Senior Production Liaison — Aerospace & Defense

Firestorm; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 141,000 - 167,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision plans

401(k) Retirement Savings Plan

Equity grants

Unlimited PTO

Parental Leave

Life Insurance

Job summary

Firestorm in San Diego seeks a Senior Operations Liaison to lead engineering–manufacturing integration and own production readiness across programs. You will drive cross-functional issue resolution and ensure on-time delivery to defense customers.

You will mentor junior liaisons and help set processes for the Program Office, collaborating with Engineering, Manufacturing, and program teams in a fast-growing startup environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Industrial) or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, production management, or engineering integration in aerospace or defense.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams through production ramp or rate production.
• Strong understanding of configuration management, engineering change processes, and production planning.
• Experience supporting defense programs, including FAI, acceptance testing, and DD250 or WAWF delivery processes.
• Excellent communication skills, including briefing leadership and customers.
• U.S. citizenship, as required for ITAR-controlled work and security clearance eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering–manufacturing integration across multiple programs and production lines.
• Own production readiness assessments ahead of key milestones, deliveries, and customer events.
• Lead production prioritization and line-loading recommendations to program and executive leadership, balancing delivery commitments, capacity, and engineering changes.
• Drive resolution of complex cross-functional issues, and elevate with options and recommendations.
• Assess the cost, schedule, and delivery impact of engineering changes (ECPs/ECOs) and support change board decisions.
• Lead or support manufacturing readiness reviews (MRRs), production readiness reviews (PRRs), FAI, and customer acceptance events.
• Partner with supply chain to identify and mitigate part shortages and supplier risks affecting production.
• Establish and improve processes, metrics, and tools for engineering–manufacturing coordination.
• Mentor and guide Engineering–Manufacturing Liaisons and support program managers on production matters.
• Represent production status and risks in customer program reviews when needed.

Skills

7+ years aerospace/defense experience

Cross-functional leadership

Config mgmt / ECPs

Defense program experience

Communication skills

US citizenship / ITAR

Security clearance (preferred)

UAS/aircraft production

MRLs / DoD milestones

Lean Six Sigma

AS9100 / ERP / PLM

Startup/rapid-scaling experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Job description

Firestorm in San Diego seeks a Senior Operations Liaison to lead engineering–manufacturing integration and own production readiness across programs. You will drive cross-functional issue resolution and ensure on-time delivery to defense customers.

You will mentor junior liaisons and help set processes for the Program Office, collaborating with Engineering, Manufacturing, and program teams in a fast-growing startup environment.