Director of Manufacturing Engineering

Relocation is offered if not in the Los Angeles area

Desired Skills and Experience

• Strong engineering foundation (Mechanical, Manufacturing, or related hardware discipline)
• 8–10+ years of experience in aerospace or defense tech
• Experience working in fast-paced, startup environments with evolving priorities
• Deep understanding of machining, assembly, and aerospace manufacturing processes
• Experience leading cross-functional manufacturing (mechanical + electrical)
• Highly hands-on leader who can operate at both strategic and execution levels
• Ability to translate engineering design into production reality
• Willingness to work onsite 100%

Pluses

• Experience with hypersonics, reentry systems, or high-reliability flight hardware
• Background in building manufacturing organizations or facilities from scratch
• Experience scaling within venture-backed startups
• Advanced degree in Engineering

Day-to-day

Insight Global is seeking a Director of Manufacturing Engineering for one of our start up clients in the Playa Vista, CA area. Our client is building next-generation aerospace systems designed to operate at the edge of what’s physically possible — enabling rapid, precision delivery from space back to Earth.

The organization is entering a critical growth phase, transitioning from prototype development into scaled production, with plans to rapidly expand both manufacturing capabilities and physical footprint.

In this role, you will build and scale a world-class aerospace manufacturing organization from the ground up. This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for owning the entire manufacturing ecosystem — including machining, assembly, avionics/harnessing, and soft goods systems.

You will partner directly with the CTO and engineering leadership to translate complex hardware designs into scalable, production-ready systems while preparing the organization for hypergrowth and increased production rates.

This role requires someone who is deeply technical, highly hands-on, and comfortable operating in ambiguity — not just maintaining systems but building them.

Manufacturing Strategy & Scale

• Lead the transition from development to repeatable, scalable production
• Drive capacity planning, production forecasting, and rate readiness

Production & Operational Excellence

• Build and implement lean manufacturing systems across all disciplines
• Optimize cycle time, throughput, and yield
• Establish KPIs across safety, quality, cost, and delivery
• Lead root cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives

Machining & Fabrication

• Oversee precision CNC machining operations (including 5-axis capabilities)
• Partner closely with manufacturing engineering to align design and execution
• Drive tooling strategy, programming standards, and fixture optimization

Electrical & Harness Manufacturing

• Build scalable harness fabrication processes with strong QA controls
• Improve repeatability, documentation, and traceability for flight hardware

Soft Goods & Recovery Systems

• Develop production and inspection standards for parachute and soft goods systems
• Ensure quality and traceability for mission-critical recovery hardware
• Build, scale, and lead a high-performing manufacturing organization
• Manage and grow a team of manufacturing managers, engineers, and technical specialists
• Develop frontline leadership and foster a culture of ownership, urgency, and accountability
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and Flight Ops

Infrastructure & Expansion

• Define capital equipment strategy and facility layout
• Lead manufacturing floor buildouts and future facility expansions
• Implement MRP/ERP systems and production tracking infrastructure