Vice President

Industry: Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing Employment Type: Full-Time, On-Site Pay: $275k-$300k+ DOE The client has indicated a strong preference for candidates who are already local to the Sylmar area or within a reasonable commuting distance. Company Overview Our client is an established aerospace manufacturer specializing in high-performance aircraft transparencies, composite components, and related products for military, commercial aviation, and space applications. For more than four decades, the organization has supported demanding aerospace and defense programs with products including aircraft canopies, windshields, cabin windows, wing-tip lenses, stretched acrylic components, composite materials, custom tooling, and specialized coatings. With a strong commitment to quality, customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, and on-time delivery, the company operates within a highly regulated manufacturing environment and maintains AS9100 and ISO 9001 certifications, as well as NIST SP 800-171 compliance. Position Summary Our client is seeking an experienced and people-focused Vice President to lead its manufacturing operation in Sylmar, California. The Vice President will be responsible for the overall performance of the facility, including production, quality, delivery, safety, workforce leadership, customer satisfaction, and financial results. This individual will provide hands-on leadership across the organization while developing the processes, accountability, and teamwork necessary to support continued growth. The ideal candidate is a tenured manufacturing leader with significant experience in aerospace, defense, military, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment. This person must be approachable, accountable, team-oriented, and comfortable working directly with employees at all levels of the organization. This is an opportunity for a proven operational leader who can balance business performance with a strong, collaborative workplace culture. Key Responsibilities Provide overall leadership and direction for the Sylmar manufacturing operation. Maintain responsibility for production, quality, cost, delivery, safety, customer satisfaction, and workforce performance. Lead day-to-day manufacturing operations while establishing clear priorities, expectations, and performance standards. Develop and execute operational strategies that support company growth, profitability, capacity, and customer commitments. Partner with production, quality, engineering, supply chain, program management, finance, and human resources to achieve business objectives. Monitor operational and financial performance using measurable key performance indicators. Ensure products are manufactured safely, efficiently, on schedule, and in accordance with customer and regulatory requirements. Maintain a strong focus on quality, compliance, documentation, configuration control, and continuous improvement. Support the requirements of military, defense, aerospace OEM, and government customers. Drive improvements in productivity, workflow, labor utilization, scheduling, inventory, scrap, rework, and on-time delivery. Identify operational risks, capacity constraints, staffing needs, and process gaps before they affect customers or production. Build accountability throughout the organization while maintaining a respectful and team-oriented leadership style. Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain a high-performing leadership and manufacturing team. Establish clear goals for managers and supervisors and provide regular coaching and performance feedback. Promote effective communication and cooperation between departments. Develop strong relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, and company leadership. Represent the organization during customer meetings, operational reviews, audits, and major program discussions. Ensure compliance with applicable safety, quality, regulatory, contractual, and cybersecurity requirements. Foster a culture of integrity, ownership, collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer service. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in engineering, manufacturing, operations management, business administration, or a related discipline; equivalent progressive leadership experience may be considered. At least 10 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience. Significant leadership experience within aerospace, defense, military, or aviation manufacturing. Previous responsibility for a manufacturing facility, plant, business unit, or major operational organization. Demonstrated experience overseeing production, quality, delivery, cost, safety, staffing, and customer performance. Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, production planning, labor management, supply chain coordination, and continuous improvement. Experience managing operational metrics, budgets, forecasts, and performance-improvement plans. Proven ability to lead managers, supervisors, technical professionals, and production employees. Strong communication, decision-making, conflict-resolution, and problem-solving skills. Demonstrated ability to build trust, promote teamwork, and maintain accountability. Must be eligible to work with information, products, and programs subject to applicable United States export-control and defense requirements. Preferred Qualifications Experience manufacturing products for the United States military, Department of Defense, defense prime contractors, or major aerospace OEMs. Experience with aircraft transparencies, plastics, acrylics, composites, coatings, tooling, aerospace structures, or specialized aerospace components. Working knowledge of AS9100, ISO 9001, NIST SP 800-171, and other aerospace or defense compliance requirements. Experience working in a low-volume, high-mix, or highly specialized manufacturing environment. Experience leading operational turnarounds, growth initiatives, facility improvements, or organizational change. Knowledge of Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and other continuous-improvement methodologies. Prior military leadership experience is valued but not required. Experience working within a privately held, family-oriented, or closely collaborative manufacturing organization. Leadership Profile An experienced and credible manufacturing leader. Present and engaged on the production floor. Respectful, approachable, and willing to listen. Comfortable making difficult decisions and holding people accountable. Able to work effectively with a close-knit and tenured workforce. Focused on teamwork rather than hierarchy or ego. Calm and solutions-oriented when dealing with production or customer challenges. Committed to quality, safety, integrity, and on-time delivery. Capable of creating structure without damaging a collaborative company culture. Motivated by both operational results and employee development. Why Consider This Opportunity? This position offers the opportunity to lead an established aerospace manufacturing operation with a long history of supporting military, commercial aviation, and space programs. The Vice President will have meaningful influence over operational performance, employee development, customer satisfaction, and the continued growth of the organization. The company is seeking a leader who will respect its history, strengthen its team, and help position the organization for its next phase of success. #J-18808-Ljbffr