Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Twenty-Six Defense is seeking a Staff Manufacturing Engineer to establish a new greenfield munitions manufacturing facility from initial concept through full-rate production. The role will lead technology transfer, production-line design and launch for assembly, integration, and test operations involving Class 3 UAVs and air-to-ground missile systems, while driving manufacturing readiness, production ramp, safety, quality, and continuous improvement.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the key Manufacturing Engineering lead for the establishment and startup of the new munitions manufacturing facility
- Develop the overall manufacturing concept for assembly, integration, and test operations associated with dissimilar products
- Translate product requirements, production forecasts, and rate requirements into manufacturing capacity and infrastructure requirements
- Develop production layouts incorporating material flow, work cells, inspection points, test operations, tooling, equipment, and support areas
- Define requirements for manufacturing equipment, tooling, fixtures, test equipment, material-handling systems, and production infrastructure
- Support equipment specification, sourcing, installation, commissioning, and production qualification
- Participate in facility design reviews to ensure the building and infrastructure support manufacturing requirements
- Develop manufacturing readiness plans and drive actions required to achieve initial production and subsequent rate increases
- Develop safe, repeatable, and efficient manufacturing processes for product assembly, integration, inspection, and test
- Develop tooling and fixture concepts and coordinate their design, fabrication, qualification, and implementation
- Define manufacturing inspection points, acceptance criteria, process controls, and verification requirements
- Support prototype and first-article builds and transition products from engineering development into production
- Drive process capability, repeatability, defect reduction, yield improvement, and cycle-time reduction
- Develop capacity models for labor, equipment, tooling, test assets, and floor space
- Establish staffing assumptions, and production balancing
- Identify production constraints and develop plans to eliminate bottlenecks before they impact rate
- Support development of training and certification requirements for production personnel
- Work closely with Operations, Design Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Facilities, EHS, Security, Program Management, Configuration Management, and Test Engineering
- Participate in design reviews, manufacturing readiness reviews, production readiness reviews, and configuration/change-control activities
- Ensure engineering changes are effectively incorporated into manufacturing processes, tooling, work instructions, and production configuration
- Communicate manufacturing readiness, risks, constraints, capital requirements, and recovery plans to site and division leadership
- Serve as a technical manufacturing resource to leadership during facility startup and production ramp
- Establish Lean manufacturing principles as part of the initial production system
- Implement visual management, standard work, 5S, mistake-proofing, point-of-use material, and structured problem-solving methodologies
- Use production data to identify opportunities for improvements in safety, quality, cost, schedule, and throughput
- Develop manufacturing processes with scalability and future automation in mind
- Ensure manufacturing processes are developed and operated in accordance with applicable company, customer, regulatory, quality, environmental, health, and safety requirements
- Partner with EHS and appropriate subject-matter experts to incorporate applicable energetic-material and munitions safety requirements into facility and process design
- Support implementation of appropriate process controls, material traceability, configuration control, documentation, and quality records
- Participate in process risk assessments, PFMEAs, safety reviews, and manufacturing readiness assessments
- Help establish a culture where safety is the fundamental element of the production system
Skills
- Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline
- Typically 14+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or other complex manufacturing environments
- Demonstrated experience developing or improving assembly and production processes
- Ability to work effectively across engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, facilities, and program organizations
- Ability to operate successfully in an ambiguous, fast-paced greenfield environment where systems and processes are still being established
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate manufacturing risks and recommendations to senior leadership
- Ability to handle multiple high priorities; comfort with ambiguity; internally driven and excels under pressure
- Proactively implements business and professional improvements
- Ability to support the organizational culture and build morale
Benefits
- This role will begin as a remote position during early planning stages.
Company Overview
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