Senior Director of Manufacturing

Terabase Energy•Woodland, CA

30d•$150,000 - $170,000•Onsite

About The Position

Terabase Energy is accelerating the digitalization, automation, and scaling of utility-scale solar. Our integrated solutions—combining advanced software, robotics, and field construction technologies—enable faster, more efficient, and lower-cost deployment of solar power. The Senior Director, Manufacturing is responsible for leading all of Terabase’s manufacturing activities across the organization. This role has the potential to transform the company’s manufacturing function from its current startup state to a world class manufacturing organization producing a revolutionary automation solution for a rapidly growing domestic and international market. The right person will establish and scale world-class manufacturing capabilities, ensuring production of high-quality products that meet cost, schedule, and performance targets. The role requires a strong operational leader with deep experience in complex electromechanical manufacturing, supplier collaboration, operational excellence, and cross-functional alignment. This position partners closely with Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Product, and Field Operations to ensure seamless Design for Manufacturability (DFM), efficient production processes, closed-loop learning, and reliable, on-time delivery to internal and external customers. The Senior Director, Manufacturing reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and is based in Woodland, California.

Requirements

12+ years of manufacturing experience, including leadership of multidisciplinary teams in a hardware or electromechanical product environment.
Manufacturing experience in electromechanical systems, industrial automation, or robotics.
Knowledge of ERP/MRP systems and manufacturing data analytics tools.
Demonstrated success scaling production of complex systems from pilot through BOM-stable low-volume manufacturing.
Strong experience with DFM, process development, production line design, and quality systems.
Proven track record collaborating with Engineering, Supply Chain, Product, Quality, and Operations functions.
Experience managing contract manufacturers, global supply networks, and mixed in-house/outsourced production models.
Familiarity with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies.
Strong communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
Engineering or technical degree; advanced degree or MBA is a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead all manufacturing operations, including in-house production in Woodland and external manufacturing partners.
Develop and execute the manufacturing strategy to support company growth, product roadmap, and cost objectives.
Drive performance management across quality, throughput, cost, safety, and delivery metrics.
Own goods receiving, inventory management, material flow, and picking processes to ensure accurate tracking, proper storage, and timely delivery of components to manufacturing areas.
Establish scalable manufacturing processes, documentation, and systems to support production ramp and long term volume.
Partner with Engineering teams on Design for Manufacturability, tooling strategies, and smooth transitions from prototype to production.
Collaborate with Supply Chain to ensure component availability, supplier readiness, and proactive risk mitigation.
Partner with Product, Field Operations, Quality, and Engineering to ensure closed-loop learning, feeding field performance data, product issues, and customer feedback back into design improvements, process optimization, and manufacturing quality.
Facilitate transparent communication and rapid issue resolution across development, sourcing, and manufacturing teams.
Ensure consistent product quality through implementation of robust quality systems, including receiving inspection, in-process controls, testing, and final acceptance.
Partner with Quality on root-cause analysis and corrective and preventive actions for manufacturing issues.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, and other operational excellence methodologies.
Oversee manufacturing readiness reviews, process validation, qualification, and production ramp planning.
Build and lead a high-performance manufacturing team, including production managers, technicians, and manufacturing engineers.
Foster a culture of safety, accountability, quality, and continuous improvement.
Develop training programs, standard work, and operating procedures to ensure consistent execution across production lines.
Develop budgets, staffing and hiring plans, capital expenditure (CapEx) justifications, and manufacturing capacity models for the Woodland facility and partner sites.
Own manufacturing KPIs and provide regular updates to executive leadership.
Evaluate and integrate new technologies, automation, and systems to scale production efficiently and cost-effectively.