Production & Manufacturing Program Lead - Defense Hardware

BlueHalo; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 128,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401K with company matching

9/80 work schedule

Paid holiday shutdown

Job summary

AeroVironment is seeking an experienced Senior Program Manager to lead the NGCM production and manufacturing transition from prototype to full‑rate production. You will establish the manufacturing strategy, build capability, and align internal operations and key suppliers to meet cost, schedule, and quality goals.

This hands‑on leadership role requires factory execution excellence and the ability to translate development hardware into a scalable, affordable production system.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Ten+ years aerospace/defense manufacturing experience including leadership of complex hardware production.
• Proven success leading programs from prototype to repeatable production.
• Experience establishing production readiness, processes, tooling, staffing, and supplier capacity.
• Experience managing production schedules, budgets, recurring unit costs, and capital requirements.
• Knowledge of configuration management, engineering change control, material planning, ERP/MRP, and production quality systems.
• Ability to resolve production constraints across engineering, supply chain, quality, and program management.
• Strong communication skills; experience presenting to senior leaders.
• Willingness to travel to suppliers and facilities.

Responsibilities

• Own the transition to production; develop and execute an integrated production transition plan for readiness, facilities, tooling, staffing, materials, suppliers, quality, and testing.
• Lead manufacturing readiness assessments and production readiness reviews; close actions that affect delivery commitments.
• Integrate production milestones, material availability, and capacity into the program's master schedule.
• Lead the development of production flows, assembly planning, work instructions, tooling, test equipment, and workforce training.
• Partner with engineering to improve producibility, assembly efficiency, testability, and affordability.
• Establish configuration‑controlled build processes, product traceability, and disciplined incorporation of engineering changes.
• Define handoff from development to production; ensure safety, handling, and facility requirements.
• Build supplier and capacity readiness; assess critical supplier readiness and delivery performance; validate capacity and long‑lead materials.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Travel ability

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, operations management, or related discipline

Job description

AeroVironment is seeking an experienced Senior Program Manager to lead the NGCM production and manufacturing transition from prototype to full‑rate production. You will establish the manufacturing strategy, build capability, and align internal operations and key suppliers to meet cost, schedule, and quality goals.

This hands‑on leadership role requires factory execution excellence and the ability to translate development hardware into a scalable, affordable production system.