President / Site Leader - Aerospace & Defense Precision Machining - Growth Focus Platform

Job Description

President/ Site Leader – Aerospace & Defense Precision Machining

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Confidential | Orange County, CA

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Retained Search

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$15M to $20M Revenue

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Key Role Requirements:

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• Must have direct precision machining leadership experience
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• Must have direct aerospace and defense manufacturing experience
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• Must have led in a CNC machining environment involving tight tolerances, complex parts, demanding quality requirements, and high-accountability customers
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• Must have personally owned P&L, gross margin, pricing, quoting, job costing, and execution accountability
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• Must have strong financial and operating discipline
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• Must be comfortable leading a small, technically demanding shop hands-on
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• Must have practical Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement depth
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• Must have strong focus on machine utilization improvement, and shop-floor performance execution
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Why You Should be Interested in this Role:

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This is a rare opportunity to step into a President / Site leadership role with full P&L ownership for a confidential leader in the aerospace and defense precision machining sector, with annual revenue in the range of approximately $15M to $20M.

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This role requires a leader with a true precision machining leadership background and direct aerospace and defense manufacturing experience. The company serves demanding A&D, government, and mission-critical customers where quality, delivery, compliance, and execution discipline are non-negotiable.

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This is not a broken business. It is a strong technical shop with meaningful customer relationships, a capable team, and a significant backlog of work. The opportunity is to bring stronger financial discipline, Lean operating cadence, data visibility, machine utilization improvement, operational performance discipline, and backlog conversion to unlock the next level of performance.

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The right leader will be a hands-on, financially sharp, Lean-oriented operator who can lead from the floor, manage through numbers, build trust with an existing technical team, strengthen operating systems, and turn customer demand into shipped revenue, gross margin improvement, EBITDA growth, and sustained customer performance.

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This role is best suited for a President / Site Leader, or senior operations leader who understands precision machining, aerospace quality expectations, and small-company leadership. The ideal candidate will bring the operating discipline of a strong shop-floor leader and the financial discipline of a true P&L owner.

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Company:

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Confidential

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Position:

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President / Site Leader

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Location:

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Orange County, CA Area (On-Site)

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Relocation:

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Available for the right candidate

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Reporting:

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Chief Operating Officer

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(Platform / Holding Company)

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What You Will Own in this Key Leadership Role (end-to-end)

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Site Leadership & Operational Execution

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• Own full responsibility for all site operations including machining, quality, maintenance, engineering, planning, and materials
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• Learn shop operations quickly and establish credibility through visible, hands-on leadership
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• Install and sustain tiered daily and weekly management routines with clear KPIs across Safety, Quality, Cost, and Delivery
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• Drive disciplined scheduling, WIP control, and job costing visibility in a high-mix CNC job shop environment
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Quality, Compliance & Risk Focus

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• Lead and continuously strengthen aerospace quality systems and compliance requirements
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• Ensure audit readiness, document discipline, and a zero-defect mindset across the organization
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• Drive root-cause problem solving and corrective action with urgency and accountability
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Customer Relationship Focus

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• Serve as the senior executive interface for key aerospace and defense customers
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• Protect customer trust through transparent communication and consistent execution
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• Balance customer commitments with internal capacity, risk, and profitability considerations
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Asset Utilization, Maintenance & Capex

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• Improve utilization of underloaded advanced CNC assets through scheduling discipline, workforce deployment, and process improvement
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• Strengthen preventive maintenance, TPM, and equipment reliability to improve uptime and throughput
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• Propose and execute ROI-positive capex aligned with capacity expansion, capability enhancement, and risk mitigation
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Lean & Continuous Improvement Leadership

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• Lead Lean as a management system , not a tool deployment
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• Deploy a practical lean based operating approach with visual management, leadership standard work, and lean daily management to drive measurable SQCD improvement
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• Build a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement
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People Leadership & Bench Strength

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• Build trust and credibility with a skilled, technical workforce
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• Develop front-line leaders and reduce key-person dependency
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• Install clear roles, expectations, and accountability across the organization
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• Lead by example with a strong floor presence and high personal energy
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Business & Financial Management

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• Own full P&L responsibility including pricing discipline, labor productivity, margin performance, working capital, and inventory
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• Establish a disciplined operating review cadence with ownership and the board
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• Partner closely with ownership on strategy, capital allocation, and pacing of growth
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Role CTQs (Critical to Quality)

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• Zero quality escapes; audit-ready at all times
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• Consistent on-time delivery for mission-critical programs
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• High utilization and reliability of advanced CNC assets
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• Strong retention of critical technical talent
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• Credible, calm executive presence with customers, employees, and ownership
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Position Critical to Quality + Success (CTQ+S): Technical Requirements

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Education

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• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, or Business prefered
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• MBA or advanced technical degree a plus
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Experience

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• Typically 10–20+ years of progressive responsibility in aerospace or defense precision machining
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• Prior site-level P&L ownership in a small to mid-sized machining environment
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• Deep experience with tight-tolerance CNC machining, complex parts, and advanced multi-axis equipment
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• Demonstrated success operating high-accountability, customer-critical manufacturing environments
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• Strong familiarity with aerospace quality systems and compliance expectations
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• Proven ability to improve utilization, throughput, and operating discipline
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Functional Skills

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• Strong command of job shop operations, scheduling, and job costing systems
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• Solid financial acumen including pricing, quoting, margin management, and capex ROI
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• Pragmatic, results-driven use of Lean and continuous improvement tools
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• Comfort with KPIs, dashboards, and data-driven management
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Position Critical to Quality + Success (CTQ+S): Leadership & Behavioral Profile

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This Small Shop Environment Requires Hands-On Floor Leadership

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• Engages directly with machinists and supervisors
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• Leads through credibility, presence, and action
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Ownership Mindset

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• Thinks and acts like an owner
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• Disciplined with capital and serious about risk
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Change Leadership Without Disruption

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• Improves systems and discipline without destabilizing what works
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• Brings people along through clarity, consistency, and accountability
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High Energy, High Accountability

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• Comfortable operating at a fast pace in a small-company environment
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• Able to orchestrate multiple priorities under pressure
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Deep Alignment With Long-Term Focus

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• Values durability, quality, and reliability over short-term wins
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• Sees Lean as a leadership philosophy, not a program
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Compensation & Relocation

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• Competitive base salary with performance-based bonus
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• Long-term incentive alignment potential
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• Relocation considered for exceptional candidates - High preference for Local talent
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• Daily On-site leadership required
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