Production Manager, Avionics and Electro-Mechanical

K2 Space•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

K2 is building high-power satellites for missions ranging from low Earth orbit to deep space, with plans to scale production to 100 satellites a year. The Avionics and Electro-Mechanical Production team builds and tests flight hardware, including avionics boxes, batteries, mechanisms and actuators, flight harnesses, and the acceptance testing needed to deliver flight-ready hardware to vehicle integration. The Production Manager will lead these work centers from piece part through assembly, test, and final acceptance. This hands-on role is accountable for safety, quality, schedule, throughput, and team performance and development. The manager will work closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Design stakeholders to resolve issues and continuously improve production. The role requires understanding the hardware, spending significant time on the production floor, removing blockers, and establishing systems and developing the team for higher-rate production.

Requirements

At least 4 years of experience managing large production teams throughout development, manufacturing, and build processes for complex assemblies.
At least 8 years of production experience in a high-volume, rapid environment in aerospace, defense, or complex hardware manufacturing.
Direct experience with flight hardware, including electro-mechanical assemblies, harnesses, PCBA, solar, and box-level builds.
Familiarity with J-STD-001, IPC/WHMA-A-620, ESD control, and flight hardware traceability.
A track record of improving throughput and yield using data, with experience in MES- or ERP-driven production.
Excellent conflict resolution and negotiation skills.
Demonstrated success leading from the floor in a fast-moving manufacturing environment.
Ability to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed for critical production and test milestones.
Comfort spending significant time in manufacturing, cleanroom, laboratory, and test environments.
Ability to travel occasionally to suppliers, test facilities, or other company locations.
Must be a U.S. person as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Nice To Haves

Experience scaling spacecraft or satellite production from low rate to high rate.
Experience with MES, such as WarpDrive, First Resonance ION, or a similar modern MES.
Background in capacity modeling, line design, and capital equipment justification.

Responsibilities

Manage and develop Supervisors, Leads, and Technicians across avionics, electro-mechanical assembly, harness fabrication, PCBA rework, and component acceptance testing.
Own delivery of completed flight hardware to vehicle integration, ensuring hardware is built, tested, accepted, and delivered on or ahead of schedule.
Establish production priorities and drive daily execution against build and test schedules, proactively removing constraints involving material, tooling, equipment, procedures, and resources.
Improve first-pass yield, cycle time, rework, throughput, and labor efficiency.
Ensure production work follows configuration control and traceability requirements, with complete manufacturing records.
Establish production metrics and tools that provide visibility into output, quality, constraints, and recovery plans.
Represent Production to Engineering Leadership and influence design, test strategy, and schedule decisions so hardware is built correctly and delivered at rate.
Work closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Design teams to resolve issues and continuously improve production.
Spend dedicated time on the production floor, understand the hardware, and efficiently remove blockers.
Build production systems and develop the team to support higher-rate production.