Production Director - CA
On-site · Long Beach, California, United States
Job Summary
Lead LA-area manufacturing operations for hypersonics production, scaling from prototype to high-volume manufacturing with a 100+ person team; drive safety, quality, speed, and continuous improvement while implementing and refining production software systems (MES, ERP, PLM); oversee facility planning, scheduling, capacity planning, materials flow, and cost management; build a world-class organization and partner with engineering, quality, and supply-chain teams to deliver reliable, high-precision aerospace hardware.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering
- 10+ years in production/manufacturing operations or manufacturing engineering
- 5+ years in production/operations leadership
- Demonstrated success in scaling a production operation from development/prototype to high volume production
- Deep understanding of high-precision, complex aerospace hardware production — including metallic and composite fabrication, machining/welding/additive, tight-tolerance assembly, avionics, testing and acceptance, and NDE
- Skilled at interpreting raw data, identifying trends or anomalies, and translating findings into clear, data-informed strategies
- Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing, cross-functional team — including production staff, manufacturing engineers, quality, supply-chain, and operations personnel
- Excellent communication, interpersonal, and cross-functional collaboration skills to interface with engineering, quality, supply-chain, leadership, and possibly external partners or customers
- Demonstrated commitment to safety, quality, and compliance
- Preferred Skills: MES/ERP/PLM, MRP, digital manufacturing workflows, Lean/Six Sigma, AS9100/NADCAP, export-control/ITAR
Desired Qualifications
- Lean manufacturing experience
- Six Sigma
- AS9100/NADCAP knowledge
- experience leading cross-functional teams
- data-driven decision making
- production scheduling and capacity planning
- MES/ERP/PLM knowledge
- aviation/aerospace hardware experience
- quality and safety leadership
- regulatory compliance experience
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