Director of Manufacturing-Cannabis
10+ years
Waterbury, CT
Full-time
Onsite
1 month ago
About the role
We're looking for someone who doesn't just oversee production, but owns it. Quality. Compliance. Efficiency. Output. Team. Process. Accountability.
If you walk into an operation and immediately see what's broken, what's missing, and what needs to be built-keep reading.
About Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a multi-state cannabis company focused on building structured, compliant, high-performing operations across retail, cultivation, and manufacturing.
We don't operate reactively. We build systems that scale.
As our manufacturing footprint grows, we need a leader who can bring consistency, discipline, and operational excellence to everything we produce.
About the Role
The Director of Manufacturing is responsible for overseeing all manufacturing operations, ensuring product is produced efficiently, compliantly, and at a consistently high standard.
This role is both strategic and hands-on-you will build processes, lead teams, optimize production, and ensure every product meets quality and regulatory expectations.
You will partner closely with Compliance, Inventory, Wholesale, and Leadership to ensure manufacturing supports the broader business-not slows it down.
What You'll Own
Operational Leadership
Process Development & Optimization
Quality & Compliance
Team Leadership & Development
Production Planning & Inventory Alignment
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Who You Are
What You Bring
What Success Looks Like
If you walk into an operation and immediately see what's broken, what's missing, and what needs to be built-keep reading.
About Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a multi-state cannabis company focused on building structured, compliant, high-performing operations across retail, cultivation, and manufacturing.
We don't operate reactively. We build systems that scale.
As our manufacturing footprint grows, we need a leader who can bring consistency, discipline, and operational excellence to everything we produce.
About the Role
The Director of Manufacturing is responsible for overseeing all manufacturing operations, ensuring product is produced efficiently, compliantly, and at a consistently high standard.
This role is both strategic and hands-on-you will build processes, lead teams, optimize production, and ensure every product meets quality and regulatory expectations.
You will partner closely with Compliance, Inventory, Wholesale, and Leadership to ensure manufacturing supports the broader business-not slows it down.
What You'll Own
Operational Leadership
- Oversee all day-to-day manufacturing operations across facilities
- Build and enforce structured production processes and workflows
- Ensure output aligns with demand, timelines, and business goals
- Drive accountability across teams and leadership within manufacturing
Process Development & Optimization
- Identify inefficiencies and build scalable systems to improve output and consistency
- Standardize SOPs across all manufacturing functions
- Implement process improvements that increase speed without sacrificing quality
- Establish KPIs and performance tracking across production lines
Quality & Compliance
- Ensure all products meet internal quality standards and regulatory requirements
- Partner with Compliance to maintain audit readiness at all times
- Build systems that prevent errors-not just react to them
- Oversee documentation, batch tracking, and reporting accuracy
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, and develop manufacturing managers and teams
- Build a culture of accountability, ownership, and consistency
- Ensure proper staffing, training, and performance management
- Set clear expectations and hold teams to a high standard
Production Planning & Inventory Alignment
- Align manufacturing schedules with inventory needs and sales forecasts
- Partner with Inventory and Wholesale to ensure product availability
- Prevent overproduction, shortages, and inefficiencies
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Work closely with Retail, Wholesale, Compliance, and Leadership teams
- Ensure manufacturing supports launches, promotions, and growth initiatives
- Act as the bridge between production and business strategy
Who You Are
- You are a builder-you create structure where there isn't any
- You are direct, accountable, and results-driven
- You don't accept "that's how we've always done it"
- You think in systems, not just tasks
- You can lead teams while also getting into the details
- You operate with a high level of ownership and urgency
What You Bring
- 5+ years of manufacturing leadership experience
- Experience managing production teams and processes at scale
- Strong understanding of operational workflows, KPIs, and process improvement
- Experience in cannabis, CPG, food production, or other regulated manufacturing environments preferred
- Proven ability to lead teams, drive accountability, and improve performance
- Strong communication and organizational skills
What Success Looks Like
- Production is consistent, efficient, and aligned with demand
- Quality issues are minimized through strong systems and oversight
- Teams are accountable, trained, and operating at a high level
- Compliance issues are prevented-not reacted to
- Manufacturing becomes a strength of the business, not a bottleneck
Skills
Retail