Senior Manufacturing Manager

Align Precision Corp.; Walnut (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Align Precision Corp. seeks a Senior Production Manager to lead a high-precision CNC gantry machining facility in California. You will drive safety, quality, productivity, and continuous improvement while developing a lean production culture and a capable workforce.

The role requires deep CNC machining knowledge, hands-on leadership, and the ability to balance customer commitments with manufacturing priorities in a challenging aerospace environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing experience in CNC machining.
• 5+ years of production management or manufacturing leadership experience.
• Experience managing CNC machining operations in high-precision environments.
• Strong CNC machining knowledge is required.
• Experience with large-format CNC gantry mills is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for daily CNC machining production operations.
• Manage production supervisors, leads, machinists, and support staff.
• Set production expectations, accountability, and performance standards.
• Drive schedules with high-quality and safety standards.
• Monitor performance, identify constraints, and remove obstacles.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Planning, Supply Chain.

Skills

CNC machining

Manufacturing leadership

Lean manufacturing

Safety & quality

Scheduling & capacity

Tools

Large-format CNC gantry mills

Machining processes

Job description

Senior Production Manager - CNC Gantry Machining

Industry: Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing

Reports To: Director of Production

Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Overview

We are seeking an accomplished Senior Production Manager to lead production operations within an elite, high-performance CNC machining facility specializing in large-format gantry machining and complex, tight-tolerance aerospace and defense components.

This is a hands-on leadership position responsible for driving safety, quality, productivity, delivery, labor efficiency, and continuous improvement across the manufacturing operation. The successful candidate will have a proven track record managing CNC machining production in a demanding aerospace, defense, semiconductor, or similarly high-precision manufacturing environment.

The ideal candidate is a manufacturing leader first—someone who understands CNC machining, production flow, tooling, scheduling, capacity, labor utilization, quality requirements, and Lean manufacturing at a practical level, while also possessing the leadership skills necessary to develop a high-performing production organization.

Experience supporting customers such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, or other major aerospace/defense Primes and Tier 1 OEMs is highly valued.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership and direction for daily CNC machining production operations.
• Manage production supervisors, leads, machinists, and support personnel.
• Establish clear production expectations, accountability, and performance standards.
• Drive execution against production schedules while maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety.
• Monitor daily performance, identify constraints, and rapidly remove obstacles impacting production.
• Ensure effective coordination between Production, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Planning, Supply Chain, and other functional teams.
• Maintain a strong floor presence and provide hands-on leadership in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Develop a culture of ownership, accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

CNC Machining Operations

• Provide strong operational leadership over large CNC gantry mills and other high-precision CNC machining equipment.
• Demonstrate a working understanding of CNC milling, machining processes, setups, tooling, fixturing, cutting strategies, and production flow.
• Understand the challenges associated with machining large, complex, tight-tolerance aerospace components, including difficult materials such as titanium and other hard metals.
• Work closely with Manufacturing Engineering and Programming to improve cycle times, machine utilization, tooling strategies, and manufacturability.
• Identify production bottlenecks and implement sustainable solutions.
• Optimize machine loading, labor utilization, setup reduction, throughput, and overall equipment effectiveness.
• Ensure production resources are aligned with customer demand and manufacturing priorities.

Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement

• Lead the implementation and sustainment of Lean Manufacturing principles throughout the production operation.
• Utilize Lean tools such as Kaizen, 5S, visual management, standard work, value-stream improvement, waste elimination, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement.
• Identify and eliminate the eight forms of manufacturing waste.
• Drive improvements in labor efficiency, machine utilization, throughput, quality, and on-time delivery.
• Establish measurable improvement initiatives and hold teams accountable for results.
• Promote a culture where employees actively identify and solve manufacturing problems.

Scheduling, Capacity & Performance

• Partner with Production Planning and Operations leadership to ensure production schedules are achievable and aligned with customer commitments.
• Analyze machine and labor capacity and identify potential constraints before they impact delivery.
• Monitor production metrics and establish corrective actions when performance falls below expectations.
• Drive improvements in On-Time Delivery (OTD), On-Time Completion, Schedule Attainment, Throughput, Scrap, Rework, Labor Efficiency, and Machine Utilization.
• Balance competing priorities while maintaining customer commitments and quality requirements.
• Recruit, train, coach, develop, and retain high-performing manufacturing talent.
• Develop supervisors and production leaders into strong, accountable frontline managers.
• Establish training and qualification plans for machinists and production personnel.
• Identify skill gaps and develop cross-training programs to increase workforce flexibility.
• Conduct performance management and establish clear expectations for employees.
• Build a culture centered on professionalism, accountability, safety, teamwork, and operational excellence.

Quality, Safety & Compliance

• Partner closely with Quality to maintain aerospace-level quality standards.
• Ensure production processes comply with applicable AS9100, ISO 9001, customer-specific requirements, and internal quality systems.
• Promote a zero-defect mindset and disciplined process control.
• Ensure employees follow established procedures, work instructions, inspection requirements, and safety standards.
• Participate in corrective actions, root-cause investigations, and process improvement initiatives.
• Maintain a strong safety culture and ensure compliance with all applicable OSHA and company requirements.

Customer & Executive Partnership

• Support the organization's commitment to being a world-class Tier 1 aerospace and defense manufacturing partner.
• Understand the expectations of demanding Prime customers and the importance of quality, delivery, responsiveness, and consistency.
• Provide leadership with accurate production reporting, risks, capacity concerns, and improvement opportunities.
• Participate in customer-facing meetings and operational reviews when required.
• Maintain a high level of professionalism when representing the company with customers, suppliers, and business partners.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing experience, with significant responsibility for CNC machining production.
• 5+ years of production management or manufacturing leadership experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing CNC machining operations in a high-precision manufacturing environment.
• Strong CNC machining knowledge is required.
• Experience with large-format CNC gantry mills is strongly preferred.