InventWood Inc. Plant Manager Frederick, MD · Full time Company website

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InventWood is a pioneering materials science company that revolutionizes the construction and building materials industry. We've developed SuperWood, a groundbreaking engineered wood product that is stronger, lighter, more durable, and more sustainable than traditional alternatives like steel and concrete. Born out of research at the University of Maryland, we are transforming the possibilities of wood, offering unparalleled performance while promoting responsible forest management and reducing carbon emissions. As we scale our commercial production, we're building a team passionate about driving adoption of this transformative material.

Are you a seasoned manufacturing leader who thrives on building something extraordinary from the ground up? Do you want your work to genuinely matter — not just to a bottom line, but to the world? If so, we'd love to meet you.

At InventWood, we're doing something remarkable. We're bringing SuperWood to life — a revolutionary advanced material that's set to change industries. Our manufacturing plant in Frederick, MD is the beating heart of that mission, and we're looking for an exceptional Plant Manager to lead it.

This isn't a role for someone who wants to manage the status quo. This is a rare opportunity to build a team, shape a culture, and lead a plant from its very first day of operation. If you've ever wanted to put your fingerprints on something that lasts, this is it.

What You'll Be Leading

You'll have full responsibility for the safe, efficient, and inspiring operation of our pilot manufacturing plant. That means:

Safety Leadership

• Set and model the gold standard for safety culture — not because regulations require it, but because our people come first. Your behaviour will make it clear, every single day, that safety always comes before production.
• Identify, establish, and communicate safety procedures that go beyond OSHA compliance to ensure a genuinely injury-free workplace.
• Serve as the administrator of our Secova/SAMS EHS system, ensuring all training records, safety incidents, and inspections are accurately logged and up to date.
• Collaborate closely with safety management personnel in our Advanced Materials Innovation Lab to ensure safe, consistent operations across the entire facility.
• Coordinate emergency response planning with external providers including the fire department, environmental spill containment services, police, and confined space rescue personnel.

Building & Leading Your Team

• Hire our very first production crew — people who genuinely share InventWood's values and principles — and set them up for success from day one.
• Develop every team member toward a top operator designation, with the capability to safely and confidently operate any machine center on the pilot line.
• Begin this development during commissioning, ensuring operators and maintenance technicians receive early, structured training with clear expectations for each individual machine.
• Lead daily operational direction for the pilot line team, keeping production of SuperWood aligned with our quality standards and sales plan.

Commissioning & Startup

• Partner with our engineering team, OEM suppliers, and contractors to bring the pilot line online safely, on schedule, and within budget.
• Ensure that no trial is run without your full accountability — including planning for expected downtime and delivering clear, useful trial results.
• Support the selection of a controls technician to maintain and operate the process control network (PCN) and connected PLCs.

Process Control & Continuous Improvement

• Work alongside the Senior Process Engineer to establish robust production reporting, grounded in reliable process control data.
• Instill a disciplined one-change-at-a-time process control mindset — ensuring parameter changes are deliberate, documented, and fully understood before further adjustments are made.
• Use data to build a culture of continuous improvement, identifying gaps in safety, downtime, cycle time, and quality as opportunities to improve both performance and profitability.
• Collaborate with the technical team to plan and execute lab and pilot machine trials that advance the quality and efficiency of SuperWood production.

Environmental & Regulatory Compliance

• Communicate proactively with regulatory officials and work with the technical team to measure all effluent and emissions from the process, validating our environmental modeling.
• Ensure all pressure vessel equipment is inspected in accordance with applicable operating permits.
• Maintain open, productive relationships with county and state officials on occupancy permits, environmental construction permits, and economic development programmes.

Budget & Business Management

• Establish and manage an annual operating and maintenance budget, with full accountability to the COO for performance against approved spend.
• Oversee the inventory rotation of raw materials and finished goods, reporting both to the COO on a regular basis.
• Follow established PO, invoicing, and receiving processes in partnership with the Accounting team, ensuring parts inventory values are accurately tracked and all assets reported.
• Provide the Sales team with a monthly production plan, ensure orders are precisely prepared and delivered, and support the swift resolution of any customer claims or complaints.

Supplier & Stakeholder Relationships

• Maintain strong working relationships with wood and chemical suppliers, ensuring material specifications, quality standards, pricing agreements, and safety requirements (including MSDS compliance) are consistently met.
• Serve as the key point of contact with OEM partners, providing InventWood feedback on equipment operation, maintenance, warranty claims, and delivery.
• Liaise with the landlord on building structural changes and construction matters in accordance with the lease agreement, including maintenance, snow removal, traffic control, and security.
• Keep the office manager informed of any site matters affecting office personnel, and actively support a culture of celebration, teamwork, and shared community across the whole facility.

Confidentiality

• Maintain the strictest confidentiality around operating processes, parameters, and targets when engaging with anyone outside of InventWood. What we're building is special — and protecting it matters.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree (or higher) in Materials Science, Engineering, Business, or a related field
• 10+ years of manufacturing leadership or supervisory experience
• 5+ years of experience running a manufacturing plant
• Experience in an early-stage or high-growth environment — you know how to build, not just maintain
• Strong grasp of budgeting, lean operations, strategic planning, and working capital management
• Sharp analytical and problem-solving skills with exceptional attention to detail
• A confident, clear communicator — with your team, with regulators, and with senior leadership
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)
• Fluent in English (spoken and written)
• Skilled at managing competing priorities, staying organised under pressure, and keeping calm when it counts

Physical Demands

This is a hands-on, plant-floor leadership role and we want to be upfront about what that involves:

• Regular, on-site presence during core business hours is essential — this role cannot be done remotely.
• You'll need to be available outside of standard hours when project deadlines or operational issues require it. Plant life doesn't always keep office hours, and we appreciate leaders who understand that.
• You'll be working in an active industrial environment that includes working at heights, in confined spaces, climbing stairs and ladders, and operating in conditions that may include extreme heat or cold. Appropriate safety equipment and procedures will always be in place.
• You'll regularly move between departments and areas of our facility — from the plant floor to the lab, office spaces, and loading areas.
• Limited travel may be required from time to time — to visit customers, suppliers, or attend company meetings.
• Vision and hearing must be within, or correctable to within, normal range.

We are committed to making reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities to ensure everyone who is right for this role has a fair opportunity to succeed.

Why InventWood?

Because here, your leadership will shape more than a plant — it will shape a company, a culture, and a product that the world hasn't seen before. You'll work alongside brilliant, passionate people who are as committed to doing things right as they are to doing remarkable things.

We celebrate together, solve hard problems together, and hold ourselves to high standards — together.

Ready to build something that matters?

We can't wait to hear from you.