Aerospace Manufacturing Ops Lead (Startup)

Talnt; Stevens Point (WI); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus potential

Equity participation

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Talnt in Stevens Point, WI, is seeking an Operations Manager to help establish and scale a new aerospace propulsion manufacturing facility. Initially, you’ll be hands-on, building production processes, workflows, and the manufacturing infrastructure during startup.

As the operation matures, you’ll lead planning, assembly, testing, maintenance, safety, and continuous improvement initiatives. You’ll drive Lean, Six Sigma, and RCCA across the site, recruit and develop supervisors, and partner with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field; equivalent experience considered.
• Minimum 7 years of manufacturing operations experience in regulated manufacturing (aerospace/defense preferred).
• Experience transitioning products from NPI to production.
• Proven success launching startup or greenfield facilities.
• Strong knowledge of production planning, yield, capacity, and operations.
• Experience Lean, Six Sigma, RCCA, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to build processes, systems, and teams from the ground up.
• Knowledge of FPY, takt time, throughput, and operational metrics.

Responsibilities

• Lead operational readiness activities to support launch and scale-up of a new aerospace manufacturing facility.
• Develop and implement standardized assembly, testing, production, and operational workflows for NPI.
• Partner with Engineering and Quality to improve manufacturability, process stability, and production readiness.
• Support facility layout, equipment installation, commissioning, and production startup activities.
• Develop work instructions, operating procedures, tooling strategies, and production process documentation.
• Establish production planning, scheduling, material flow, and capacity planning systems.
• Build and lead operations teams as production transitions from startup to full-rate manufacturing.
• Oversee assembly, testing, production planning, maintenance, EHS, and facility security functions.
• Drive improvements in FPY, throughput, cycle time, takt time, and overall efficiency.
• Lead RCCA, structured problem solving, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Monitor safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and equipment utilization.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Quality to resolve production challenges.
• Implement Lean, Six Sigma, and best practices to eliminate waste.
• Ensure compliance with quality, environmental, safety, and security standards including NIST 800-171.
• Recruit, mentor, and develop supervisors and staff with a culture of accountability.

Skills

Manufacturing leadership

Project management

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

RCCA

Continuous improvement

FPY optimization

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

ERP

MES

Production planning software

Job description

Talnt in Stevens Point, WI, is seeking an Operations Manager to help establish and scale a new aerospace propulsion manufacturing facility. Initially, you’ll be hands-on, building production processes, workflows, and the manufacturing infrastructure during startup.

As the operation matures, you’ll lead planning, assembly, testing, maintenance, safety, and continuous improvement initiatives. You’ll drive Lean, Six Sigma, and RCCA across the site, recruit and develop supervisors, and partner with