The Role
We are seeking a highly experienced and hands-on Director of Manufacturing to spearhead the growth and leadership of our production organization. This pivotal leader will be instrumental in developing the comprehensive systems, assembling a high-performing team, and building the necessary infrastructure to reliably and efficiently deliver ocean-ready autonomous platforms at scale.
You will begin by evaluating our current production processes, identifying areas for immediate improvement and optimization. You will learn and understand thoroughly the rationales and principles of our designs and build, both enforce and provide feedback to improve for scale manufacturing. Following this foundational work, you will systematically build out and empower a dedicated team to meet ambitious vehicle delivery targets. Your core responsibilities will encompass ensuring the highest standards of quality, optimizing throughput, and guaranteeing the operational readiness of every vehicle that departs our shop floor. Beyond initial delivery, you will also oversee ongoing maintenance operations to ensure consistent system uptime for our commercial endeavors.
This is a key operations role designed for an individual who is passionate about full-spectrum leadership. This encompasses everything from defining the overarching manufacturing strategy to meticulously managing the day-to-day build processes within a dynamic startup environment. A hands-on, in-person presence is expected on a full-time basis to effectively drive these critical initiatives.
What You’ll Do
Production Team Leadership & Growth
- Strategic Team Development: Over the next 12 months, you will be responsible for strategically growing and training our internal manufacturing team, encompassing skilled technicians and operators. This includes identifying talent, onboarding new hires, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and excellence.
- Autonomy and Collaboration: Develop the manufacturing organization’s independence by establishing robust feedback loops with the engineering team. This will empower the production team to become self-sufficient in addressing challenges and driving improvements, while maintaining seamless collaboration for design for manufacturing (DFM) and product evolution.
- Excellence through Training & Certification: Design and implement comprehensive training and certification programs. These programs will ensure consistent quality, adherence to rigorous safety standards, and cultivate multi-role flexibility among team members, enhancing overall operational resilience. Key is to incorporate engineering design intent, and transform it into repeatable standardization that will be unique to our process.
Manufacturing Operations
- End-to-End Production Oversight: You will oversee the entire production lifecycle, from the meticulous assembly of subassemblies and the precise harnessing of electrical components to the robust construction of pressure housings, seamless electronics integration, and thorough system testing.
- Structured Workflows and Accountability: Establish clear and structured work instructions, define critical quality gates at each stage of production, and foster a culture of technician accountability to ensure consistent adherence to standards and optimal output without over processes.
- Driving Throughput with Quality: Relentlessly drive production throughput while meticulously maintaining high first-pass yield and ensuring comprehensive traceability for all mission-critical systems, safeguarding product integrity and reliability.
- Demand-Driven Planning: Accurately forecast and strategically manage labor allocation, production timelines, and overall throughput based on evolving customer demand, ensuring efficient resource utilization and timely deliveries.
- Inventory and Efficiency Management: Ensure optimal inventory levels, meticulous tracking of all components and assemblies, and maintain peak production efficiency throughout the entire build cycle, minimizing waste and maximizing output.
Process & Systems Implementation
- Collaborative Design for Manufacturability (DFM): Partner closely with the engineering team to champion Design for Manufacturability (DFM) improvements, define tooling needs, and establish iterative build/test feedback loops to continuously refine product designs for efficient and high-quality production.
- Scalable Lean Workflows: Implement scalable, lean workflows and cultivate a mature build process that seamlessly transitions products from initial prototype stages to full production release, optimizing efficiency and reducing lead times.
- ERP/MRP System Leadership: Drive the setup and optimization of our ERP/MRP system, ensuring accurate management of Bills of Materials (BOMs), efficient processing of build orders, precise inventory tracking, and robust change control mechanisms.
Facility & Equipment
- Future-Proofing Production Space: Define future space, layout, and equipment needs to strategically support our growing production demands, ensuring our facilities can scale effectively with increasing output.
- Strategic Capital Investments: Plan and meticulously justify capital investments for new equipment, tooling, and infrastructure, focusing on enhancing efficiency, improving reliability, and supporting long-term growth.
- Safety and Marine-Aware Environment: Build and maintain a safe, clean, and specifically marine-aware production environment, implementing best practices for sealing, corrosion control, and other critical considerations for ocean-going autonomous platforms.
- Certification and Infrastructure Expertise: Leverage your experience with ISO certification processes and demonstrate a proven track record in facility or equipment build-out, ensuring our operational infrastructure meets industry-leading standards.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Integrated System Delivery: Collaborate seamlessly with engineering, supply chain, field operations, and quality assurance (QA) teams to deliver robust and reliable systems ready for demanding ocean deployment.
- Customer Delivery Readiness: Provide comprehensive support for final assembly, rigorously conduct acceptance testing (FAT/SAT), and ensure complete customer delivery readiness, guaranteeing a smooth transition from production to operational deployment.
- Compliance and Traceability: Ensure all documentation, traceability records, and quality systems rigorously meet the stringent requirements of both DoD and commercial customers, upholding the highest standards of compliance and accountability.
About You
Experience & Expertise
- Seasoned Operations Leader: Possess a minimum of 10+ years of progressive experience in hardware manufacturing or operations leadership roles, with an ideal background in robotics, maritime technology (specifically Autonomous Underwater Vehicles – AUVs), or aerospace.
- Proven Scalability: Demonstrate a proven track record of successfully building and leading production teams, with a clear ability to scale operations from low-rate initial production to structured volume (approximately 50-100 units/year), showcasing your capability to manage growth effectively.
- Technical Acumen: Exhibit a strong background in electro-mechanical assembly, complex harnessing, intricate system integration, and the specific considerations of marine-rated systems, indicating a deep understanding of our product’s technical requirements.
- Operational Excellence: Possess a deep understanding and practical experience with lean manufacturing principles, comprehensive process documentation, rigorous root-cause analysis methodologies, and robust quality management systems.
- ERP/MRP Proficiency: Proficiently utilize ERP/MRP tools and other production planning systems to optimize workflows, manage resources, and drive efficiency across the manufacturing process.
- Financial and Supply Chain Acumen: Possess strong experience in supply chain management, demand forecasting, and a solid understanding of financial projection and budget management within a manufacturing context.
- Educational Foundation: Hold a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering, or possess equivalent practical experience that demonstrates a strong foundational understanding of engineering principles.
Bonus Experience:
- Specialized Domain Knowledge: Direct experience with maritime, subsea, or IP-rated system production, bringing specialized knowledge critical to our operating environment.
- Defense Industry Compliance: Familiarity with defense manufacturing compliance standards or direct experience with government delivery projects, enhancing our ability to meet specific client requirements.
- Startup to Scale Journey: Prior experience in a startup environment or “zero-to-one” hardware build experience, combined with a successful transition to commercial scaling, demonstrating adaptability and a growth mindset.
Salary range: $185,000 – $210,000
