Director, Manufacturing Operations, MN

This role is responsible for translating innovative R&D into reliable, high-quality, and scalable commercial production across both cosmetic and medical device products. You will lead the build-out of Panther's manufacturing strategy, serving as the bridge between internal development teams and external CMO partners. You will define how manufacturing operates at Panther, from selecting and standing up partners, to leading technology transfer, to building the systems that allow us to scale from thousands to millions of units.

This is not a maintenance role. You will be building the manufacturing function from scratch. Your work will directly impact product availability, customer experience, and the company's ability to grow. You will work closely with the leadership team and cross-functional team members in formulation, device development, and quality to establish a manufacturing engine that supports both near-term commercial goals and long-term platform expansion.

Responsibilities

CDMO & Manufacturing Operations

• Serve as the primary relationship owner and day-to-day point of contact for CMO partners
• Lead technology transfer from R&D to clinical and commercial manufacturing
• Oversee late-stage clinical and commercial production across product lines
• Drive manufacturing performance metrics including yield, throughput, and product quality
• Support CMO selection and onboarding, including process validation and scale-up
• Build and manage supply chain, logistics, fulfillment, and inventory operations
• Own material sourcing and supplier relationships
• Identify critical dependencies and build supplier redundancy to mitigate risk

Scaling, Systems & Financial Planning

• Build the manufacturing line from the ground up with a path from ~10K to ~1M units per month
• Drive automation, process optimization, and line redesign as production scales
• Own manufacturing cost modeling and financial planning (FP&A) for operations
• Develop sourcing strategy and budget frameworks in partnership with finance and leadership
• Establish systems and processes to support future team growth and internal manufacturing capabilities

Quality, Compliance & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Ensure manufacturing quality, regulatory compliance, and adherence to QMS
• Partner cross-functionally with leadership, formulation, device, and quality teams
• Contribute to customer satisfaction through reliable product delivery and issue resolution

Qualifications

• Proven experience scaling a product from R&D to commercial manufacturing in a regulated environment
• Experience overseeing manufacturing operations for a Class II or III medical device or equivalent regulated product
• Hands-on experience scaling production volumes significantly (e.g., 10x or more)
• Direct experience working with CMO partners including selection, onboarding, and tech transfer
• Experience managing supply chain, logistics, inventory, and fulfillment operations
• Familiarity with Quality Management Systems (QMS) in regulated environments
• Demonstrated ability to lead technology transfer and process scale-up
• Experience with manufacturing cost modeling and financial planning
• Direct people management experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with combination products (drug + device), such as auto-injectors, EpiPens, nasal sprays, or microarray-based systems
• Background in Material Science & Technology Transfer (MSNT)
• Experience scaling production to high-volume output (100K+ units per month)
• Experience across both cosmetic and medical device products
• Experience with automation and line redesign in a manufacturing scale-up context
• Background in customer support or customer-facing operations within manufacturing
• Experience managing managers or building multi-layered organizations
• Strong systems orientation with experience implementing or optimizing operational infrastructure