Vice President of Manufacturing

SDFM; Rock Hill (SC); On-site; USD 240,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Powerus is seeking a VP of Manufacturing to lead a fast-paced ramp in a startup-style environment focused on defense-grade autonomous systems. You will own strategy, planning, and execution of facilities and production lines, partnering with engineering, supply chain, and program leadership to translate delivery requirements into reliable output.

The role requires a visible factory-floor leader capable of rapid decision-making, removing constraints, and building capable teams that deliver on

Qualifications

• Experience building manufacturing capability in an early-stage business.
• Ability to explain starting point, output, timeframe, team size, and decisions you owned.
• Understanding of defense hardware production at pace and scale.
• Leadership in complex hardware assembly, integration, and test."],
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Responsibilities

• Own the ramp and align facilities, equipment, materials, workforce, and processes with delivery commitments.
• Scale assembly, integration, and test operations from initial builds to repeatable production.
• Create capacity plans and production schedules based on materials, labor, cycle times.
• Recruit and develop manufacturing managers, supervisors, technicians, and teams.
• Establish shift structures, training, and frontline leadership.
• Ensure factory readiness: layout, tooling, fixtures, equipment, and material flow.
• Lead daily manufacturing reviews with targets, escalation routes, and constraints resolution.
• Collaborate with engineering to improve manufacturability and manage changes during ramp.
• Coordinate with supply chain to secure materials and align supplier capacity.
• Embed quality, safety, traceability, and configuration control into processes.
• Own budgets, capital needs, labor productivity, and cost improvements.
• Track throughput, first-pass yield, schedule attainment, rework, and unit cost.
• Leverage AI tools, automation, and data for planning, visibility, problem-solving, and execution.
• Develop repeatable practices to support growth across products and facilities.

Skills

Startup experience

Ramp leadership

Defense manufacturing

Assembly operations

Production planning

Team leadership

Capital investment

Data/AI in manufacturing

Job description

About Powerus

Powerus is building a next-generation American autonomous systems platform for defense, national security, critical infrastructure, and commercial operations. We are scaling through manufacturing expansion, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and international growth, with a focus on moving technology into production and real-world operations.

Our Mission

To deliver resilient autonomous technologies that strengthen national security, protect critical infrastructure, and give our customers greater operational capability.

Why Join Powerus Now

Powerus is entering a significant phase of manufacturing growth. We are expanding capability, building teams, and establishing the operations required to deliver autonomous systems at scale.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a major manufacturing ramp and shape how the business manufactures, assembles, tests, and delivers its products. The decisions you make will directly affect our capacity, delivery performance, and ability to grow.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a VP of Manufacturing to lead a fast-moving, high-intensity assembly operation through a substantial ramp in output, workforce, and manufacturing capacity.

You will own manufacturing strategy, planning, and execution, including the establishment, ramp-up, optimization, and operation of manufacturing facilities and production lines. Working closely with engineering, supply chain, quality, and program leadership, you will turn delivery requirements into executable plans and reliable output.

Previous experience operating in a startup environment and scaling defense manufacturing is essential. You must have personally built manufacturing capability while products, teams, and processes were still evolving.

This role requires a visible leader on the factory floor who can make sound decisions quickly, remove constraints, and hold teams accountable for delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the manufacturing ramp, aligning facilities, equipment, materials, workforce, and processes with customer delivery commitments.
• Establish and scale assembly, integration, and test operations, taking products from initial builds into repeatable production.
• Build capacity plans and production schedules grounded in material availability, labor requirements, cycle times, and test capacity.
• Recruit, develop, and lead manufacturing managers, supervisors, technicians, and assembly teams.
• Establish effective shift structures, workforce training, skills coverage, and frontline leadership.
• Own factory readiness, including layout, tooling, fixtures, equipment commissioning, work instructions, and material flow.
• Run daily manufacturing reviews with clear targets, escalation routes, and accountability for resolving constraints.
• Partner with engineering to improve manufacturability, introduce new products, and manage engineering changes across active production.
• Work with supply chain to secure material readiness, address shortages, and align supplier capacity with the ramp.
• Embed quality, safety, traceability, configuration control, and applicable customer requirements into manufacturing processes.
• Own manufacturing budgets, capital requirements, labor productivity, and cost improvement.
• Track and improve throughput, first-pass yield, schedule attainment, rework, scrap, and unit cost.
• Use AI tools, automation, and manufacturing data where they improve planning, visibility, problem-solving, and execution.
• Establish repeatable operating practices that support growth across additional products, lines, and facilities.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven startup experience: You have built and operated manufacturing capability in an early-stage business with limited resources and changing priorities.
• Demonstrated manufacturing ramp leadership: You can explain the starting point, output achieved, timeframe, team size, and decisions you personally owned.
• Defense manufacturing experience: You understand the demands of producing reliable defense hardware at pace and scale.
• Strong assembly operations experience: You have led complex hardware assembly, integration, and test, ideally involving electromechanical or autonomous systems.
• Experience establishing new facilities or production lines and taking them into sustained operation.
• Strong practical knowledge of capacity planning, line balancing, production scheduling, material flow, and workforce readiness.
• A record of improving delivery, quality, productivity, and manufacturing cost.
• Experience managing new product introduction and engineering changes during a manufacturing ramp.
• The ability to build capable teams and develop supervisors who take ownership of performance.
• Commercial judgment around capital investment, staffing, inventory, and manufacturing economics.
• Confidence using manufacturing systems, data, AI, and automation to improve operating performance.

The Powerus Environment

We move quickly, set demanding goals, and expect people to take ownership. Priorities evolve as the business grows, and leaders must be comfortable making decisions with incomplete information.

We look for people who get into the detail, work across functions, and follow problems through to resolution. You must be willing to get your hands dirty, support your team, and stay close to execution.

This is an on-site leadership role requiring substantial time on the manufacturing floor and flexibility during critical ramp and delivery periods.

What Success Looks Like

• Manufacturing capacity grows in line with an achievable, clearly managed ramp plan.
• Assembly and test operations deliver consistent output against customer commitments.
• Manufacturing teams have effective leaders, clear expectations, and the training to perform.
• Material, engineering, and capacity constraints are identified early and resolved quickly.
• Quality, safety, and traceability remain controlled as volume increases.
• Leadership has a clear view of output, cost, risks, and decisions required.
• The operation becomes more productive and repeatable as it scales.

What We Look For in Our People

Ownership, practical judgment, technical curiosity, and a strong bias for action. We value team players who communicate directly, challenge assumptions constructively, and deliver on their commitments.

We want people motivated by building a business and delivering capability that matters.

Equal Opportunity & Accessibility

Powerus is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the recruitment process.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States, be U.S. citizens, and be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.