Head - Manufacturing

Description: We are looking for a Head of Manufacturing to lead end-to-end manufacturing and quality for a rapidly scaling 500 Cr ARR consumer brand. This role is pivotal in setting up a new greenfield factory over the next two years, while simultaneously managing and optimising operations at the current facility. You will drive factory design, machinery selection, process engineering, capex planning, and production excellence across multiple product categories. The organisation values individuals who can work in a bespoke and highly manual manufacturing environment, and who bring deep expertise in building and scaling food manufacturing sites.

Key Responsibilities:

- New Factory Setup (Greenfield Project 2 Years)

- Lead the complete setup of a new factory (location yet to be finalised).

- Define layout, infrastructure, production blocks, utilities, workflow and plant design.

- Lead a 50 Cr capex investment plan covering machinery, technology, utilities, and production lines.

- Select machines, vendors, assembly line design, and equipment installations.

- Build scalability into the factory to handle multiple product categories.

- Ensure all processes adhere to food safety, quality, compliance, and statutory norms.

- Work closely with supply chain, R&D, quality, and founders on strategic plant-building decisions.

- Current Factory Operations (Next 24 Months)

- Oversee and optimise the existing factory functioning

- Drive operational efficiency, cost optimisation, throughput improvement, and team performance.

- Strengthen SOPs, process controls, and quality parameters while preparing for the transition to the new facility.

- Manufacturing & Quality Leadership

- Lead all aspects of manufacturing, production planning, maintenance, and quality assurance.

- Build systems for process discipline, GMP, HACCP, and quality compliance.

- Ensure the highest standards of product consistency, safety, and traceability.

- Drive continuous improvement and backward-working methodologies to enhance efficiency.

- Cross-functional & Stakeholder Collaboration

- Partner with Supply Chain, R&D, Finance, and Leadership to scale manufacturing capability aligned with business growth.

- Manage on-ground teams, engineers, plant managers, quality managers, and external consultants.

- Liaise with machinery suppliers, contractors, architects, and regulatory bodies.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

- 15+ years of manufacturing experience with hands-on factory setup exposure.

- Has built at least one or two new factories end-to-end (greenfield or advanced brownfield).

- Strong understanding of machinery, assembly lines, food processing equipment, and manual/bespoke production systems.

- Deep process expertise and ability to reverse-engineer and optimise workflows.

- Experience across multi-product food categories such as chocolates, cereals, pet foods, or similar environments preferred.

- Strong leadership in both manufacturing and quality functions.

- Ability to work in an entrepreneurial, fast-scaling environment.

- Strong project management, vendor management and capex planning capability.