Senior Manager of Manufacturing

Venus Aerospace•Houston, TX

10d•Onsite

About The Position

Venus Aerospace is seeking a Senior Manager of Manufacturing to integrate engineering intent with scalable, high-quality manufacturing execution. The role ensures designs, drawings, and manufacturing strategies account for production constraints, additive and conventional processes, and company-wide integration needs. The position is based on-site in Houston, Texas. The senior leader champions design for additive manufacturing across propulsion, structural, and flight hardware programs; leads drawing reviews and quoting-level manufacturability assessments; and translates engineering requirements into manufacturing plans, build sequences, travelers, and inspection steps. The role also oversees manufacturing technology and capability development, process development, continuous improvement, and production readiness. The position leads a multidisciplinary team spanning additive, machining, manufacturing engineering, and integration. It provides mentorship and technical guidance, develops manufacturing personnel, builds partnerships across engineering, test, program management, supply chain, and quality, and participates in manufacturing priority-setting. Applicants must be able to meet applicable U.S. export-control requirements for access to controlled technology.

Requirements

10–15+ years of experience in aerospace or high-performance hardware manufacturing.
Expertise in design for additive manufacturing (DfAM), CNC machining, GD&T, and manufacturing process development.
Strong judgment in manufacturability assessments and quoting methodology.
Familiarity with additive technologies such as LPBF and advanced post-processing workflows.
Ability to interpret complex engineering data packages and drive MBOM accuracy.
Demonstrated success scaling manufacturing capabilities.
Experience managing multifunctional manufacturing teams.
Strong communication skills, particularly in bridging engineering and manufacturing cultures.
Must be able to meet ITAR requirements: be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Responsibilities

Champion design for additive manufacturing practices across propulsion, structural, and flight hardware programs.
Partner with engineering to align CAD models, GD&T, tolerances, and manufacturing notes with additive process capabilities, including LPBF and novel materials.
Evaluate components for additive suitability, cost drivers, post-processing flow, and quality requirements.
Develop build setups and coordinate handoffs to production teams.
Lead cross-functional drawing reviews focused on manufacturability, tolerance stack-ups, and removing ambiguity.
Provide quoting-level insight into part cost drivers, machining complexities, additive build risk, and supplier capability.
Ensure BOM accuracy, MBOM structure integrity, and complete manufacturing documentation.
Integrate design engineering, manufacturing engineering, machining, test, and integration teams.
Translate engineering requirements into manufacturing plans, build sequences, traveler requirements, and inspection steps.
Coordinate with engineering programs and clarify handoffs across Integration → Test → Integration cycles.
Maintain broad understanding of machining, additive, composites, tooling, fixtures, automation, inspection, and qualification processes.
Identify and implement emerging technologies that expand manufacturing capabilities.
Oversee process development, continuous improvement initiatives, and production readiness, including DFX assessments and capability roadmaps.
Partner with Facilities & Maintenance on manufacturing dependencies such as water systems, utility upgrades, and equipment installations.
Lead a multidisciplinary manufacturing team spanning additive, machining, manufacturing engineering, and integration.
Mentor and provide technical guidance to manufacturing personnel and establish structured development paths.
Build partnerships with Engineering, Test, Program Management, Supply Chain, and Quality.
Participate in manufacturing priority-setting sessions.