Vice President, Manufacturing

**Job Summary** Karman Space & Defense is a market leader providing concept-to-production solutions for mission-critical systems across spacecraft, launch vehicles, missiles, hypersonics, and integrated defense platforms. We are seeking a visionary, highly collaborative **Vice President of Manufacturing** to spearhead our multi-site production facilities, advance our technological capabilities, and lead high-performing teams in achieving exceptional execution. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, the VP of Manufacturing will oversee all production operations, factory-floor automation, lean manufacturing initiatives, and multi-disciplinary manufacturing engineering frameworks. This executive leader is tasked with bridging the gap between design engineering and volume manufacturing while maximizing throughput, driving down cost-of-quality, and hitting meticulous delivery schedules for prime defense contractors, commercial space enterprises, and agencies like NASA. **Essential Duties & Responsibilities** - **Operational Excellence:** Architect and execute a comprehensive manufacturing strategy across all facilities to maximize production capacity, optimize equipment utilization, and scale the output of complex composite and metallic flight hardware. - **Cross-Functional Collaboration:** Partner directly with the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Growth Officer, and VP of Engineering to translate business development pipelines into robust operational capacity and realistic product roadmaps. - **New Product Introduction (NPI):** Provide strategic oversight to the Manufacturing Engineering division, guaranteeing flawless transition protocols from concept designs to stable, repeatable, high-volume production runs. - **Financial Management:** Build and manage multi-million dollar capital expenditure (CapEx) and operational expense (OpEx) budgets, analyzing cost variances and enacting continuous improvement mandates to improve gross margins. - **Supply Chain & S&OP Integration:** Synchronize factory schedules closely with Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Material Requirements Planning (MRP), procurement, and quality assurance divisions to guarantee 100% on-time delivery (OTD). - **Quality & Regulatory Compliance:** Enforce uncompromising adherence to AS9100, ISO 9001, and NADCAP aerospace specifications, promoting a zero-defect culture on the manufacturing floor. - **Team Leadership:** Mentor and develop site plant managers, fabrication supervisors, and senior engineering leads, establishing clear performance metrics (KPIs) and continuous learning pathways. **Required Education & Experience** - **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a highly related technical discipline (Master's degree or MBA is highly preferred). - **Experience:** Minimum of 12–15+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience within the aerospace, defense, spacecraft, satellite, or hypersonic industries. - **Executive Track Record:** Proven history of managing multi-site manufacturing facilities or large-scale aerospace fabrication environments. - **Technical Domain:** Deep expertise in the manufacturing of complex components, including precision CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, composite layups, automated assembly, and specialized welding operations. - **Methodologies:** Expert-level mastery of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma principles, Kaizen, and formal 5S deployment strategies. **Preferred Qualifications** - Prior experience interacting directly with major defense prime contractors, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). - Advanced understanding of aerospace manufacturing software systems, including ERP/MRP programs and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). - Exceptional executive communication and negotiation skills, with an innate ability to translate intricate shop-floor mechanics into strategic financial forecasts for the C-suite. **ITAR Requirements** To c…