Manager, Manufacturing Excellence

JOB SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Chief Operations Officer (COO), Robinson Helicopter Company (RHC) is seeking an experienced Manager, Manufacturing Excellence to lead a newly created hybrid function responsible for codifying manufacturing processes, improving operational efficiency, and driving lean transformation across aircraft production, subassembly, and support operations.

This role is designed for a highly capable aerospace manufacturing leader with a strong bias toward Manufacturing Engineering and Lean Manufacturing. The Manager, Manufacturing Excellence will lead the development and control of production documentation including operation sheets, work instructions, work order travelers, setup sheets, standard work, routing structures, and manufacturing process baselines used to build aircraft and major subassemblies.

The ideal candidate understands that strong manufacturing engineering discipline creates the foundation for industrial engineering and continuous improvement. Once processes are properly defined, documented, and controlled, Industrial Engineering can measure and improve labor efficiency, flow, capacity, takt, and throughput; Continuous Improvement can then drive the operation toward lean manufacturing states.

This position requires a hands-on aerospace leader capable of working across aircraft assembly, gearbox assembly, engine installation, hydraulic systems, avionics, electrical systems, mechanical systems, machining, fabrication, and final assembly operations. The successful candidate must be equally comfortable on the shop floor, in front of engineering drawings, leading cross-functional improvement teams, and developing the systems that make production repeatable, measurable, scalable, and efficient.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead the integrated Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Continuous Improvement function supporting aircraft production, subassembly, overhaul, and related manufacturing operations
• Establish and manage the manufacturing process documentation system, including operation sheets, work instructions, work order travelers, setup sheets, inspection points, routing steps, standard work, and process control documentation
• Develop clear, repeatable, and controlled manufacturing processes for aircraft assembly, major subassemblies, gearboxes, engines, hydraulic systems, avionics, electrical systems, mechanical assemblies, and related production areas
• Ensure manufacturing documentation accurately reflects engineering requirements, production sequence, tooling, materials, inspection requirements, labor standards, safety requirements, and quality expectations
• Build the process baseline required for Industrial Engineering to measure, analyze, and improve productivity, labor efficiency, capacity, flow, takt time, cycle time, and throughput
• Lead the development of standard work and process discipline across production areas to improve repeatability, quality, training effectiveness, and operational control
• Partner with Production, Quality, Engineering, Planning, Supply Chain, and Maintenance to resolve process issues, remove constraints, improve manufacturability, and support production schedules
• Drive Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives focused on waste reduction, flow improvement, first-pass yield, lead time reduction, labor efficiency, standardization, and visual factory management
• Identify and eliminate non-value-added activity, process variation, bottlenecks, rework loops, layout inefficiencies, and material flow constraints
• Lead value stream mapping, line balancing, time studies, capacity analysis, workplace organization, 5S, kaizen events, root cause analysis, and process improvement projects
• Support development of manufacturing routings, labor standards, work center planning, production readiness reviews, and ERP/MRP process data accuracy
• Support production manufacturing tool designs
• Ensure operation sheets and work instructions become the controlled baseline for training, execution, quality verification, labor planning, and continuous improvement
• Establish performance metrics for Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Continuous Improvement, including process documentation completion, labor efficiency, cycle time improvement, first-pass yield, cost reduction, and schedule support
• Mentor and develop Manufacturing Engineers, Industrial Engineers, Lean practitioners, and production support personnel to build a disciplined, technically capable, improvement-oriented organization
• Maintain a strong shop floor presence and actively engage with production teams to understand real operating conditions, validate processes, and ensure documentation reflects how work should be performed
• Promote a culture of accountability, standard work, continuous improvement, operational discipline, and aerospace-quality execution

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related technical discipline required
• 8+ years of progressive manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering, or continuous improvement experience in aerospace, aviation, defense, automotive, or other complex manufacturing environments
• 3+ years of leadership experience managing engineers, technical teams, lean practitioners, or cross-functional manufacturing improvement initiatives
• Strong Manufacturing Engineering background with demonstrated experience developing work instructions, operation sheets, manufacturing routings, setup documentation, tooling requirements, and production process plans
• Strong Lean Manufacturing experience with practical application of standard work, value stream mapping, kaizen, 5S, visual management, flow improvement, takt time, line balancing, and waste elimination
• Working knowledge of Industrial Engineering principles including time studies, labor standards, capacity planning, productivity analysis, process flow, layout optimization, and throughput improvement
• Experience supporting complex assembly operations involving mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, avionics, powertrain, or aircraft systems
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, bills of material, manufacturing plans, quality requirements, and technical documentation
• Strong understanding of how controlled manufacturing documentation supports quality, training, repeatability, labor planning, ERP accuracy, and production execution
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence operations, solve complex manufacturing problems, and deliver measurable business results
• Strong analytical, communication, organizational, and leadership skills with the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced aerospace manufacturing environment
• High level of accountability, urgency, and business acumen with a strong focus on quality, cost, schedule, safety, and operational performance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Aerospace or rotorcraft manufacturing experience
• Experience supporting aircraft final assembly, subassembly, gearbox assembly, engine installation, hydraulics, avionics, electrical systems, or flight-critical hardware
• Strong operating knowledge of SolidWorks and MasterCam.
• Experience in vertically integrated manufacturing environments including machining, fabrication, assembly, welding, inspection, and final production
• Experience developing or improving work order travelers, router packets, manufacturing instructions, setup sheets, and ERP/MRP routing structures
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, APICS/CPIM, or equivalent operational excellence certification
• Experience with Epicor or similar ERP/MRP systems
• Experience supporting FAA-regulated manufacturing environments
• Familiarity with AS9100D quality system principles, production readiness, first article inspection, PFMEA, control plans, and process validation 
• Experience building a Manufacturing Engineering or Continuous Improvement function from the ground up

• WHAT YOU’LL SUPPORT:

  At Robinson Helicopter Company, this role will directly support the development of a more disciplined, documented, measurable, and lean manufacturing system across one of the world’s most vertically integrated helicopter manufacturers.

  This function will establish the production process baseline required to improve:

• aircraft assembly execution
• subassembly production performance
• standard work and training effectiveness
• labor efficiency and throughput
• operational flow and material movement
• quality and first-pass yield
• production schedule reliability
• continuous improvement maturity
• Your work will help define how Robinson builds aircraft today and how the company scales, improves, and standardizes its manufacturing system for the future.

Annual Salary Range:  $120,000-$160,000, depending on experience, qualifications and skill set.