Head of Hardware Manufacturing & Scale-Up

Peregrine Industries, Inc.; Covina (CA); Presencial; USD 150.000 - 210.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Peregrine Industries, Inc. is seeking a hands-on Head of Manufacturing to build and lead the Covina, CA production operation from ground up. You will design layout, processes, and an execution system that delivers high-quality hardware on schedule as we scale.

You will partner with engineering and cross-functional teams to turn prototypes into repeatable, quality-driven production lines, define standards, and establish a shop that remains organized and tour-ready from day one.

Formación

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent hands-on experience.
• 6+ years in manufacturing operations, production management, industrial operations, hardware operations, supply chain, or related area.
• Experience running or coordinating production in hardware, aerospace, defense, robotics, electronics, or similar complex build environment.
• Solid grasp of capacity planning, production scheduling, inventory constraints, manufacturing workflows, and operational KPIs.
• Track record of creating SOPs, dashboards, operating cadences, and process improvements in a fast-moving shop.
• Experience working across engineering, production, supply chain, quality, and finance.
• Strong communicator who can drive accountability without relying on title or authority.
• Comfortable working in both strategic and hands-on modes on the same day.

Responsabilidades

• Own manufacturing operations planning across in-house production, contract manufacturing, supply chain, quality coordination, and delivery readiness.
• Build and maintain capacity planning models that surface labor, material, process, vendor, and production bottlenecks before they bite us.
• Set the weekly operating cadence for production, supply chain, and shipment readiness.
• Write the SOPs, production workflows, handoff processes, and accountability structures the facility runs on.
• Establish clear KPIs for output, build cycle time, shortages, rework, supplier issues, inventory accuracy, and on-time delivery.
• Drive improvement projects that lift throughput, cut rework, and improve quality, building repeatable processes for scaling.
• Partner with engineering to improve assembly, integration, test, and finalization processes.
• Establish the layout, workflow zones, and standards for the Covina facility as it comes online, including testing, harness, and soldering areas.
• Maintain flight-ready inventory on site, with a long-term plan and projections to grow with hardware and people.
• Coordinate with engineering, quality, and finance so production plans are realistic and executable.
• Build dashboards and trackers giving leadership a clear read on progress, blockers, and decisions needed.
• Help Peregrine move from low-volume builds toward repeatable, higher-volume manufacturing.

Conocimientos

Manufacturing leadership

Capacity planning

Production scheduling

Quality systems

Cross-functional

Communication

Educación

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Herramientas

ERP/MRP systems

Manufacturing dashboards

Descripción del empleo

Peregrine Industries builds affordable, U.S.-made autonomous systems for tactical strike, counter-UAS, training, and defense modernization missions. Our platforms include Kestrel and DRACO, backed by PTEC, our modular tactical effects core.

We move fast, hold ourselves to honest engineering standards, and build hardware that has to work the first time in the field.

About the Role

We are seeking a hands-on Head of Manufacturing to take Peregrine’s production operation from 0 to 1 at our Covina, CA facility. You will stand up the systems, layout, and processes from the ground up, and own how we build quality hardware on schedule as we scale.

This is a hands-on, foundational role. You will work directly with engineering and the production team to turn prototype builds into a repeatable, quality-driven line, set the standards that hold as volume grows, and shape the manufacturing operation that delivers Peregrine’s platforms to the field. The shop floor is the face of the company, and right now it’s close to a blank canvas. How you set it up from the start is how it stays: clean, organized, and tour-ready by default.

What you’ll do

• Own manufacturing operations planning across in-house production, contract manufacturing, supply chain, quality coordination, and delivery readiness.
• Build and maintain capacity planning models that surface labor, material, process, vendor, and production bottlenecks before they bite us.
• Set the weekly operating cadence for production, supply chain, and shipment readiness.
• Write the SOPs, production workflows, handoff processes, and accountability structures the facility runs on.
• Establish clear KPIs for output, build cycle time, shortages, rework, supplier issues, inventory accuracy, and on-time delivery.
• Drive improvement projects that lift throughput, cut rework, and improve quality, building the repeatable processes that let us scale without last-minute heroics.
• Partner with engineering to improve assembly, integration, test, and finalization processes.
• Establish the layout, workflow zones, and standards for the Covina facility as it comes online, including designated areas for testing, harness, and soldering work, and clear homes for equipment.
• Maintain flight-ready inventory on site, with a long-term plan and projections to grow as we add hardware and people.
• Coordinate with engineering, quality, and finance so production plans are realistic and executable.
• Build the dashboards and trackers that give leadership a clear read on what’s on track, what’s blocked, and what decisions are needed.
• Help Peregrine move from low-volume builds toward repeatable, higher-volume manufacturing.

What we’re looking for

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Business, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience.
• 6+ years in manufacturing operations, production management, industrial operations, hardware operations, supply chain, or a related area.
• Experience running or coordinating production in a hardware, aerospace, defense, robotics, electronics, or similar complex build environment.
• Solid grasp of capacity planning, production scheduling, inventory constraints, manufacturing workflows, and operational KPIs.
• A track record of creating SOPs, dashboards, operating cadences, and process improvements in a fast-moving shop.
• Experience working across engineering, production, supply chain, quality, and finance.
• Strong communicator who can drive accountability without leaning only on title or authority.
• Comfortable working in both strategic and hands-on modes on the same day.

Strongly preferred

• Experience with UAVs, aerospace, defense, robotics, electronics, or complex electro-mechanical systems.
• Experience manufacturing All Up Round weapons, munitions, energetics, or other regulated hardware under strict quality and safety controls.
• Experience with contract manufacturers, outsourced production, or supplier production readiness.
• Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems, production planning tools, inventory systems, or manufacturing dashboards.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methods.
• Time spent in a high-growth startup or a scaling hardware company.
• Familiarity with quality systems, receiving inspection, production QC, or supplier quality.

Peregrine Industries is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Position is subject to U.S. export-control regulations; applicants must qualify as U.S. Persons under ITAR.