Director, Production Management

Position Overview:

The Director Production Management bridges the gap between product vision and execution and ensures products are manufactured efficiently and effectively by external providers to the design collaborate closely with both internal stakeholders and external suppliers to achieve optimal product outcomes within the contract manufacturing interact with product engineers to develop product and process to support successful transition to support projection volumes at a global scale. Product management for timely delivery to schedule within cost objectives are primary keys to successful management. Additionally adherence to jurisdictional and global compliance requirements are table stakes in successful product development to production volumes.

The Director Production Management will advise on product roadmaps and market requirements and will be more closely focused on transitioning engineered products and prototypes to volume production. Collaboration with product engineers project engineers project managers procurement professionals compliance agents project managers commissioning agents and contract manufacturers are all required for successful production management and coordination.

Key Skills for Success:

Effective communication and people skills:Effective communication with internal teams and external suppliers is crucial.

Technical knowledge:Familiarity with manufacturing processes and quality control systems. Work history with manufacturing test and script development as well as project lifecycle and commissioning management.

Leadership and influencing skills:The ability to manage external suppliers and cross-functional teams.

Analytical skills:The ability to analyze data identify trends and make informed decisions.

Critical thinking skills:The ability to identify and resolve issues that arise during the manufacturing process. Opportunities to resolve challenges in the technical commercial and time management realms will all be required.

Key Responsibilities:

Supplier Management: Managing relationships with contract manufacturers ensuring they understand the product requirements and expectations.

Project Management: Overseeing the product development process including timelines budgets and resources.

Collaboration: Collaborating with internal teams (e.g. engineering project management construction commissioning procurement and financing) and external suppliers to ensure smooth product development and delivery.

Code / Compliance: Liaise with external legal and compliance teams to interpret and implement regulatory requirements at a site level. Work with partners to ensure packaging labeling and documentation meet regulatory and market requirements.

CM Engagement / Oversight: Early collaborative engagement in product design stages to help define the end-to-end transition of products from engineering prototypes to scalable manufacturable production-ready units meeting quality cost and timeline targets. Team up with partners to define and implement manufacturing strategies that align with product requirements and mutual business goals.

Planning: Open partnership in driving and managing supply chain alternatives for production materials components and finished goods. Collaboration with external partners for production planning that aligns with demand forecasts quality standards delivery timelines and inventory targets. Align production and delivery timelines with go-to-market strategies and commercial launch plans to ensure seamless product deployment.

Quality / Test: Work in partnership to develop and provide clear non-subjective Quality Testing Criteria for factory and on-site equipment and product testing within -development of testing requirements and mechanisms with external partners for functional compliance to drive seamless execution. Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions for test failures during New Product Introduction (NPI) stage

Communication: Support partners in new product introductions by helping to align manufacturing capabilities with design requirements. Act as the central point of contact to facilitate clear communication between engineering manufacturing quality logistics and commercial teams to identify and mitigate risks across the product lifecycle. Translate complex technical concepts into clear actionable strategies for both technical and non-technical audiences. Delivering written and verbal presentations to internal leadership teams. Interfacing with senior leadership and diverse stakeholders.

Documentation: Collaborate to define Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for material handling product production shipping and deployment.

Key Competencies:

Integrity and Ethical Standards: Build trust ensure fairness and foster long-term transparent relationships with suppliers.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Ability to understand the emotions cultural nuances and motivations of others while effectively managing ones own emotions during high-pressure negotiations.

Strategic Thinking: Ability to think big picture while also managing granular details.

Adaptability: Proven history of managing change and ambiguity in a challenging environment.

Leadership and team-building skills: Ability to manage cross-functional teams and external vendors.

Experience with complex multi-site projects: Manage multiple projects under tight deadlines and deliver exceptional results.

Creative analytical person: Ability to troubleshoot and optimize system performance effectively.

Work Environment:

This role includes up to 40% travel to data center sites and vendor/partner sites across multiple regions.

Ability to work in both office environments manufacturing facilities and active construction sites adhering to all safety protocols.

Required Qualifications:

Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering or a related field

10 years of experience in mechanical engineering with at least 5 years focused on data center design and operations.

Proven history of delivering mechanical systems for large-scale data center projects including experience with HVAC and cooling systems. Familiarity with structural and electrical equipment.

Familiarity with mechanical design software (e.g. AutoCAD Revit CFD etc.) and proficiency in tools for modeling and analyzing thermal and fluid dynamics.

Expertise in sustainability energy efficiency and cost-saving measures related to data center mechanical systems.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience working in global data center projects navigating region-specific regulations and environmental conditions.

Hyperscaler: Familiarity with cloud providers data center requirements (AWS Microsoft Azure Google Cloud Oracle Cloud and Meta).

Global Experience: Experience leading product launches in global markets including knowledge of international land energy and/or data center regulations and compliance.

Technical Background: A strong technical understanding of cloud services and infrastructure products and systems

Vendor Management: Experience managing third-party vendors or contractors in the data center product construction and/or engineering launch lifecycle.

Fleet Employment

Fleet employees enjoy competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits including 100% employer-covered medical dental and vision insurance a 401K program standard paid holidays and unlimited PTO.

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties as assigned to meet the organizations ongoing needs.

Tract is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants are considered for employment regardless of age race color religion sex national origin sexual orientation gender identity disability or veteran status. If you need assistance applying for any of our open positions please contact us at

Expected Total Compensation Range (Base Bonus): $240000 - $300000

Required Experience:

Director