Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth
Eras of humanity can often be defined by a dominant transportation mode - horse drawn chariots, ocean going boats, or aircraft. These were spurred by a small group of people rigorously focused on building technology to achieve faster access to more of the world. We seek to usher in a new era of humanity defined by universal access to the whole globe free of borders and the presence of a routine way from space to Earth. To do this, we are building highly maneuverable re-entry vehicles that can loiter in orbit before precision landing back on Earth.
What You'll Do:We’re seeking a hands-on Manager of Manufacturing Operations to oversee our machine shop, manufacturing engineering activities, production workflows, and final vehicle integration. This role is key to scaling and optimizing advanced aerospace manufacturing operations — with a strong focus on leadership, scheduling, efficiency, and cross-functional collaboration.
Key Responsibilities:- Manage daily operations of the machine shop, including machinist scheduling, resource planning, and production prioritization.
- Oversee end-to-end manufacturing workflows across CNC machining, additive manufacturing, and metrology/inspection.
- Lead manufacturing engineering teams focused on process development, quality assurance, and manufacturability improvements.
- Drive factory scheduling and ensure alignment between engineering demand, machine shop capacity, and integration timelines.
- Develop and optimize ERP/MES systems to support work order management, materials tracking, and real-time manufacturing data.
- Collaborate with engineering, supply chain, and leadership teams to ensure production schedules meet program milestones.
- Implement lean manufacturing practices to drive continuous improvement, reduce waste, and improve throughput.
- Maintain a strong culture of safety, quality, accountability, and team development.
- 7+ years of manufacturing leadership experience, with direct responsibility for machine shop operations and production scheduling.
- Strong background in CNC machining, DMLS/additive manufacturing, fabrication, and integration.
- Experience optimizing manufacturing workflows in aerospace, aviation, or high-tech manufacturing industries.
- Proven leadership in ERP/MES system development and manufacturing execution.
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering (Master’s preferred).
- Excellent skills in team leadership, operational planning, and cross-functional communication.
- Aerospace manufacturing or launch vehicle production experience highly preferred.
- Start-up or rapid-growth manufacturing environment experience.
- Certifications in Lean Six Sigma, PMP, or similar fields are a plus.
Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in office presence.
The California annual base salary for this role is currently $130,000-170,000. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.
Top Skills
What We Do
Inversion is developing low-cost, high cadence re-entry vehicles. Returning cargo & resources will be essential for humanity to continue to grow within low-earth orbit and beyond.
We believe in a future where returning from space is as common as launching to space.
Join us: https://boards.greenhouse.io/inversionspace
