Director of Production Operations

Responsibilities:

• Production Leadership & Execution:
  • Own day-to-day production performance across all manufacturing operations
  • Lead production teams operating in a growing 24/7 manufacturing environment
  • Ensure production targets, quality standards, and client commitments are consistently achieved
  • Maintain a strong floor presence and rapidly address operational issues in real time
  • Create a culture of accountability, urgency, discipline, and pride in execution
  • Ensure production teams are properly staffed, trained, organized, and set up for success
  • Act as the primary escalation point for operational and production-related issues
  • Be available outside standard business hours when required to support production operations
• Throughput Optimization & Operational Scaling:
  • Identify and eliminate bottlenecks across equipment, labor, process flow, and scheduling
  • Improve throughput, reliability, efficiency, and consistency across all production activities
  • Drive operational scalability as the business continues to grow domestically and internationally
  • Develop systems and processes that reduce variability and improve predictability
  • Partner with Scheduling, QA, Inventory, and Project Management to improve execution across departments
  • Implement practical solutions that improve output without compromising quality or compliance
• Technical Problem Solving:
  • Develop deep expertise in cannabis processing, including automated pre-roll production, flower packaging, drying and trimming operations, material handling, and infused product processing
  • Troubleshoot equipment and process issues with a practical, analytical, hands-on approach
  • Understand how product characteristics, environmental conditions, process design, and equipment settings interact
  • Identify opportunities for process improvements, equipment upgrades, automation, and workflow optimization
  • Support equipment commissioning, optimization, and operational troubleshooting initiatives
• Quality Systems & EU-GMP Readiness:
  • Support the continued development of manufacturing operations aligned with EU-GMP expectations and pharmaceutical-quality standards
  • Ensure production practices are executed with strong procedural discipline, documentation integrity, traceability, and operational consistency
  • Partner closely with Quality Assurance to ensure manufacturing processes remain compliant, scalable, and audit-ready
  • Support validation activities, investigations, CAPAs, process improvements, and operational risk reduction initiatives
  • Reinforce a culture where quality, compliance, and operational performance work together, not against each other
• Team Development & Leadership:
  • Build and lead a high-performing production organization
  • Coach supervisors and operators to become stronger problem solvers and leaders
  • Develop bench strength and reduce operational dependency on key individuals
  • Set high standards while maintaining fairness, integrity, and respect across teams
  • Reinforce a culture focused on continuous improvement and operational excellence

Education & Experience:

• 7+ years of leadership experience in manufacturing, processing, packaging, or industrial production environments
• Direct experience with automated pre-roll production and flower packaging
• Experience with cannabis drying and trimming operations strongly preferred
• Proven track record improving throughput, solving production problems, and scaling manufacturing operations
• Strong mechanical and operational troubleshooting ability
• Comfortable operating hands-on within a live production environment
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to earn trust and drive accountability