Greenlight 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 Greenlight 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, Greenlight continues to innovate alongside the evolving needs of modern life. Today, more than 6.5 million family members trust Greenlight to stay in sync.
At Greenlight, 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 Greenlight 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 Greenlight's Employer of Record (EOR) partner in China, and Greenlight 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 Greenlight'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 Greenlight:
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:
Greenlight provides a competitive compensation package with a market-based approach to pay and will vary depending on your location, experience and skill set. Greenlight 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.
Greenlight 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.
Greenlight 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 [email protected].
