Global Head of Manufacturing – Autonomous Defense Systems

UFORCE; Nottingham; On-site; GBP 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

UFORCE is seeking a Global Head of Manufacturing to build and lead manufacturing capabilities for high‑quality, scalable autonomous systems. You will unite teams across Portugal, Poole and the US, turning battle‑proven hardware into reliable products while maintaining rapid engineering feedback.

This hands‑on role reports to the Global CEO and will evolve as leadership structures mature. You will drive operating discipline, capacity planning, and leadership development to support sustained

Qualifications

• Proven track record taking complex hardware from early builds into sustained production.
• Experience leading manufacturing across multiple sites or countries.
• Strong manufacturing engineering and industrialization judgment.

Responsibilities

• Own manufacturing delivery across contracted programs and establish recovery plans.
• Build a global production plan across Portugal, Poole and planned US sites.
• Align site capacity with consolidated demand forecast via S&OP.
• Shape footprint and investment roadmap with cross‑functional leaders.
• Prepare new products for production with engineering and quality teams.
• Establish controls for BOMs, work instructions, configuration and testing.
• Use factory-floor data to improve yield, cycle time and unit cost.

Skills

Global leadership

Hardware manufacturing

Production planning

Cross-functional leadership

Quality & safety

Budget and finance

Change management

Job description

UFORCE is seeking a Global Head of Manufacturing to build and lead manufacturing capabilities for high‑quality, scalable autonomous systems. You will unite teams across Portugal, Poole and the US, turning battle‑proven hardware into reliable products while maintaining rapid engineering feedback.

This hands‑on role reports to the Global CEO and will evolve as leadership structures mature. You will drive operating discipline, capacity planning, and leadership development to support sustained