Chief Operating Officer (COO) — Blue Standard Inc.
Location:
New York / New JerseyWork Structure: Primarily in-person, with regular presence at our Manhattan office and New Jersey production operations
Travel: Regular international travel, particularly to Austria, Germany, and Hungary
Reports to: CEO
Compensation:
$200,000–$260,000 base salary + performance bonus + equity - Depending on Experience About Blue Standard Inc. Blue Standard Inc. is a rapidly growing material science and manufacturing company developing and commercializing innovative, plant-based material systems for consumer products. We work with major brands and manufacturing partners across the United States and Europe and are entering an important new stage of growth: scaling our European manufacturing platform while establishing production in New Jersey. We are looking for a Chief Operating Officer who can help transform a fast-moving, entrepreneurial organization into a highly organized, scalable international operating company. This is not a role focused on maintaining existing systems. It is a role for someone who wants to build them.
The Opportunity:
The COO will work directly with the CEO and leadership team to develop the operational infrastructure required to support Blue Standard's next stage of growth. A major focus of the position will be creating seamless operating systems between our U.S. and European organizations while helping establish and scale manufacturing in New Jersey. The COO will coordinate operations across our Manhattan headquarters, New Jersey production operations, and European manufacturing network. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable developing an operating strategy with senior leadership and spending time on the production floor understanding how products are actually being manufactured.
Core Responsibilities
Global Operations:- Create an integrated operating structure across Blue Standard's U.S. and European businesses.
- Establish clear responsibilities, decision-making processes, reporting structures, and accountability across regions.
- Improve communication and coordination between U.S. leadership and European manufacturing operations.
- Translate company strategy into measurable operating plans and execution.
- U.S. Manufacturing Expansion
- Play a leadership role in establishing and scaling Blue Standard production in New Jersey.
- Maintain a regular on-site presence at New Jersey production operations.
- Coordinate equipment installation, production ramp-up, staffing, capacity planning, suppliers, and production systems.
- Ensure knowledge and manufacturing processes developed in Europe are successfully transferred to U.S. production.
- Develop repeatable manufacturing processes capable of supporting significant future growth.
European & International Operations:
Work closely with production teams and manufacturing partners in Austria, Germany, and Hungary.
Establish consistent operating processes across international entities.
Coordinate production planning, procurement, inventory, logistics, forecasting, and customer requirements across regions.
Travel regularly to European operations, particularly during the initial integration and scale-up period.
Systems & ERPLead implementation and adoption of company-wide ERP and operating systems.
Establish reliable systems for purchasing, inventory, production planning, logistics, forecasting, and reporting.
Reduce reliance on disconnected spreadsheets, emails, and institutional knowledge.
Create scalable processes that allow the company to continue growing without adding unnecessary complexity.
Production & Supply Chain:- Develop company-wide production planning and capacity management.
- Implement demand forecasting and S&OP processes.
- Improve supplier management, purchasing, inventory levels, logistics, and working capital.
- Establish operational redundancy and business continuity planning.
- Develop processes for managing co-manufacturers and strategic production partners.
- Operational Excellence
- Establish and monitor KPIs including:
- Production throughput
- Capacity utilization
- Cycle time
- Scrap and yield
- On-time delivery
- InventoryCOGSGross margin
- Working capital
- Forecast accuracy
- Identify opportunities to improve manufacturing economics, productivity, and margins.
- Develop a culture of continuous improvement across the organization.
Organization & Leadership:
Build and develop the operations organization required to support Blue Standard's growth.
Establish clear responsibilities throughout manufacturing, logistics, procurement, and operations.
Develop a consistent operating cadence including weekly operations reviews and monthly business reviews.
Work closely with Finance, R&D, Commercial, and executive leadership.
What We're Looking For:- We are looking for an experienced operational leader who has helped build and scale manufacturing organizations, rather than someone whose experience is limited to managing mature corporate infrastructure.
- Strong candidates will likely have:12+ years of experience in manufacturing, operations, supply chain, or industrial businesses.
- Significant leadership experience at the VP, SVP, GM, President, or COO level.
- Experience scaling manufacturing operations.
- Experience operating within international or multi-entity organizations.
- Experience connecting U.S. and European operations is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated experience implementing ERP, MRP, or enterprise operating systems.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing economics, inventory, supply chain, procurement, logistics, and working capital.
- Experience managing contract manufacturers or external production partners.
- Experience establishing new manufacturing facilities or production lines.
- Strong financial and analytical capabilities.
- Ability to operate effectively in a high-growth entrepreneurial environment.
- Experience with injection molding, polymers, plastics, material science, consumer products, industrial manufacturing, or related manufacturing technologies would be particularly valuable.
- The Type of Leader Who Will Succeed HereWe are looking for someone who is:
- A builder, not simply an administrator. Taking ownership is KEY.Comfortable moving between executive strategy and factory-floor execution.
- Highly organized without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
- Capable of turning institutional knowledge into documented, repeatable processes.
- Financially disciplined and data-driven.
- Comfortable working across different cultures, countries, and operating environments.
- Naturally accountable and able to create accountability throughout an organization.
- Willing to challenge existing processes when there is a better way to operate.
- Excited by the opportunity to help build the operating platform of a rapidly scaling manufacturing company.
- Location & TravelThis position will be based in the New York / New Jersey area.
- The COO will divide time between:
- Blue Standard's Manhattan office
- New Jersey manufacturing operations
- International production operations and partners, primarily in Austria, Germany, and Hungary
- This is not intended to be a remote position. We believe the person responsible for building our manufacturing and operating infrastructure needs meaningful direct engagement with both our leadership team and production operations.
- International travel will be significant during the initial integration and scale-up period and will remain an ongoing component of the position.
Compensation
Blue Standard expects to offer:
Base Salary: $200,000–$260,000 depending on experience
Annual Performance Bonus: Target approximately 20%Equity: Equity participation based on experience and fit
Benefits:
Competitive executive benefits package For an exceptional candidate with particularly relevant international manufacturing and scale-up experience, compensation may be adjusted accordingly.
Why Blue Standard:
This is an opportunity to join Blue Standard at an important inflection point.
The company has already developed its technology, established international production, built meaningful commercial relationships, and demonstrated significant market demand.
The next challenge is operational scale.
The person joining as COO will have an opportunity to help design the systems, organization, manufacturing infrastructure, and operating discipline that support the company for the next decade.
We are looking for someone who wants to build that platform with us.
