Senior Production Leader, Defense Missile Programs

AeroVironment, Inc.; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 128,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401K with company matching

9/80 work schedule

Holiday shutdown

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. in Huntsville, AL seeks a Senior Program Manager to lead the NGCM program’s move from prototype to full-rate production.

You will shape the manufacturing strategy, build production capability, and align suppliers and internal teams to meet cost, schedule, and quality targets. This hands‑on leadership role requires deep factory execution experience, translating development hardware into scalable, affordable production systems while maintaining schedule commitments and ensuring

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, operations management, or related discipline.
• Ten+ years of relevant aerospace or defense manufacturing experience.
• Led at least one program from prototype to repeatable production with increasing delivery rates.
• Experience establishing production readiness, processes, tooling, staffing, and supplier capacity.
• Experience managing production schedules, manufacturing budgets, recurring unit costs, and capital requirements.
• Knowledge of configuration management, engineering change control, ERP/MRP systems, and production quality systems.
• Ability to travel to suppliers, manufacturing facilities, and other program locations.

Responsibilities

• Own the transition to production.
• Develop and execute an integrated production transition plan covering manufacturing readiness, facilities, equipment, tooling, staffing, materials, suppliers, quality, and acceptance testing.
• Lead manufacturing readiness assessments and production readiness reviews; assign and close actions before they affect delivery commitments.
• Integrate production milestones, material availability, and capacity constraints into the program’s integrated master schedule.
• Establish repeatable manufacturing operations.
• 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 the handoff from engineering‑led development builds to manufacturing‑led production execution.
• Ensure production plans incorporate applicable safety, handling, and facility requirements.
• Build supplier and capacity readiness.

Skills

Leadership

Manufacturing

Program management

Supply chain coordination

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field

Job description

AeroVironment, Inc. in Huntsville, AL seeks a Senior Program Manager to lead the NGCM program’s move from prototype to full-rate production.

You will shape the manufacturing strategy, build production capability, and align suppliers and internal teams to meet cost, schedule, and quality targets. This hands‑on leadership role requires deep factory execution experience, translating development hardware into scalable, affordable production systems while maintaining schedule commitments and ensuring