Production Manager

Machinalabs; West Chatsworth (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Machina Labs is seeking a Production Manager to lead daily manufacturing operations for robotic sheet metal forming and downstream production. You will manage production personnel, drive schedule and quality commitments, and scale production capability as we move from development to repeatable production.

The ideal candidate has 7+ years in manufacturing and 3+ years leading teams in aerospace/defense or similar high‑volume, high‑mix environments, with hands‑on floor leadership and strong

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in manufacturing, fabrication, machining, or similar production environments.
• 3+ years of experience leading or managing production personnel.
• Experience managing daily production schedules, labor assignments, and shop floor execution systems.
• Experience working with engineering drawings, work instructions, and quality requirements.
• Strong ability to communicate with technicians, engineers, quality, supply chain, and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily production activities across robotic forming, sheet metal fabrication, finishing, trimming, deburring, grinding, assembly, and related operations.
• Own daily production execution, including schedule adherence, labor planning, machine uptime, quality, throughput, and priorities.
• Manage Production Supervisors, Leads, Technicians, and other personnel as the organization scales.
• Run daily production standups to review safety, quality, delivery, staffing, equipment status, and priorities.
• Translate requirements and schedules into executable shop floor plans and standard work.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Communication

Education

High school diploma or equivalency certificate

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Dashboards

MS Excel

Job description

About Machina Labs: Engineering moves at software speed. Manufacturing doesn't. Yet. Machina Labs is changing that. We build intelligent, software‑defined factories that produce complex metal structures directly from digital design. By integrating advanced metal forming, robotics, and automated production inside a flexible factory architecture, we enable customers to move from prototype to production in weeks, not years. Backed by Lockheed Martin, Toyota, and NVIDIA, we’re building the manufacturing infrastructure that defense, aerospace, and advanced mobility programs will run on. If you want to work on hard problems that matter and see them fly, drive, and defend, this is the place.

Machina Labs is looking for a motivated, hands‑on, and results‑driven Production Manager to lead daily manufacturing operations for our robotic sheet metal forming and downstream production activities. This role is responsible for managing production personnel, driving execution against schedule and quality commitments, improving shop floor performance, and helping scale Machina Labs’ production capability as we transition advanced manufacturing processes from development into repeatable production.

The Production Manager will oversee day‑to‑day production activities across robotic forming, trimming, deburring, grinding, finishing, inspection support, assembly, and other manufacturing operations required to deliver high‑quality metal structures to customers. This role will work closely with Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Software, Quality, Supply Chain, Program Management, and Business Development to ensure customer requirements are translated into safe, executable, and repeatable production plans.

Success in this role requires someone who can lead from the floor, establish operating discipline, build and develop teams, solve problems under pressure, and create structure in a fast‑moving technical environment. The ideal candidate has experience managing production teams in aerospace, defense, automotive, precision sheet metal, machining, fabrication, or other complex manufacturing environments.

