Supervisor - Composites Production (Evening Shift)

JobSpace; Auckland; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Auckland is seeking an operationally-focused Supervisor – Composites Production to join our Production team on Evening Shift at APC.

This hands-on leadership role is responsible for delivery and quality, supporting team leaders, planning, scheduling, and continuous improvement. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and are passionate about leading from the front, this is the role for you.

Qualifications

• Proven operational leadership experience in a manufacturing/production environment.
• Strong technical knowledge of composites assemblies and production processes.
• Ability to read, understand, and follow manufacturing instructions and drawings.
• Demonstrated capability to create project plans with accurate time estimates.
• Competent to inspect and sign off work completed by technicians to Rocket Lab standards.
• Experience with production planning, scheduling, and resource management.
• Track record of driving continuous improvement and team performance.

Responsibilities

• Drive team performance to meet overall production schedules and quality standards.
• Lead and support Leading Hands and team leaders to achieve team objectives and remove blockers.
• Own 2-week to 2-month team planning including releasing LN production orders and maintaining accurate schedules.
• Ensure quality and conformance to specifications for all work from teams in your area.
• Identify schedule risks and execute mitigation plans with customer/supplier departments.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives and drive innovation within your teams.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and 1-on-1s with direct reports, providing honest and constructive feedback.
• Manage training and cross-training to eliminate single points of failure and build team resilience.
• Monitor key metrics (delivery, quality, staff competencies) and actively reduce downtime.
• Support new product introduction (NPI) from engineering development to full rate production.

Skills

Operational leadership

Team leadership

Production planning

Quality conformance

Continuous improvement

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 16th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

Auckland, NZ

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity's reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.

Rocket Lab's Electron team is responsible for building, testing, and launching our Electron rocket across our launch sites and test facilities in the United States and New Zealand. Electron is one of the world's most frequently-launched rockets, and our team behind its success are diligent, move fast, and have each other's back to deliver a reliable rocket to the launch pad time and time again.

About The Role:

We're looking for an operationally-focused Supervisor – Composites Production to join our Production team on Evening Shift at APC.

This is a highly engaged, shop-floor leadership role where you'll be accountable for team performance on both schedule delivery and quality. You'll be the person keeping the wheels turning – supporting, unblocking, and enabling your team to execute and succeed. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and are passionate about leading from the front, this is the role for you.

What You'll Get To Do:

• Drive team performance to meet overall production schedules and quality standards
• Lead and support Leading Hands and team leaders to achieve team objectives and remove blockers
• Own 2-week to 2-month team planning including releasing LN production orders and maintaining accurate schedules
• Ensure quality and conformance to specifications for all work from teams in your area
• Identify schedule risks and execute mitigation plans with customer/supplier departments
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives and drive innovation within your teams
• Conduct regular performance reviews and 1-on-1s with direct reports, providing honest and constructive feedback
• Manage training and cross-training to eliminate single points of failure and build team resilience
• Monitor key metrics (delivery, quality, staff competencies) and actively reduce downtime
• Support new product introduction (NPI) from engineering development to full rate production

You'll Bring These Qualifications:

• Proven operational leadership experience in a manufacturing/production environment
• Strong technical knowledge of composites assemblies and production processes
• Ability to read, understand, and follow manufacturing instructions and drawings
• Demonstrated capability to create project plans with accurate time estimates
• Competent to inspect and sign off work completed by technicians to Rocket Lab standards
• Experience with production planning, scheduling, and resource management
• Track record of driving continuous improvement and team performance

Note: This role is available on our Evening Shift pattern: Mon - Thurs 15:00 - 01:30

We're on a mission to unlock the potential of space to improve life on Earth, but that's not an easy task. It takes hard work, determination, relentless innovation, teamwork, grit, and an unwavering commitment to achieving what others often deem impossible. Our people out-think, out-work, and out-pace. We pride ourselves on having each other's backs, checking our egos at the door, and rolling up our sleeves on all tasks big and small. We thrive under pressure, work to tight deadlines, and our focus is always on how we can deliver, rather than dwelling on the challenges that stand in the way.

Rocket Lab provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment at Rocket Lab, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.