Vice President of Operations

Your Mission:

• High-Volume Manufacturing Leadership: Partner with technology team to continue to scale production from engineering validation and initial production line development to full-rate manufacturing of space-ready solar cells and solar power modules – achieving the company goal of 1 mega-watt per year capacity.
• Operational Strategy & Execution: Design and implement manufacturing operations strategies aligned with company growth goals and customer requirements.
• ERP System Deployment: Lead the end-to-end implementation of an enterprise ERP system to unify operations, drive workflow efficiency, and enable accurate, data-driven decision-making.
• Factory and Production Line Development: Work in partnership with R&D and technology teams to manage facility expansion, line layout, equipment selection, and automation strategies to support reliable and repeatable high-throughput manufacturing.
• Process Optimization: Develop and implement best-in-class manufacturing processes using Lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement principles to maximize yield, quality, and throughput.
• Supply Chain Management: Build and manage a resilient global supply chain tailored to aerospace-grade components and long-lead materials. Ensure supplier reliability and cost performance.
• Quality Assurance: Maintain and scale quality systems (e.g., AS9100, ISO 9001) to ensure production meets rigorous aerospace and mission-critical standards.
• Cost and Efficiency Management: Drive operational KPIs including cost per unit, cycle time, and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) while managing CapEx and OpEx budgets.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Interface with engineering, test, and program teams to ensure manufacturability, timely product handoff, and alignment between design and operations.
• Team Leadership: Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing team across manufacturing, materials management, and facilities operations.

What You Bring:

• 15+ years in manufacturing and operations leadership, including experience with high-volume production of precision hardware.
• Demonstrated success in scaling from low-rate to high-rate manufacturing environments, ideally within aerospace, defense, semiconductor, or high-precision hardware sectors.
• Proven experience leading successful ERP system selection, configuration, and implementation.
• Strong background in lean manufacturing, production systems design, and quality assurance.
• Experience with capital project planning, factory setup, and automation integration.
• Familiarity with aerospace manufacturing standards and regulatory compliance.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, or a related technical discipline; Master’s or MBA preferred.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and cross-functional coordination skills.

Our Benefits:

• Competitive salary + equity - we want you to grow with us
• Generous, high-quality medical, dental, and vision coverage on day one of employment
• PTO of 15 days + annual Holiday Break and 10 paid holidays annually
• 401K with employer match up to 4% of salary
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term disability and employer-sponsored life insurance
• Your work will literally go to space!