The Production Manager must be comfortable walking the floor, identifying constraints, removing roadblocks, holding teams accountable, and helping build the systems, culture, and operating cadence needed to support growth.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage daily production activities across robotic forming, sheet metal fabrication, finishing, trimming, deburring, grinding, assembly, and related manufacturing operations.
• Own daily production execution, including schedule adherence, labor planning, machine uptime, quality performance, throughput, and shop floor priorities.
• Manage Production Supervisors, Leads, Technicians, and other production personnel as the organization scales.
• Run daily production stand‑ups to review safety, quality, delivery, staffing, equipment status, constraints, and customer priorities.
• Translate program requirements, engineering releases, customer needs, and production schedules into executable shop floor plans.
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering to improve routers, travelers, setup sheets, work instructions, process documentation, and standard operating procedures.
• Ensure production teams maintain accurate documentation of process settings, machine status, nonconformances, rework, scrap, and lessons learned.
• Drive production readiness for new parts, new customer programs, and transition from prototype builds to repeatable production.
• Identify production bottlenecks and lead corrective actions to improve flow, reduce waste, and increase throughput.
• Work with Quality to ensure parts meet drawing requirements, inspection standards, customer specifications, and internal acceptance criteria.
• Support root cause analysis, corrective actions, and continuous improvement efforts related to production defects, missed schedules, rework, and process escapes.
• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Planning to ensure materials, tooling, consumables, fixtures, and outside processing are available to support production.
• Provide feedback to Engineering, Estimating, and Program Management on producibility, lead time, labor requirements, cost drivers, capacity, and manufacturability risks.
• Maintain a safe, clean, disciplined, and organized production environment, including enforcement of safety practices, 5S, equipment care, and shop floor standards.
• Develop, coach, train, and mentor production personnel to improve technical capability, accountability, teamwork, and performance.
• Support hiring, onboarding, training, and workforce planning as production demand grows.
• Establish and track production KPIs, including safety, quality, delivery, cost, labor utilization, machine uptime, rework, scrap, and throughput.
• Help build the operating foundation required to scale Machina Labs’ production capability across aerospace and defense applications.
• Perform other duties, tasks, and responsibilities as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
• 7+ years of experience in manufacturing, fabrication, machining, sheet metal, aerospace, defense, automotive, robotics, or other technically challenging production environments.
• 3+ years of experience leading, supervising, or managing production personnel in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience managing daily production schedules, labor assignments, work orders, travelers, routers, or similar shop floor execution systems.
• Experience working with engineering drawings, manufacturing work instructions, process documentation, and quality requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams in a fast‑paced, high‑mix manufacturing environment.
• Strong computer skills and experience using digital production systems, ERP/MRP systems, spreadsheets, dashboards, or other manufacturing execution tools.
• Ability to communicate clearly with technicians, engineers, quality personnel, supply chain, program managers, and senior leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience manufacturing products for aerospace, defense, space, hypersonics, missiles, UAVs, or other mission‑critical applications.
• Experience with sheet metal forming, robotic manufacturing, precision fabrication, machining, welding, mechanical assembly, or advanced manufacturing processes.
• Experience scaling production from prototype, development, or low‑rate initial production into repeatable manufacturing.
• Experience with AS9100, ISO 9001, first‑article inspection, nonconformance management, corrective actions, and aerospace quality systems.
• Experience with ERP/MRP or MES systems used for production planning, inventory, labor tracking, work orders, and shop floor execution.
• Familiarity with geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, drawing interpretation, inspection requirements, and manufacturing specifications.
• Experience implementing Lean manufacturing, 5S, standard work, visual management, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement.
• Experience managing machine uptime, preventive maintenance coordination, equipment readiness, and production capacity.
• Experience supporting customer‑facing manufacturing programs with demanding schedule, quality, and documentation requirements.
• Demonstrated track record of improving delivery, quality, productivity, labor efficiency, safety, or cost performance.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to motivate teams, resolve conflict, set expectations, and hold people accountable.
• Comfortable operating in an environment where processes are evolving and structure must be built while production is underway.
• Forklift experience or prior responsibility for shop floor equipment, tooling, fixtures, and material handling operations.

Work Conditions & Requirements

• Must be available for 1st shift, with flexibility to support extended hours, overtime, and some weekends as production needs require.
• Must be able to work in a manufacturing environment with exposure to machinery, tools, noise, dust, coolants, solvents, cleaners, and typical shop chemicals.
• Must be able to stand, walk, bend, twist, climb, and move throughout the production floor for extended periods.
• Must be able to lift and carry up to 50 lbs. unassisted.
• Must be able to climb ladders and work in tight spaces when required.
• Must be willing to work hands‑on with production teams to resolve issues and support execution.
• Due to the nature of work performed in this facility, U.S. Person status may be required as defined by applicable export control regulations.

*This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities required for this role. Duties and responsibilities may change based on business needs.

Machina Labs is an affirmative action and equal employment opportunity employer and considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or status as a protected veteran in accordance with state and federal law.

We endeavor to make the job application process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability that impacts your ability to complete the job application process and would like to request assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at (888)444‑9777. This contact information is for accommodation requests only, not to inquire about the status of applications.