Director of manufacturing

Location: Sacramento, CA (On-site | Relocation Available)

Salary: $150,000 - $180,000 / year

Reports To: Chief Operating Officer

About Athena Ag Athena Ag supports the modern grower at any scale. Our operating philosophy is simple: improve quality, reduce costs, drive consistency, and make the complex simple through disciplined products, procedures, technical support, and hands-on facility guidance. We continue to invest heavily in the people, systems, and technology that support our rapidly growing portfolio of industry-leading products and brands.

The Opportunity We are looking for an experienced, action-oriented Director of Manufacturing to lead safe, reliable, and efficient production as our company expands. Reporting directly to the COO, you will own manufacturing performance across safety, quality, production planning, cost management, equipment reliability, and team development.

This role is ideal for a pragmatic, technically capable leader who thrives when moving seamlessly between high-level operational planning and hands-on problem-solving. You will build high-performing production teams, optimize manufacturing workflows, and adapt quickly as demand, materials, and equipment needs evolve. What You'll Do

• Operational Leadership: Lead daily manufacturing operations and production teams with clear accountability for safety, quality, service, and cost efficiency.
• Production Planning & Execution: Own scheduling, capacity, and staffing strategies. Dynamically adjust priorities and communicate adjustments clearly to downstream teams.
• Performance & Cost Management: Define operational KPIs, manage manufacturing budgets, and analyze throughput, labor efficiency, and unit costs to drive performance.
• Continuous Improvement: Spearhead Lean initiatives and root-cause analyses to eliminate waste, eliminate recurring production issues, and maximize output.
• Equipment & Process Reliability: Partner with Maintenance and Engineering to troubleshoot equipment issues, manage operational risks, and improve facility uptime. Preferred:
• Master's degree in Engineering, Operations, or Business Administration (MBA).
• Professional certifications such as Lean Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt) or APICS CPIM.
• Industry experience in agricultural inputs, fertilizer, chemical processing, or batch manufacturing (liquid formulation, dry blending, filling, and packaging operations

salary: $150,000 - $180,000 per year
shift: First
work hours: 6 AM - 4 PM
education: Bachelors

Responsibilities

Manufacturing Leadership: Lead manufacturing operations, production teams, and day-to-day
execution, with clear expectations for safety, quality, service, and cost.
• Production Planning: Own production planning, scheduling, capacity, and staffing; adjust priorities
quickly and communicate changes to downstream teams.
• Performance and Cost Management: Establish manufacturing KPIs, analyze performance and
manage budgets, labor efficiency, operating costs, and throughput.
• Continuous Improvement: Lead Lean and continuous improvement initiatives that reduce waste,
resolve recurring problems, and improve quality and productivity.
• Equipment Reliability: Assess operational risks, troubleshoot production issues, and partner with
Maintenance and Engineering to improve equipment reliability.
• Team Development: Hire, coach, and develop supervisors and production employees while building
engagement and accountability.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Supply Chain, Quality, Distribution, Product
Development, and Operations to align production with business needs.
• Capacity and Growth: Support new equipment, automation, product launches, and manufacturing
processes that expand capacity and support continued growth.

The essential functions of this role include:

• wearing steel toe shoes
• standing for 8 hours at one time

Skills

• Manufacturing
• Manufacturing Cost Acct
• prodcution planning (10 years of experience is required)
• ERP (5 years of experience is preferred)
• ISO-9001 (3 years of experience is preferred)
• Quality Assurance (5 years of experience is preferred)
• attention to detail (3 years of experience is preferred)
• Team Development (6 years of experience is preferred)
• Budgeting (5 years of experience is preferred)

Qualifications

• Years of experience: 10 years
• Experience level: Director

Randstad is a world leader in matching great people with great companies. Our experienced agents will listen carefully to your employment needs and then work diligently to match your skills and qualifications to the right job and company. Whether you're looking for temporary, temporary-to-permanent or permanent opportunities, no one works harder for you than Randstad.


Equal Opportunity Employer: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, National Origin, Age, Genetic Information, Disability, Protected Veteran Status, or any other legally protected group status.

At Randstad, we welcome people of all abilities and want to ensure that our hiring and interview process meets the needs of all applicants. If you require a reasonable accommodation to make your application or interview experience a great one, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io.

Pay offered to a successful candidate will be based on several factors including the candidate's education, work experience, work location, specific job duties, certifications, etc. In addition, Randstad offers a comprehensive benefits package, including: medical, prescription, dental, vision, AD&D, and life insurance offerings, short-term disability, and a 401K plan (all benefits are based on eligibility).

This posting is open for thirty (30) days.

Qualified applicants in San Francisco with criminal histories will be considered for employment in accordance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.


Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.


We will consider for employment all qualified Applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.