Director of Manufacturing / Operations in Portland, Oregon at Kanto Corporation

About Kanto Corporation

Kanto is a U.S. leader in high-purity specialty chemicals, powering the world’s most advanced industries. With a proven legacy of precision, safety, and innovation, we partner with global leaders in semiconductors, technology, and chemical processing to deliver products that meet the most uncompromising standards of quality and reliability.

At Kanto, our people are our greatest strength. Collaboration, commitment, and excellence define how we work, while continuous improvement drives both our success and employee growth. Joining Kanto means shaping the future of technology and manufacturing—while building your career in a dynamic, high-impact environment where your work truly matters.

Kanto’s Mission & Value Statements

Mission

We create value for our customers through quality products and services at a competitive price.

Customer Value Proposition

Quality, Consistency, and Reliability

Employee Value Proposition

At Kanto, your work matters, your ideas are valued, and your growth is supported—all while advancing technologies that shape the future. When Kanto succeeds, we share in that success together.

Position Summary

The Director of Manufacturing/Operations provides strategic and operational leadership for Kanto Corporation’s Production and Warehouse/Material Handling functions. This position is accountable for safely, reliably, and efficiently aligning people, materials, equipment, processes, and capacity to meet Kanto’s manufacturing, quality, delivery, cost, and customer commitments.

As Kanto’s senior manufacturing leader, the Director translates business priorities and customer requirements into disciplined operational execution. The position establishes leadership practices, operating systems, performance expectations, and accountability necessary to achieve consistent results across multiple shifts and operating areas.

Beyond daily production execution, the Director builds the organizational capability required for continued growth. This includes developing leaders, strengthening workforce capability, improving manufacturing systems, removing systemic barriers to performance, and ensuring Kanto has the capacity and operational infrastructure necessary to scale within the semiconductor supply chain.

The Director works cross-functionally with Quality, Engineering, Facilities/Maintenance, Commercial/Supply Chain, EHS, Human Resources, and executive leadership to align manufacturing performance with broader business objectives.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Manufacturing & Production Leadership

• Provide overall leadership for Kanto’s manufacturing operations across production areas, processes, and shifts.
• Translate production plans and customer requirements into appropriate staffing, scheduling, equipment, material, and execution priorities.
• Drive achievement of operational objectives related to safety, quality, productivity, throughput, schedule attainment, cost, and delivery.
• Establish consistent operating rhythms, performance standards, accountability, and leadership expectations across shifts.
• Maintain visibility into manufacturing performance and proactively address operational risks, capacity constraints, equipment limitations, staffing needs, and production bottlenecks.
• Balance immediate production requirements with the development of sustainable manufacturing systems and capabilities that support future growth.

Warehouse & Material Handling

• Provide leadership and oversight for Warehouse and Material Handling operations supporting manufacturing.
• Ensure materials are received, stored, staged, transferred, and supplied to production safely, accurately, and efficiently.
• Establish standards for inventory accuracy, material traceability, staging, warehouse organization, transaction discipline, and production material readiness.
• Strengthen material flow between Warehouse and Production to minimize shortages, delays, unnecessary movement, and production interruptions.
• Evaluate and improve warehouse capacity, layout, workflow, equipment, and staffing as manufacturing requirements evolve.

Safety, Quality & Operational Discipline

• Create and reinforce a manufacturing culture in which safety and quality are fundamental operating expectations and are never compromised for production output.
• Ensure Operations complies with applicable safety requirements, SOPs, work instructions, quality standards, PPE requirements, environmental expectations, and regulatory requirements.
• Partner with EHS, Quality, Engineering, and other technical resources to identify operational risks and ensure effective investigation and corrective action for safety incidents, quality events, and process failures.
• Hold leaders and employees accountable for operational standards while reinforcing positive safety, quality, and performance behaviors.
• Maintain strong manufacturing discipline in areas including housekeeping, material control, documentation, shift transitions, escalation, and adherence to established processes.

Operational Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Establish and maintain meaningful KPIs and operating scorecards that provide visibility into manufacturing performance.
• Use operational data and structured problem-solving to identify root causes, establish priorities, remove systemic barriers, and drive sustainable corrective action.
• Lead continuous improvement efforts focused on throughput, productivity, labor utilization, yield, material flow, waste reduction, equipment effectiveness, and manufacturing reliability.
• Establish standardized operating practices that improve consistency, efficiency, predictability, and scalability.
• Partner with Engineering and Facilities/Maintenance to improve equipment reliability, process capability, automation, and manufacturing effectiveness.
• Support the successful introduction of new processes, equipment, products, systems, and manufacturing technologies.

People Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead, coach, and develop Kanto’s manufacturing leadership team, establishing clear expectations for Managers, Supervisors, and Leads.
• Build leadership capability throughout Operations with emphasis on accountability, communication, decision-making, problem-solving, employee development, and consistent execution.
• Hold operational leaders accountable for effectively managing employee performance, training, safety, quality, productivity, attendance, and workplace standards.
• Maintain appropriate organizational structures, staffing, leadership coverage, and workforce capabilities as business requirements change.
• Partner with Human Resources on workforce planning, recruitment, retention, performance management, employee relations, succession planning, and organizational development.
• Ensure structured training and qualification practices develop employee proficiency, flexibility, and workforce readiness.

