Director of Industrialization
panthalassaPortland, OR
Full Time
Posted September 21, 2026
$215k - $290k
Apply Now
Application opens on company website
Job Description
This is an on-site position with expectation of regular presence in our Portland, Oregon facilities and at our Vancouver, Washington pilot manufacturing site.
Key Responsibilities
- Our core technology is the node, a device that produces energy in the ocean’s harshest conditions for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention.
- Panthalassa is moving from pilot production into volume manufacturing, and we are hiring a Director of Industrialization to stand up the production lines that get us there. You will own the manufacturing strategy, equipment definition, commissioning schedule, and production ramp for our new factories — the work that turns a proven pilot process and a rate target into a qualified, running line.
- This is the person who decides what we build with, how the line is configured, how long installation and commissioning will take, and how quickly the factory can climb to rate. Working with Pilot Manufacturing, you will translate product designs and proven pilot processes into a build strategy, then select and procure major capital equipment, sequence installation and qualification against a hard schedule, and define the ramp curve the rest of the business plans against.
- This role starts as an individual contributor and grows into a leadership role . For the first phase you will be doing the work yourself: building the models, writing the equipment specs, running the vendor evaluations, and standing in the building during commissioning. As the factories come online you will define, hire, and lead the industrialization and manufacturing engineering team that supports them. We are looking for someone who is genuinely happy in both modes and who wants to build the organization they will eventually run.
- You will report to the Vice President of Manufacturing and work most closely with the Director of Pilot Manufacturing, who owns the processes and product maturity you will be industrializing, and with the Plant Manager of each new facility, who owns the site once it is operating. You will also partner continuously with Pilot Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Technical Program Management, Digital Thread, Facilities, Finance, EHS, and Marine Operations.
- Candidates should have strong interpersonal skills and be able to thrive in a creative, scrappy, and collaborative environment in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis.
Requirements
- Own the integrated installation and commissioning schedule for each line, from facility handover through equipment installation, utility tie-in, commissioning, process qualification, and first article.
- Define and drive the manufacturing critical path, including long-lead equipment, contractor sequencing, and dependencies on product and process readiness.
- Establish operational readiness criteria and lead readiness reviews with Quality, EHS, Supply Chain, and the incoming Plant Manager.
- Define the production system requirements the line needs at startup, including ERP, MES, and quality system needs, and partner with Digital Thread and enterprise systems teams on their delivery.
- Identify, track, and retire manufacturing schedule and technical risk with clear owners, mitigations, and escalation paths.
- 10+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, industrialization, or manufacturing operations, including time in a technical leadership role.
- Direct experience taking a product or process from prototype or pilot production through installation, qualification, and rate production.
- Demonstrated ownership of a manufacturing capital plan, including equipment specification, vendor selection, budgeting, and installation and commissioning schedules.
- Strong quantitative skills and fluency building capacity, cost, and ramp models that leadership can make decisions on.
- Experience defining and executing a production ramp, including realistic yield and learning-curve assumptions and the discipline to gate progress on readiness.
- Experience translating product designs into executable build strategies, process documentation, and station-level work content.
- Willingness to operate as a hands-on individual contributor now and build a team later, with genuine interest in both.
- Experience leading through influence across engineering, supply chain, quality, and site operations without direct authority over most of it.
- Clear written and verbal communication, and the judgment to know which decisions need a model, which need a conversation, and which need to be escalated.
- Comfort operating with incomplete information in a fast-moving environment where the product is still maturing.
- Experience industrializing large welded steel structures, pressure-retaining assemblies, marine vessels, or comparable large-format fabricated hardware.
- Experience with waterfront manufacturing, shipyard or fabrication yard operations, or load-out and launch of large assemblies.
- Experience scaling from prototype or pilot production into volume manufacturing at a hardware startup.
- Experience hiring and building a manufacturing engineering or industrialization team from a small base.
- Experience selecting and deploying automation, robotic welding, or large-envelope machining and inspection systems.
- Familiarity with enterprise systems that support production, including PLM, ERP, MRP, MES, and QMS, and what they need to do at line startup.
- Experience with contract manufacturers, including qualification, technology transfer, and rate readiness.
- Experience in high-consequence or capital-intensive industries such as aerospace, defense, energy, shipbuilding, automotive, or advanced manufacturing.
- Working knowledge of facility and industrial infrastructure requirements for heavy manufacturing, including utilities, material handling, and layout and flow design.
- The above qualifications are desired, not required. We encourage you to apply if you are a strong candidate with only some of the desired skills and experience listed.
- High ownership and a bias toward delivery over analysis for its own sake.
- Ability to move between a spreadsheet model, a shop floor, and a leadership discussion in the same day.
- Rigor about assumptions, and willingness to state them plainly and revise them publicly.
- Ability to build trust quickly with plant leadership, trades, vendors, and contractors.
- Sound judgment about where to spend capital and where to spend ingenuity instead.
- Commitment to safety and quality as prerequisites for rate, not tradeoffs against it.
- This role requires regular on-site presence in Portland, Oregon, and at our pilot and contract manufacturing facility in Vancouver, Washington.
- Significant travel is expected, including to equipment vendors, contract manufacturers, candidate sites, and new facilities under construction. Travel will be heaviest during equipment procurement and startup phases and may include international travel.
- Comfort working across office, lab, fabrication, construction, and waterfront environments, with personal protective equipment required in designated areas.
- Ability to work extended or off-shift hours intermittently during commissioning, startup, and other time-critical operational windows.
Benefits & Perks
- If hired for this full-time role, you will receive:
- Cash compensation of $215,000 - $290,000.
- Equity in the company. We’re all owners and if we’re successful, this equity should be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
- A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including: Flexible paid time off Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold-level PPO plan for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents) Dental insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents) Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents) Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long-term financial support if you become disabled) Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA
- Relocation assistance to facilitate your move to Portland (if needed).
Ready to Apply?
Join panthalassa and make an impact in renewable energy
Stay Updated on Sustainability Jobs
Get the latest renewable energy jobs and career tips delivered to your inbox.
Job Alerts
Get notified about new sustainability jobs
More at panthalassa
More jobs at panthalassa
Similar jobs in Renewable Energy Development
Is this your company?Claim your listing — free →