Manufacturing Operations Lead – Prototyping & Production

Kairos Power; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision benefits

Paid vacation

401(k) plan

Commuter benefits

Job summary

Kairos Power seeks a highly motivated Manager, Manufacturing Operations to lead shop-floor execution for component manufacturing in support of FHR development programs. This role ensures safe, efficient operations, aligns with schedules and quality requirements, and partners with Machining, Welding, Planning and Production Control to optimize capacity and priorities.

The manager will drive continuous improvement, coordinate with engineering and operations teams, and enable rapid prototyping and

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of fabrication, welding, and/or CNC machining experience.
• Minimum 5 years of experience managing fabrication, welding, and/or CNC machining teams.
• Experience with CNC milling, turning, routing, and 3-axis to 5-axis equipment.
• Experience with fabrication and welding processes, including welding inspection and quality programs.
• Familiarity with ASME and ISO 9001 quality requirements.
• Experience in high-mix, R&D, prototype, or rapidly changing environments.
• Ability to coordinate shop execution with production schedules and capacity constraints.
• Proficiency reading engineering drawings and GD&T.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate daily shop-floor operations to support machining, fabrication, welding, assembly and related activities.
• Manage execution of work orders to produce components, prototypes, test equipment, and assemblies.
• Collaborate with planning and control to execute schedules and priorities.
• Verify readiness of jobs before release (materials, tooling, drawings, work instructions, staffing, equipment).
• Communicate shop capacity, progress, constraints, risks, and recovery actions.
• Lead planning for work-orders, including capacity estimates and staffing times.
• Maintain equipment and support maintenance to ensure readiness.
• Operate and program equipment as needed to meet schedule and quality targets.
• Drive continuous improvement in shop processes, safety, quality, and productivity.

Skills

CNC machining

Fabrication

Welding

Production planning

Schedule execution

Leadership

Communication

GD&T reading

Tools

Mastercam

SolidWorks

Job description

Kairos Power seeks a highly motivated Manager, Manufacturing Operations to lead shop-floor execution for component manufacturing in support of FHR development programs. This role ensures safe, efficient operations, aligns with schedules and quality requirements, and partners with Machining, Welding, Planning and Production Control to optimize capacity and priorities.

The manager will drive continuous improvement, coordinate with engineering and operations teams, and enable rapid prototyping and