Director, Manufacturing (China) | 制造总监 (中国)

The company is a family technology company on a mission to help families raise financially smart kids and navigate life together. Its suite of products — including the the company app, debit card, Safe Family GPS trackers, and Family Hub — brings together financial tools, safety features, and everyday family management in one connected experience. Designed for busy families who want convenience without compromise, the company continues to innovate alongside the evolving needs of modern life. Today, more than 6.5 million family members trust the company to stay in sync.

At the company, we're here to make the day-to-day easier and futures brighter, so families can spend less time managing life, and more time living it. That's why we get out of bed every morning.

We're looking for a Director, Manufacturing to be our first the company team member in China and our eyes, ears, and voice on the factory floor. You'll own our ODM relationships end to end, from day-to-day build execution and quality gates to sourcing the partners who will build what comes next. You'll have real authority: you can stop a shipment, reject a lot, demand a corrective action, and shape which suppliers we bet on. Reporting to our VP, Business Operations, you'll partner closely with Hardware Engineering, Quality, Finance, and Supply Chain in the US, and spend roughly 15-30% of your time on-site with suppliers across the Greater Bay Area.

Good to know: this role is employed through the company's Employer of Record (EOR) partner in China, and the company directs the day-to-day work. Contracts, POs, and supplier payments are signed by our US entity — you recommend and negotiate, we sign. It's a deliberate setup for a first hire in a new market.

Your day-to-day

• Be the company's on-site presence at our contract manufacturers during builds, line walks, and production ramps

• Lead manufacturing readiness for new products, from early supplier engagement through EVT, DVT, PVT, and the transition to stable mass production.

• Own the quality gates: outgoing inspection, pre-shipment sign-off, and hold-and-release decisions

• Manage change control (ECN/PCN, tooling, sub-tier, and material changes) so nothing changes in our product without a documented quality review

• Hold ODMs to the quality and reporting commitments in our agreements, and flag early where a contract isn't giving us the leverage we need

• Manage our third-party inspection partners (e.g., QIMA, SGS, Intertek): set the scope, write the AQL plans and inspection criteria, and spot-check their work

• Lead nonconformance investigations (8D, 5-Why, fishbone) through true root cause, containment, and verified corrective action

• Turn returns and warehouse defect data into supplier scorecards, and publish a weekly quality scorecard the US team relies on

• Source the next generation of partners: run RFIs/RFQs and supplier audits, build should-cost comparisons, and recommend second sources for launch-critical parts

• Make sure production evidence backs the certifications our products carry, including the children's-product safety standards that apply to us

• Translate in both directions, so US engineering intent survives the production line and factory concerns reach us in time to matter

What you'll bring to the team

• 7+ years in supplier quality, sourcing, or manufacturing operations for consumer electronics or connected devices, with significant time on ODM/CM factory floors in China

• Experience owning both quality (audits, inspection standards, nonconformance, CAPA) and sourcing (supplier identification, RFQs, cost analysis, qualification)

• Hands-on NPI experience taking consumer products from prototype through EVT/DVT/PVT to mass production

• Working command of quality tools: 8D, 5-Why, FMEA, PPAP/FAI, SPC/Cpk, MSA, AQL sampling, and ISO 9001

• Deep process knowledge in at least one area (injection molding and tooling, SMT/PCBA, final assembly, or batteries), enough to challenge a supplier's claim on the floor

• Fluency in Mandarin, plus strong written and spoken business English. Cantonese is a plus

• Willing to travel to the Greater Shenzhen Bay Area, and excited about frequent travel to supplier sites up to 15-30% of the time, specifically during critical product development periods

• A self-directed working style; you'll be our only team member in your time zone, but may need to join an evening once a week overlapping with US Eastern day time

• Bonus points for: being the first in-country hire for a foreign company, managing inspection agencies as a client, experience with children's products or other highly regulated categories, NFC/payment hardware or wearables, a CQE, Six Sigma Black Belt, or ISO 9001 Lead Auditor certification, and startup experience building process from scratch

Not sure this one's for you? Don't count yourself out. Show us what you've got and we'll reach out if there's a great fit.

Work perks at the company

Benefits for this role are provided through our Employer of Record partner in China and will be shared during the recruiter screen.

• PTO

• Professional development stipend

• Mental health resources

• Employee resource groups

• Life Insurance, Medical, Healthcare, Critical Illness, Inpatient Subsidy, Children Insurance

Our stance on salaries

The company provides a competitive compensation package with a market-based approach to pay and will vary depending on your location, experience and skill set. The company conducts continuous compensation evaluations across departments and geographies to ensure we are keeping our pay current and competitive.

The estimated base pay range for this position is: ¥500,000 – ¥750,000

Who we are

It takes a talented team to aim for a mission like ours. We're looking for people who ask "is it bold enough?" People who bring their real selves to the table and push the people around them to do the same. We win by never hesitating to jump in, offer a hand, or share the credit, because we know we're stronger together than apart. And through all of it, the mission stays the thing we measure ourselves against: are we doing right by the families counting on us? If that sounds like your kind of team, we'd love for you to apply.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant based on age, race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth), genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

The company is committed to an inclusive work environment and interview experience. If you require reasonable accommodations to participate in our hiring process, please reach out to your recruiter directly or email [link for members]