We are hiring a Production Manager to own the assembly floor. You will run the daily build - the production schedule, the technicians who execute it, the quality of what leaves the dock, and the throughput we can promise the business. Today production runs on a small team and a lot of individual know-how. Your job is to turn that into a floor that can scale in volume with a takt time, a shift structure, a first-pass yield number, and technicians who can build to a documented standard.
This is a hands-on role in a growing company. You will spend your time on the floor, not in a plant office. You will partner closely with Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers, who owns process design and work instructions, and with Supply Chain and Quality, who own inbound parts - you own execution, people, and output.
Responsibilities: - Own the Build
- Own the daily and weekly production schedule and hit committed build and ship dates
- Run the floor day to day: line balancing, work assignment, station staffing, and Finished Goods handoffs
- Track and drive the numbers that matter - units built, on-time completion, first-pass yield, labor hours per unit, and rework
- Escalate part shortages, tooling gaps, and engineering blockers early enough to protect the schedule
- Establish a daily production cadence - shift start-up, a stand-up on the floor, and an end-of-day status the business can rely on
- Lead the Team
- Lead, schedule, and develop a team of assembly technicians, with clear performance expectations for each station
- Own hiring, onboarding, and cross-training as the floor scales; build a skills matrix so no build depends on one person
- Certify technicians against documented work instructions and hold the line on build standards
- Own safety on the floor: enforce PPE and lockout/tagout, run safety walks, and investigate incidents and near misses
- Build Quality and Repeatability
- Own in-process and end-of-line quality - build sign-offs, functional test completion, and containment when something escapes
- Drive root cause and corrective action on build defects with Manufacturing Engineering and Service Engineering
- Partner with Manufacturing Engineering on work instructions, station layout, tooling, and fixturing; you are the voice of the floor in those decisions
- Maintain accurate production transactions in the ERP - work orders, build completions, and material consumption
- Support new product introduction: staff and run pilot builds, and give design and process teams honest feedback on buildability before volume ramps
Requirements- 5+ years in production, assembly, or manufacturing operations, including 2+ years directly managing hourly technicians or assemblers
- Hands-on experience running a mechanical or electro-mechanical assembly line - you can pick up a torque wrench and work a station when the schedule demands it
- Demonstrated ownership of a production schedule and the metrics behind it (throughput, yield, on-time delivery, labor efficiency)
- Experience creating shift structure, work assignments, and training or certification programs from scratch or near it
- Working knowledge of an ERP or MES for work orders and inventory transactions (NetSuite or similar)
- Comfortable reading mechanical drawings, wiring diagrams, and bills of material
- Safety-first mindset and a track record of enforcing it without being asked
- Calm under pressure, organized, and direct - you surface problems early rather than absorbing them
- Physical capability to work on a production floor: lifting up to 50 lbs, extended standing, and occasional after-hours coverage during ramps
- Startup or fast-paced environment experience; you are comfortable building the process while running it
Nice to Have: - Experience in robotics, autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, or another low-volume, high-complexity build environment
- Lean or Six Sigma training and real experience running kaizen, 5S, or standard work implementations
- Background in high-voltage battery, motor, or drivetrain assembly
- Experience scaling a line from low-volume prototype builds to steady-state production
- Machine shop and metal fabrication familiarity
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, or a related field
- Bilingual English/Spanish
Benefits- Competitive salary and equity in an early-stage robotics company
- Comprehensive benefits including health, dental, and vision
- Permissive time off policy
