Director, Training & Enablement

Dandy•Indianapolis, IN

About The Position

Dandy is transforming the massive and antiquated dental industry—an industry worth over $200B. Backed by some of the world’s leading venture capital firms, we’re on an ambitious mission to simplify and modernize every function of the dental practice through technology. As we expand our reach globally, Dandy is building the operating system for dental offices around the world—empowering clinicians and their teams with technology, innovation, and world-class support to achieve more for their practices, their people, and their patients. Dandy's manufacturing and digital design operations are scaling fast. We are moving to a highly automated production environment where the difference between a great outcome and a defect is often a matter of how well an operator was trained, how quickly a new hire reaches full proficiency, and whether the people closest to the work have the knowledge and confidence to hold the standard. That's what this role is about. We're hiring a Director of Training & Enablement to own the end-to-end training function across our Manufacturing and Dandy Design Center (DDC) operations globally. The opportunity is significant: build the structure, rigor, and consistency that turns training and enablement into a true operational advantage. You'll report directly to the VP of Operations and lead a team of Training Managers, Leads, Instructional Designers, and Specialists. You won't be far from the work — this role requires you to understand how production actually runs, where the gaps between training and reality live, and how to close them in ways that show up in quality metrics and output. If your instinct is to walk the floor before you redesign the curriculum, this role was built for you.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in training, workforce development, or operational enablement, with significant time spent in a manufacturing or industrial environment
You've trained direct labor workers, not just corporate employees
Demonstrated experience building or significantly rebuilding a training function
You know what "before" and "after" looks like and can articulate the path
Deep comfort operating on the production floor
You can read a workflow, identify where process breaks down, and trace a quality issue back to a training gap
Track record of building and managing distributed teams
You've led people across multiple sites while holding standards consistent
Strong analytical instincts
You measure what matters, build the reporting that shows it, and make decisions based on what the data actually says
Experience partnering with Operations and Quality leaders as a peer
You know how to influence without authority and earn credibility through results
Clear, direct communication
You can present to a VP one hour and troubleshoot with a floor trainer the next
Exposure to rapid headcount scaling
You've built onboarding that works when you're hiring fast, not just when you have time to be deliberate

Nice To Haves

Experience in a high-growth, tech-enabled, or automated manufacturing environment (e.g., medtech, dental, precision manufacturing, consumer electronics)
Experience managing training programs across international sites and time zones
Background in instructional design, workforce analytics, or continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, etc.)
Outstanding professional references who can speak to your impact on production quality and workforce readiness
Relentlessly positive attitude, strong sense of humor, and the ability to thrive (and help others thrive) in a fast-moving environment

Responsibilities

Build and Own the Training Function
Define the vision, strategy, and standards for training across Manufacturing and DDC, delivering a cohesive, high-performance department with a clear mandate
Develop and execute a training roadmap on a 6–12 month horizon, balancing near-term skill gaps with long-term workforce development
Develop and implement strategies to deliver consistent outcomes scaled across the network
Serve as the primary voice of Training in operations-wide initiatives, ensuring workforce readiness is never an afterthought in decisions about new equipment, process rollouts, or headcount growth
Drive Hire-to-Production Excellence
Own the full employee experience from Day 1 through independent production. Onboarding, orientation, training, certification, and ongoing development
Establish clear speed-to-proficiency benchmarks for each role and build training programs that reliably hit them
Identify and eliminate the gaps between what training teaches and what the floor actually requires
Lead and Develop Your Team
Lead a geographically distributed team of Training Managers, Leads, and Specialists across our US, Egypt, South Africa, and Costa Rica facilities
Build career pathways for trainers and subject matter experts; make training a function people want to grow within
Hold a high bar for training design, delivery, and consistency across sites — and coach your team to meet it
Operate Through Data
Build KPIs and reporting infrastructure that make training effectiveness visible: speed-to-proficiency, error rates, defect reduction, productivity ramp
Use data and feedback loops — from quality teams, floor leads, and direct observation — to continuously improve programs
Partner with Operations, Quality, and People teams to ensure training investments translate to measurable business outcomes
Influence Cross-Functionally
Partner with Manufacturing and DDC leadership to align training with operational needs, new product/equipment rollouts, and continuous improvement goals
Build the relationships with Quality and People teams that make training a lever for organizational performance — not a siloed compliance function

Benefits

For full-time positions, Dandy offers a wide range of best-in-class, comprehensive, and inclusive benefits tailored to each country where we operate.
Our local benefits packages typically include healthcare, dental, mental health support, parental planning resources, retirement savings options, and generous paid time off—ensuring our team members are supported no matter where they live and work.

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