Director of Operational Excellence

EnduroSat; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

End of year performance review cycle

On-site growth opportunities

Job summary

EnduroSat in Los Angeles seeks a Head of Operational Excellence to design and stand up a new satellite factory. You will define value streams, capacity, and flow, then deploy ERP/MES/PLM in the US and tailor ITAR controls with compliance.

You will lead a hands-on program across manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, quality, construction, and finance, reporting to the COO. The role requires 8+ years in manufacturing, hands-on ERP/MES/PLM work, and strong data-driven process improvement, with

Qualifications

• 8+ years in manufacturing leading teams and building production lines from scratch.
• Hands-on ownership of ERP, MES or PLM systems, deployed by you.
• Lean or Six Sigma certification is welcome; evidence of application matters.
• You build your own tools with Python, SQL, or JavaScript.
• Experience developing manufacturing performance metrics that change behavior.
• Comfortable across electromechanical assembly, harnessing, electronics, machining, and complex integration.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, operations, or business.
• US Person status per ITAR; access to export-controlled data.

Responsibilities

• Design the factory layout, value streams, capacity model and flow for a greenfield site.
• Plan the onshoring sequence with Supply Chain and Manufacturing to protect margins.
• Lead US deployment of ERP, MES, and PLM; configure them in-house.
• Define and implement the toolchain with a clear migration path to scale.
• Architect ITAR segregation for European vs. US operations in partnership with compliance.
• Identify core operating processes and reflect them in systems of record.
• Build operating metrics and establish a cadence of reviews and action planning.
• Turn data into decisions and give leaders actionable views.
• Partner with Finance on product costing and profitability decisions.
• Drive continuous improvement with structured problem solving and standard work.
• Run cross-functional workshops and own documented, controlled processes.
• Assess team capability and drive hiring and training to close gaps.

Skills

Manufacturing leadership

ERP/MES/PLM

Lean Six Sigma

Python/SQL/JavaScript

Manufacturing metrics

Cross-functional facilitation

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering/operations/business

Tools

ERP

MES

PLM

Job description

About Us

Do you know what a spacecraft is built of? Can you help a team of brilliant engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs make space more accessible to everyone on Earth?

We have just taken 180,000 square feet in the South Bay — today an empty logistics warehouse, in eighteen months a satellite factory running full assembly, integration, and test. As Head of Operational Excellence you will design how that factory runs before the first workstation is installed: the value streams, the capacity model, the floor layout, the operating metrics, and the business systems that hold it all together.

This is a founding role, and a hands‑on one. You will set the framework and then build it yourself — mapping a process on a whiteboard in the morning, configuring the ERP in the afternoon, writing the script that turns work‑order data into a rate dashboard. Our European operation has ten years of hard‑won practice to draw on; part of your job is deciding what to copy, what to improve, and what has to be built separately here for export‑control reasons. You will work across Manufacturing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Construction, and Finance, and report to the COO.

What you will own

Design the factory before it exists

• Define the value streams with our manufacturing leaders — what gets built where, in what sequence, by whom — and define value streams, plan capacity, and help optimize the cleanroom and integration flow.

• Build the capacity model: labor, equipment, floor space, and long‑lead tooling against a production plan that scales from payload integration to full AIT.

• Plan the onshoring sequence with Supply Chain and Manufacturing, from buses shipped whole out of Europe through module‑level integration to full assembly here, protecting margin at every step.

Stand up the business systems

• Lead the US deployment of ERP, MES, and PLM. Configure them yourself rather than handing a requirements document to a vendor.

• Right‑size the toolchain. We want systems that fit the scale we are at and have a clear migration path to the scale we are heading for — not seven‑figure platforms that slow everyone down.

• Architect what must be segregated from our European instances for ITAR‑controlled work, and what can stay common for continuity, in partnership with compliance and legal.

• Identify the core operating processes that still live in spreadsheets, define them properly, and get them reflected in the systems of record.

Make performance visible

• Build the operating metrics and the review cadence behind them — rate and completion, labor utilization against clocked work orders, queue time, rework by operation, on‑time delivery, cost per unit.

• Turn data into decisions. Give each manufacturing leader a view they will actually open, and run the rhythm of reviews and action planning that follows from it.

• Partner with Finance on product costing and mission profitability so that pricing, quoting, and make‑versus‑buy decisions rest on real numbers.

Drive continuous improvement

• Establish the improvement discipline for the site: structured problem solving, standard work, waste elimination, and the training to make it stick rather than a poster on a wall.

• Run cross‑functional process workshops — engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality in one room — and leave with a documented, owned, controlled process.

• Assess the capability of the operations team as it grows and close the gaps through hiring, development, and targeted training.

Requirements

• 8+ years in manufacturing, with a track record of leading teams and building production lines from the ground up

• You have stood up or substantially rebuilt a manufacturing operation from scratch — a new site, a new line, or a new company

• Hands‑on ownership of ERP, MES, or PLM. Configured and deployed by you, not just used

• Demonstrated continuous improvement results, with the numbers behind them. Lean or Six Sigma certification is welcome; evidence of application matters more than the belt

• You build your own tools. Python, SQL, JavaScript, or equivalent — enough to pull the data, analyze it, and ship something people use. If you build with AI, you can also maintain what it writes

• Experience developing manufacturing performance metrics that changed how an organization behaved, not just how it reported

• Comfortable across a broad range of processes: electromechanical assembly, harnessing, electronics, machining, and complex system integration

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, operations, business, or equivalent experience

• US Person status as defined by ITAR (22 CFR §120.62). This role requires access to export‑controlled technical data

Nice to have

• Space, aerospace, defense, or another regulated low‑volume / high‑complexity hardware environment

• New product introduction and the transition from development into rate production

• Factory layout and equipment integration on a greenfield build

• Product costing and cost model development in partnership with Finance

• Quality management systems — AS9100 or equivalent — built or rebuilt under your ownership

• Experience bridging a US site to an established overseas parent operation

Compensation

Salary range $160,000 - $190,000. The salary will likely be within this range although it may differ based on experience level or other factors.

Why EnduroSat?

• Fast-paced and delivery-focused culture
  We work with well‑defined quarterly based objectives, that allow us to fast-track the progression of our work and improve as we go

• Tough engineering challenges & hard-core R&D
  You will be able to work on unique space technology and build next‑gen innovations, while mentored by world‑recognized space experts

• Constant learning and progression
  Own your personal growth by navigating through our career progression framework and educational programs

At EnduroSat, we embrace diversity and strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with fairness and respect. We are committed to equal employment opportunities without discrimination against any employee or job applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Additionally, this position is suitable for people with disabilities in accordance with the People with Disabilities National Regulation Act, ensuring accessibility and accommodation in the workplace.