Head of Materials Operations
About The Position
Aether Biomachines is building the future of protein-engineered materials. Our Aetheron Protein Function Model unlocks entirely new classes of high-performance polymers and additive manufacturing feedstocks, enabling breakthrough applications across aerospace, defense, clean energy, and beyond. As our materials move from R&D to commercial reality, we’re building a world-class operations function to scale production across the U.S. and Europe. We’re looking for a Head of Materials Operations to take ownership of manufacturing execution, CMO management, and multi-site supply chain operations as our materials enter commercial production. This is a highly cross-functional role that sits at the nexus of R&D, product, customer support, and our external manufacturing network - ideal for someone who blends deep operational rigor with technical fluency to be a respected partner to contract manufacturers. This role begins as an individual contributor, but will build a small team (2–3 hires) as production scales in 2026.
Requirements
- 10+ years in chemical, polymer, or specialty materials manufacturing operations.
- Experience coordinating or scaling production at multi-metric-ton quantities.
- Strong understanding of how chemical/manufacturing specifications translate to process parameters, QC, and reproducibility.
- Demonstrated success driving production output, quality, and on-time delivery across external manufacturers.
- Expertise in production planning, scheduling, inventory management, and supply chain execution.
- Experience implementing or maintaining document control, spec management, and change control systems.
- Exceptional communicator: Able to translate between R&D scientists, CMO process engineers, logistics partners, and customer support teams.
- Skilled at building long-term, trust-based relationships with external manufacturing partners.
- Early management experience or readiness to step into leadership; comfortable building and supporting a small team.
Nice To Haves
- Hands-on process engineering familiarity is a bonus, but technical literacy and credibility with CMO engineers is essential.
Responsibilities
- Own the handoff from process development to full-scale manufacturing
- Lead contract manufacturing operations across U.S. and Europe
- Drive production planning, scheduling, and inventory execution
- Close the loop between customer support and manufacturing
- Own multi-site supply chain infrastructure
- Build the Materials Operations team
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
No Education Listed
