Director of Production Partner Management, Fictiv

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related field; MBA or advanced technical degree a plus
• 8–12+ years of experience in manufacturing operations, supplier/partner development, strategic sourcing, or supply chain management, with meaningful exposure to contract manufacturing or outsourced production
• Demonstrated experience structuring, negotiating, or managing joint ventures, strategic alliances, or major capacity partnerships in a manufacturing context
• Deep understanding of manufacturing processes (e.g., CNC machining, injection molding, sheet metal, casting, additive manufacturing, or similar) and quality systems (ISO 9001, IATF 16949, AS9100, or equivalent)
• Strong commercial acumen — experience with contract negotiation, pricing models, and partnership economics
• Track record of leading cross-functional teams and managing complex, multi-stakeholder relationships
• Willingness and ability to travel 30–50%, including internationally, to partner and prospective partner facilities
• Bring diverse perspectives and experience to our culture and company
• Excel at being part of a strong, empathetic team
• Thrive in an environment emphasizing respect, honesty, collaboration, and growth
• Have an ‘always learning’ mindset that celebrates learning, not just wins
• Help us continue to build a world-class organization that values the contributions of all of our teammates

Desirable

• The Director, Production Partner Management leads the strategy, development, and management of the company's external partner network
• This role is responsible for identifying, qualifying, and onboarding new partners to our new organization; negotiating and structuring joint venture (JV) and other strategic capacity partnerships, including co-investment arrangements with equipment providers, staffing partners, and customers; building education and government partnerships that support talent pipelines and manufacturing incentive programs; and ensuring partners meet the quality, capacity, and cost commitments required to support the business
• The ideal candidate combines hands-on manufacturing operations expertise with strong commercial and negotiation skills and is comfortable operating at both the strategic (partnership structuring, JV governance) and tactical (plant floor, supplier performance) levels
• Build and execute a strategy for expanding the company's partner network across target processes, geographies, and capacity tiers
• Source, evaluate, and qualify new partners through capability audits, quality system reviews, and on-site assessments
• Lead onboarding of new partners, including capability mapping, pricing frameworks, quality agreements, and production ramp plans
• Identify and evaluate joint venture, co-investment, and dedicated-capacity opportunities that expand manufacturing capabilities or secure strategic capacity
• Lead due diligence, business case development, and deal structuring for JV and strategic partnerships to our organization, in partnership with Finance, Legal, and executive leadership
• Negotiate partnership agreements, including terms, governance structures, IP and exclusivity provisions, and commercial terms; represent the company on JV governance or steering committees
• Manage the ongoing partner and JV relationship post-signing, including performance reviews, capital planning, and expansion decisions
• Build and negotiate partnerships with capital equipment manufacturers and suppliers to secure financing, leasing, or co-investment arrangements that expand partner facility capacity
• Develop strategic relationships with staffing and workforce partners to scale labor at partner facilities in line with production ramp and capacity plans
• Structure and negotiate joint investment agreements with key customers to co-fund dedicated capacity, equipment purchases, or facility expansions in exchange for committed volume or preferred terms
• Evaluate the financial and operational terms of equipment, staffing, and customer co-investment deals, partnering with Finance and Legal on deal structure and risk allocation
• Develop and negotiate partnership agreements with technical colleges, universities, and vocational/trade programs to build manufacturing talent pipelines, apprenticeships, and co-op programs
• Build relationships with federal, state, and local government agencies to identify and secure manufacturing incentive programs, grants, tax credits, and reshoring/onshoring initiatives
• Represent the company with workforce development boards, economic development organizations, and industry associations to advance manufacturing partnership and talent strategy
• Track policy and funding developments relevant to domestic manufacturing capacity and advise leadership on opportunities to pursue
• Establish and track partner scorecards covering quality, on-time delivery, cost, capacity utilization, and responsiveness
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives with partners, including lean manufacturing, yield improvement, and cost-down programs
• Manage capacity planning and allocation across the partner network to meet forecasted demand
• Resolve escalated quality, delivery, or commercial issues with partners; lead root-cause and corrective action processes
• Partner closely with Business Development, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Legal, and Commercial teams to align partner strategy with product roadmaps and business goals
• Provide regular reporting to executive leadership on partner network health, JV performance, education/government partnership progress, and capacity risk
• Build, mentor, and lead a team of partner managers / supplier development engineers
• Own risk management for the partner portfolio, including geographic concentration, financial health of partners, and supply continuity planning
• Success Metrics:
• Growth and diversification of qualified partner capacity against strategic priorities
• Successful execution of joint venture / strategic partnership deals from evaluation through signed agreement and operational ramp
• Partner network performance against quality, delivery, and cost scorecards
• Reduction of single-source and geographic concentration risk across the partner portfolio
• Number and value of education and government partnerships established, including talent pipeline agreements and secured incentive/grant funding
• Value of co-investment secured through equipment, staffing, and customer partnership agreements