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 conform to U.S. Government export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (i.e., green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158, or be eligible to obtain the necessary authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER 

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities. The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Karman is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to race; color; religion; genetic information; national origin; sex; pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; age; disability; citizenship status; uniform servicemember status; or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law. Our management is dedicated to ensuring the fulfillment of this policy with respect to hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruitment advertising, pay, and other forms of compensation, training, and general treatment during employment.