scheduling. Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement (Six Sigma, Kaizen, 5S). Cross-functional communication and stakeholder management. Data-driven decision-making and production reporting. Hands-on floor leadership with bias for action.
• Certifications/Licenses: No specific certifications required; Six Sigma Green/Black Belt or equivalent a plus.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in fermentation, biotech, industrial sensing, or adjacent hardware-intensive industries.
• Familiarity with MES, ERP, or production tracking systems (e.g., NetSuite, SAP, Tulip).
• Experience establishing contract manufacturing relationships.
• Exposure to regulated manufacturing environments (ISO, FDA, CE).

Physical Requirements and Work Environment

• This role is primarily production floor-based with regular time in manufacturing and lab environments.
• Ability to lift up to 40 pounds.
• Ability to stand for extended periods and navigate an active production floor.
• Occasional travel to suppliers or contract manufacturing partners.

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of the position and is not an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities, or working conditions associated with it. Responsibilities may change according to business needs.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Sennos is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Please Note

Applicants must be permanently authorized to work for ANY employer in the United States. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

Recruitment Agency Notice: We do not accept unsolicited candidate submissions. We only work with recruitment agencies that have a signed agreement with our HR team. Unsolicited resumes will not incur any fee obligation.