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Director of Manufacturing Operations & Factory

Orchard Robotics· Operations
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San FranciscoFull-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

Orchard is hiring its first manufacturing leader to design, launch, and run the San Francisco factory for AI-powered camera systems used in farming. This hands-on, high-ownership role focuses on turning engineering designs into scalable, reliable, and cost-effective manufacturing operations, including production, capacity planning, procurement, inventory, quality, and readiness for deployment.

Responsibilities

  • Build and scale our factory: design assembly processes, production flow, work instructions, fixtures, tooling, test stations, safety policies, and production schedules.
  • Plan capacity and production: translate commercial forecasts into capacity, labor, supply chain, purchasing, and production plans.
  • Build the assembly team: hire, train, schedule, and manage a team of electromechanical assembly technicians.
  • Own supply chain and inventory: purchase components, manage suppliers, track lead times and inventory, anticipate shortages, ensure materials availability ahead of builds.
  • Build the quality system: establish incoming, in-process, and final QA, testing, build records, traceability, and defect/recurrence addressing processes.
  • Own production readiness: collaborate on BOMs, design changes, NPI, and design-for-manufacturing improvements.
  • Own manufacturing performance: manage cost, throughput, first-pass yield, rework, and other KPIs; drive continuous improvement.
  • Deliver finished systems: ensure systems are built, tested, documented, serialized, packaged, and handed off to Deployment Operations.

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years of experience in manufacturing engineering, manufacturing operations, production, or related hardware field.
  • Experience building or scaling production for complex electromechanical products.
  • Comfortable leading technicians while remaining hands-on with assembly, tooling, inventory, and production processes.
  • Experience with procurement, suppliers, inventory, BOMs, production planning, and ERP/MRP systems.
  • Strong understanding of manufacturing quality, documentation, process control, and root-cause analysis.
  • Hands-on mechanical and electrical intuition; willingness to do whatever it takes to deliver.
  • High agency and proactive problem-solving; ability to build preventive systems.
  • Low ego, highly organized, able to manage many moving pieces with attention to detail.
  • High standards for safety, quality, documentation, and delivery.
  • Experience with rugged electronics, robotics, automotive, industrial equipment, or field-deployed hardware is a plus.

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision coverage with 100% of employee premiums covered.
Last updated Sep 2, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Orchard Robotics

The AI Farming Company

Orchard is securing America's food supply by building the AI Farmer that automates our nation's farms.

AgricultureAIFarm ManagementData
Company profileWebsite

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