6.3. Vice President of Manufacturing

Phoenix Tailings•Exeter, NH

About The Position

Phoenix Tailings is seeking a Vice President of Manufacturing to oversee the scale-up, performance, and expansion of its rare earth metals manufacturing operations. This role begins with the Exeter facility and will extend to future production sites. The objective is to transform novel production processes into safe, reliable, high-throughput, and economically competitive manufacturing systems. The Vice President will establish the necessary operating discipline, manufacturing organization, continuous improvement systems, and production standards to transition from early commercial production to a repeatable manufacturing model capable of scaling. The ideal candidate is a manufacturing executive with experience in building and scaling complex industrial operations, ensuring stability in new production processes, and applying rigorous manufacturing principles to large-scale production of previously unmanufactured technologies.

Requirements

Bachelor's, Master's or PHD in Engineering or a related technical discipline; advanced technical or business degree is a plus.
15+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, operations, production, or industrial engineering within metals, mining, minerals processing, chemical processing, advanced materials, or another complex process industry.
Demonstrated experience scaling new or technically complex manufacturing processes from initial production through high-volume, stable commercial operations.
Proven experience leading manufacturing organizations through significant capacity expansion, facility ramp-up, process industrialization, or multi-site growth.
Strong background in Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies; Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt certification is strongly preferred.
Demonstrated ability to use statistical process control, process capability, production data, root-cause analysis, and structured continuous improvement to improve yield, throughput, reliability, quality, and cost.
Deep understanding of manufacturing systems, production planning, equipment reliability, maintenance, quality, workforce development, operational excellence, and manufacturing economics.
Proven ability to build and develop manufacturing leadership teams while establishing the culture, systems, and accountability required to operate effectively in a rapidly scaling industrial environment.
Experience working with first-of-its-kind technologies, new process commercialization, or manufacturing environments where production systems must be developed and improved while operating.
Executive-level judgment and communication skills, with the ability to translate manufacturing performance, operational risks, capacity requirements, and investment needs into clear business decisions.

Nice To Haves

Advanced technical or business degree is a plus.
Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt certification is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the scale-up of Phoenix Tailings' rare earth metals manufacturing operations, establishing the systems and production capabilities required to move first-of-its-kind processes into sustained commercial production.
Own manufacturing performance across safety, throughput, yield, quality, reliability, cost, labor productivity, and schedule attainment, driving measurable improvements as production volumes increase.
Develop and execute the manufacturing strategy for Exeter and future facilities, creating repeatable operating models, production standards, and processes that can be replicated as Phoenix expands.
Build and lead a high-performing manufacturing organization across operations, manufacturing engineering, production leadership, maintenance, and continuous improvement.
Establish Lean and Six Sigma operating systems, using statistical process control, structured problem solving, process capability, root-cause analysis, and data-driven improvement to reduce variation and strengthen production performance.
Drive production readiness and ramp-up for new equipment, process technologies, product introductions, and capacity expansions, ensuring manufacturing systems can reliably achieve target performance.
Create scalable systems for production planning, workforce development, standard work, operating procedures, maintenance, performance management, and manufacturing governance.
Identify and eliminate constraints across equipment, process flow, materials, labor, and operating systems to increase production capacity while maintaining safety, quality, and process control.
Partner with engineering and technology teams to transition developing rare earth processes into robust manufacturing systems designed for repeatability, maintainability, automation, and scale.
Define the manufacturing roadmap required to expand Phoenix's production footprint beyond Exeter and establish the operational foundation for a large-scale domestic rare earth metals industry.