Senior Manufacturing Engineering and Production Manager

** Candidate must be a US Citizen and possess (and be able to maintain) a Final Secret Clearance or meet the eligibility to obtain (and maintain) a Secret Clearance. **

Location: Sunnyvale, CA

About Us

Pacific Defense is a leading developer of advanced electronics systems for the U.S. Department of Defense and commercial customers. Our team specializes in Open Systems Architecture solutions for the non-kinetic fight, providing customers with cost-effective, modular, and rapidly reconfigurable systems in record time. We deliver sensing and effects solutions for land, air, sea, and space domains, leveraging open standards and rapid prototyping methodologies to bring innovative capabilities to the market. Pacific Defense has built an excellent reputation in the defense industry and is expanding our team to tackle new challenges and opportunities. Join us and accelerate your career!

Pacific Defense is seeking a hands-on Senior Manufacturing Engineering and Production Manager to spearhead day-to-day manufacturing engineering activities. This candidate will be responsible for managing a team of engineers, overseeing the design of manufacturing processes and specifications aimed at enhancing the efficiency and productivity of our manufacturing operations. They will play a pivotal role in the creation and execution of the Productivity Improvement Program, utilizing their extensive technical knowledge and project management skills for effective project planning, budget management, and methodology development. Furthermore, the candidate will oversee coordinating various aspects of business planning, including proposal work statements, operating budgets, and contract terms and conditions. Their role will encompass the implementation of New Product Introduction (NPI) and the establishment of design concepts, product specifications, and manufacturing engineering criteria.

Key Responsibilities

• Reporting to the Vice President of Manufacturing, responsible for daily production output for the factory in Sunnyvale.
• Hands on leader who drives day to day manufacturing engineering activities.
• Interfaces with Pacific Defense engineering team at all levels and ensures that documented testing and production processes are in place.
• Manage the activities of a team of engineers and technicians responsible for production as well as designing manufacturing processes and specifications that will improve the efficiency and productivity of the organization’s manufacturing operations.
• Responsible for the Productivity Improvement Program creation and execution.
• Uses highly developed technical knowledge and project management skills for project planning and methodology development to ensure that projects are completed on time, within budget, and according to defined goals.
• Coordinates the preparation of business plans, proposal work statements and specifications, operating budgets, and the financial terms and conditions of contracts to ensure that progress and performance can be tracked.
• Responsible for the implementation of NPI (New Product Introduction).
• Establishes design concepts, manufacturing process criteria, product specifications, and other components impacting manufacturing engineering.
• Directs recruitment, placement, and evaluation of manufacturing engineering staff and their work products to ensure the effective deployment of talent.
• Oversees the functional management of direct reports including but not limited to career development and succession planning to meet the organization's needs.

Required Qualifications

• Must have manufacturing experience in Electronic Assemblies, Modules/PCBAs
• Should have experience operating in a factory with the dual mission of producing  engineering builds as well as full-rate production builds of complex systems
• Must be comfortable operating in a start-up company where many processes need to be developed from scratch or greatly enhanced.
• Aerospace company experience a strong plus.
• Must be a hands-on leader who knows how to build product as well as the technicians and who come to work everyday expecting to tackle all new problems, and put in place systems and processes to reduce the chaos of a start-up environment.
• Strong design for manufacturing experience (DFM) a plus.
• Must have strong root cause and corrective action skills to drive issues to closure.
• Experience managing frequent product line configuration changes,   effectively.
• Must have strong collaboration skills.
• DOD experience with strong understanding of military standards a strong plus.
• Must have Test experience at the Module and System level.
• Experience with test station design a plus.
• Experience w/ key manufacturing processes from Solder, BGA, rework a must.

Pacific Defense provides competitive salaries and immediately vested 401K match. We provide 100% coverage for the employee, and 75% coverage for dependents’ medical, dental, vision, and life insurance premiums, as well as a flexible spending account for incidental health care expenses. We offer paid time off and federal holidays to spend time with family, pursue outside interests, or just get some extra rest.

Pacific Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor.