Director, Industrialization

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Director, Industrialization to architect and execute the manufacturing and industrialization strategy for our aircraft. This leadership role spans the entire lifecycle of industrial readiness, including integrating manufacturing plan into the supplier ecosystem, establishing test facilities, standing up a Final Assembly Line, and planning maintenance infrastructure. The ideal leader balances rigorous manufacturing engineering and proactive quality with the agility required to scale disruptive aerospace operations and advanced manufacturing systems. Proven experience standing up or scaling aerospace manufacturing is key.

Responsibilities

Manufacturing Strategy Development

• Manufacturing Strategy: Conceptualize, deploy, and scale advanced assembly strategies, specifically focusing on complex, Final Assembly Lines (FAL) and aircraft integration.
• Tooling & Equipment Lifecycle: Define technical requirements and establish the development processes and standards for heavy aerospace tooling, automated assembly equipment, and turnkey production line solutions.
• Digital Factory & Operational Systems: Architect the digital thread across the manufacturing footprint by leading the implementation of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and integrating automated, Industry 4.0 production technologies.
• Make-or-Buy Governance: Drive strategic decision making for internal vs external capability and capacity to support aggressive production ramp-ups and high levels of operational fleet availability in sustainment.
• Regulatory & Quality Readiness: Steer the Quality Management System (QMS) and certifications to meet stringent aviation compliance standards, utilizing frameworks such as SAE9145, CFR 14, Part 21, Subpart G.

Site Selection and Infrastructure Development

• Industrial Footprint Strategy: Lead the requirements generation, comprehensive site selection framework and evaluation for large, aerospace industrial facilities, including test centers, FAL and Airline Maintenance/Operations.
• Capital Optimization: Cultivate strategic local supplier networks and government support for investment, regulatory approvals, and site execution.
• Facility Design and Construction: Lead the design and build process with supporting firms, including proposal evaluation, selection and management of vendors.

Logistics, Facilities & Operations Strategy

• Logistics: Strategize and implement complex air, sea, and land logistics plans for massive structural components and major tooling to support global supply chain integration.
• Asset Optimization: Apply Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) methodologies and lean right-sizing to minimize Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) on critical factory assets and maximize footprint efficiency.
• Strategic Road mapping: Establish phased, long-term industrialization roadmaps managing multi-million-dollar CAPEX/OPEX budgets from initial prototype environments through Entry into Service (EIS), serial production and into sustainment.

Organizational Leadership

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Lead and scale a global, high-performance organizational composed of multidisciplinary engineering and operational teams.
• Talent Pipeline Development: Cultivate a transparent, high-performance culture focused on mentoring, development, and building a robust internal successor pipeline for senior leadership roles.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, or related field (Master’s preferred).
• 10+ years of experience in aerospace manufacturing, with at least 5 years in leadership roles.
• Proven experience in aircraft industrialization, new product introduction (NPI), and scaling production.
• Strong understanding of aerospace manufacturing processes, quality systems, and regulatory requirements.
• Demonstrated success in managing strategic partnerships.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience standing up a greenfield manufacturing facility, including supporting agreements with vendors and public institutions
• Background in startup or high-growth aerospace companies.
• Manufacturing leadership for aircraft assembly operations