Capacity & Business Planning

• Assess current and future manufacturing requirements and develop workforce and capacity plans aligned with production forecasts and customer demand.
• Evaluate labor, shift structures, equipment, material requirements, overtime, and available capacity to identify future constraints and resource needs.
• Determine when additional demand should be addressed through staffing, scheduling, process improvement, equipment investment, automation, or other capacity solutions.
• Participate in annual operating, workforce, capital, and budget planning and maintain appropriate oversight of Manufacturing Operations labor and operating expenses.
• Recommend investments in people, equipment, systems, and processes necessary to improve performance and support sustainable growth.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as Kanto’s senior operational partner to Quality, Engineering, Facilities/Maintenance, Commercial/Supply Chain, EHS, Human Resources, and executive leadership.
• Translate business and customer requirements into realistic manufacturing priorities and execution plans.
• Communicate manufacturing performance, risks, capacity limitations, and resource requirements clearly and proactively.
• Lead and support cross-functional initiatives that improve operational performance, customer service, and Kanto’s ability to scale.

Leadership Expectations

Successful performance requires the Director to:

• Create Clarity: Translate business priorities into clear operational expectations and ownership.
• Build Accountability: Establish measurable expectations and consistent follow-through at every level of Operations.
• Develop Leaders: Build capable Managers, Supervisors, and Leads who independently and effectively lead their teams.
• Think Systemically: Address the systems, processes, and organizational conditions that drive operational outcomes rather than relying on short-term fixes.
• Build for Scale: Develop the leadership capability, operating discipline, and manufacturing systems necessary to support Kanto’s continued growth.

Qualifications

Required Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Manufacturing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Business Administration, or a related discipline; an equivalent combination of education and significant relevant experience may be considered.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience within manufacturing, production, operations, or a related industrial environment.
• At least 5 years of experience in leading teams in the material handling, warehouse, inventory governance, logistics, area of business.
• Demonstrated experience leading multiple operational functions and multiple layers of leadership.
• Experience managing manufacturing operations involving safety, quality, productivity, scheduling, staffing, capacity, cost, and customer delivery requirements.
• Experience establishing and managing operational KPIs and using performance data to improve results.
• Experience leading manufacturing/production and warehouse or material-handling operations.
• Demonstrated success developing frontline and mid-level manufacturing leaders.
• Experience with workforce planning, production scheduling, capacity management, and operational problem-solving.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within semiconductor, semiconductor materials, chemical, specialty chemical, high-purity, advanced manufacturing, or another highly regulated/process-controlled manufacturing environment.
• Experience within a 24/7 or multi-shift manufacturing operation.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or comparable continuous-improvement methodologies.
• Experience scaling manufacturing capacity, workforce, and operating systems during significant business growth.
• Experience within ISO-driven or similarly structured quality-management environments.
• Advanced degree in Business, Engineering, Operations, or a related discipline.
• ERP/MRP system experience; Plex experience preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong manufacturing and operations leadership capability, including leadership through multiple organizational levels.
• Strong understanding of production planning, capacity management, workforce planning, material flow, and warehouse operations.
• Ability to interpret operational and financial data and translate findings into effective action.
• Strong analytical, root-cause analysis, and structured problem-solving capability.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing safety, quality, and compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational and operational change.
• Strong communication, coaching, performance-management, and leadership-development skills.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and make timely decisions in a fast-moving manufacturing environment.
• Ability to build effective cross-functional relationships and influence beyond direct reporting structures.
• Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems, manufacturing information systems, Microsoft Office applications, and operational reporting tools.

Key Measures of Success

Performance in this position may be evaluated through measures including:

• Safety performance
• Production output, throughput, and schedule attainment
• Productivity and labor utilization
• Product quality and yield
• Scrap, waste, rework, and downtime
• Customer delivery performance
• Manufacturing capacity and equipment utilization
• Material availability and inventory accuracy
• Operational cost and overtime performance
• Employee retention, training, and workforce qualification
• Leadership effectiveness and succession readiness
• Completion and sustainability of continuous improvement initiatives

Environment, Working Conditions & Physical Demands

This position requires regular presence within Kanto’s manufacturing and warehouse environments. The Director must be able to move throughout these areas to observe operations, engage employees, and assess operating conditions.

Certain production environments require full-body cleanroom attire and PPE, including head and face coverings and a hood-style respirator. Work areas may include exposure to industrial equipment, chemicals, material-handling equipment, elevated areas, and moderate to loud noise.

The position may occasionally require work outside normal business hours to support multiple shifts, operational events, emergencies, or significant production requirements.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee may be required to stand or walk for extended periods; bend, stoop, kneel, or crouch; climb stairs, ladders, or scaffolding; and lift or move objects weighing up to 35 pounds without assistance.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Management Responsibility

The Director of Manufacturing/Operations provides senior leadership for Kanto’s Production Operations and Warehouse/Material Handling organizations, with direct and indirect responsibility for Managers, Supervisors, Shift Leads, Operators, Material Handling employees, ISO Technicians, and other assigned operational personnel.

The Director is ultimately accountable for building the leadership capability, operating systems, workforce capacity, performance discipline, and culture necessary for Manufacturing Operations to deliver current business requirements and successfully support Kanto’s continued growth.

Ready to Apply?

Click the “Apply” button to submit your resume. We look forward to learning more about your technical expertise and leadership.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Kanto Corporation is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and talents that each individual brings and are committed to fostering a workplace where everyone feels respected, included, and empowered to contribute to our shared success.