Director of Manufacturing

About The Opportunity An early-stage space company is standing up a brand-new production facility in the Seattle area (Redmond) to manufacture advanced radar payloads at volume for the space and defence industry. Right now the site is close to a blank canvas. Over the coming months it becomes a functioning, high-rate factory, and this role owns that build from the ground up: the processes, the equipment, the quality system, and the team. The mission context The company builds advanced electronically-steerable radar payloads for Low Earth Orbit, delivering high-end radar performance at a fraction of the traditional cost, which is what makes proliferated constellations viable. The technology is based on mature phased-array heritage already in full-rate production for terrestrial and airborne applications, now being transitioned to flight-ready, high-rate space manufacturing. This role is central to that transition. What You'll Own Manufacturing leadership; high-rate space hardware production; process and operational excellence; quality and mission assurance (standing up the QMS, with a dedicated Quality function to follow); capital equipment deployment; and supply chain and supplier management. Design the factory layout, production flow, and test and manufacturing assets for the new facility, including clean room standup. Build a culture of quality, accountability, urgency, and continuous improvement. Develop manufacturing talent and clear career paths for technicians, engineers, supervisors, and managers. Establish a data-driven operating cadence for production performance. Proactively identify manufacturing risks before they hit programme schedules. Balance quality, schedule, cost, and technical risk. Deliver reliable hardware on schedule in an environment where products and processes are still evolving. A typical week Roughly 30% in meetings and organisational development across departments, 20% on research, process development, and asset acquisition and deployment, and 50% on process implementation, staffing, mentoring, and reporting. What You'll Bring The must-have is proven experience leading high-rate, high-volume manufacturing of complex electronics, ideally microwave/RF hardware or antennas. You've run a real production operation at scale, in a low-mix / high-volume model, and you know what it takes to build one product consistently and reliably rather than a high-mix prototype shop. You're familiar with government workmanship standards and quality flow-downs. Exposure to test automation, robotics, or ML on the production line is valued. Space-qualified hardware experience is a strong plus, but volume electronics credentials come first: a space background without high-rate manufacturing depth isn't the profile here. Above all, you bring urgency, ownership, and a genuine appetite for building a world-class production operation from scratch. Practical Requirements This is an on-site role in the Seattle area (Redmond). Given the mission set, US citizenship and the ability to meet security clearance requirements are required. The honest preview This is a build-it-from-the-ground-up role with real ownership and real impact on national security capabilities. It will also mean hard work, sometimes long hours, and a deep commitment to process and timelines. It suits a builder who's scaled production before, not a sustainer. #J-18808-Ljbffr