Advanced Navigation is the world’s most determined innovator in AI robotics and navigation technologies across land, air, sea and space applications. Founded on a culture of research and discovery, Advanced Navigation's mission is to be the catalyst of the autonomy revolution. Fields of expertise include artificial intelligence, underwater sonar, GNSS, radio frequency systems, inertial sensors, robotics, quantum sensors and photonics.
Today, Advanced Navigation is a supplier to some of the world's largest companies, including Airbus, Boeing, Google, Tesla, NASA, Apple, and General Motors. Discover it for yourself: https://youtu.be/F7uAqs1gtuk
OVERVIEW OF ROLE
Based in Botany, you will lead multiple teams responsible for manufacturing of electro-mechanical devices. You will ensure all outputs meet customer demand, quality standards, labor cost targets, lead time targets and safety requirements.
Key priorities
Production capacity: ensure necessary Australian installed capacity to supply complex sub-assemblies to all regional manufacturing hubs as well as finished goods for the APAC region and provide global surge capacity of finished goods.
NPI & Transfer: partner with R&D and Production Engineering to ensure products and processes are ready for transfer to regional manufacturing hubs.
Approach: balance strategic planning with hands-on leadership using a data-driven, communicative style.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Team Leadership & Culture
Lead the recruitment, onboarding, production training and professional development of the Australian Production teams.
Build a high-performance culture aligned with company values, ensuring team skills evolve alongside product complexity and volume.
Operational Execution
Production Delivery: Execute the production schedule to ensure high-quality products are delivered on time and within budget.
Planning Partnership: Collaborate with the Supply Chain Planner to align floor capacity with inventory strategy and customer demand.
Resource Management: Manage the daily availability and proper storage of production equipment; coordinate with Engineering to ensure calibration and preventative maintenance schedules are met without disrupting output.
Data & Continuous Improvement
Own the accuracy of production data; measure and report weekly KPIs (e.g., yield, throughput, and labor efficiency).
Drive a "continuous improvement" mindset, using production metrics to identify and eliminate process waste using Lean Manufacturing methodologies
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Stakeholder Management: Provide transparent updates to Sales Ops, Engineering, and Leadership regarding lead times, supply risks, or technical delays.
Engineering Partnership: Work with Production Engineering to optimize workshop layouts and ensure New Product Introductions (NPI) are adequately resourced for volume and quality targets.
Safety & Compliance
Safety Leadership: Champion a "Safety First" culture, ensuring 100% compliance with HSE requirements and proactive hazard identification.
Strategic Growth
Business Evolution: Adapt team structures and processes as Advanced Navigation scales globally.
Organizational Literacy: Maintain a deep understanding of how Production integrates with R&D and Supply Chain to drive the company’s strategic vision.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
5+ years in a senior Production Management or Operations Leadership role within a high-tech manufacturing environment.
Proven experience in COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) manufacturing, managing the transition from raw materials to complex finished electronics.
Demonstrated success in managing multi-site teams and delivering against rigorous global supply chain requirements.
Practical experience using tier-one ERP systems (e.g., Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, or Salesforce) to drive production data integrity and scheduling.
Technical Knowledge & Standards
Quality Standards: In-depth knowledge of ISO 9001:2015 and IPC-A-610 standards to ensure electronics assembly meets global quality benchmarks.
Advanced Manufacturing: Direct exposure to robotics, automated test equipment, and high-precision assembly processes.
Safety & Compliance: Expert-level understanding of WHS/HSE practices and the ability to implement proactive safety cultures on the shop floor.
Leadership & Character Attributes
Strategic Execution: Strong analytical skills with the ability to manage high-volume data and oversee multiple, shifting project schedules simultaneously.
Decisive Leadership: A responsive and decisive disposition, with the ability to provide hands-on support while maintaining a strategic view of future capacity.
Operational Discipline: A high standard of attention to detail and a "follow-through" mindset, ensuring processes are not just started, but closed out and audited.
Communicator: The ability to translate complex production issues into clear updates for cross-functional stakeholders (Sales, Engineering, Executive).
Skills Required
- 5+ years in a senior Production Management or Operations Leadership role
- Experience in Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) manufacturing
- Managing multi-site teams
- Experience with tier-one ERP systems
- Knowledge of ISO 9001:2015 and IPC-A-610 standards
- Understanding of WHS/HSE practices
What We Do
Advanced Navigation is a privately owned Australian company that specialises in the development of navigation technologies and robotics. The company has a focus on generating products of the highest quality standard, both in terms of hardware and software. The company's founders came from a background in mission critical robotics built to military specifications and this can be seen through Advanced Navigation's products. Advanced Navigation's engineers have specialised expertise across a broad range of fields including sensors, GNSS, inertial navigation, RF technologies, acoustics, robotics, AI and algorithms.
