Vice President of Manufacturing

Job Description: Vice President of Manufacturing

Reports To: President

About UrsaNav

UrsaNav is a global leader in resilient Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) solutions and advanced engineering services. We serve government, defense, and commercial clients worldwide with innovative technologies that ensure mission success in challenging environments.

Position Overview

The Vice President of Manufacturing will lead and scale UrsaNav’s end-to-end manufacturing operations, supporting rapid growth, new product introduction, and high-reliability electronics technology production.

This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for building scalable manufacturing systems,

optimizing mechanical and electronics assembly and test operations, make/buy/partner strategy,

supply chain oversight, and production readiness and scaling. The VP of Manufacturing ensures world-class quality, delivery, and cost performance in a fast-moving, small-company

Key Responsibilities

• Manufacturing Strategy & Scale-Up: Define and execute manufacturing strategy aligned with UrsaNav’s product roadmap and growth objectives. Lead manufacturing scale-up from low- to mid-volume production while maintaining quality and reliability. Own make-vs-buy decisions, contract manufacturing strategy, and supplier manufacturing partnerships.
• Electronics Manufacturing Operations: Oversee all manufacturing activities including mechanical and electronics assembly, system integration, system test, calibration, and final assembly. Establish and improve production processes. Drive production planning, scheduling, and on-time delivery performance.
• New Product Introduction (NPI): Establish strong partnership with Engineering and R&D to support DFM/DFA, prototype builds, and smooth transition to production. Lead process development, documentation, and validation for new product launches. Ensure manufacturing readiness for design changes and product revisions.
• Quality, Compliance & Reliability: Establish and maintain quality systems appropriate for high-reliability electronics manufacturing. Develop root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), and continuous improvement. Ensure compliance with applicable industry, safety, and customer requirements
• Cost, Supply Chain & Operations: Own manufacturing cost structure, budgets, and margin improvement initiatives. Collaborate with Engineering to qualify suppliers, manage component risk, and mitigate shortages. Implement scalable systems for inventory control, traceability, and production reporting
• Team Leadership: Build and lead a lean, high-performing manufacturing team. Coach and develop manufacturing engineers, technicians, and operators. Create a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement. Ability to inspire trust and accountability across diverse teams.
• Integrated Working Relationships: Collaborates with Engineering, R&D, Operations, Delivery, and Quality to ensure company success metrics are met.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, operations research, or other technology related fields (Master’s degree preferred).
• 10+ years of hands‑on experience in electronics manufacturing, with leadership responsibility within one or more high‑technology industries.
• Hands‑on experience with modern assembly, test, and integration hardware and software solutions.
• Proven success in scaling manufacturing in a small or early‑stage company environment.
• Strong problem‑solving skills and ability to operate at both strategic and tactical levels
• Strong knowledge of compliance and regulatory frameworks (ITAR, EAR, ISO, CMMI, CMMC).
• Exceptional writing and speaking skills. Clear communicator who can influence without hierarchy.
• Ability and desire to occasionally travel internationally and domestically.
• Ability to attain government security clearance, or commercial equivalent.