Head of Manufacturing

Building a factory from scratch isn't something you do every day.

We're partnered with an exciting aerospace and defence business entering the next phase of growth as they transition from development into full-scale manufacturing. With a brand-new facility ready to be transformed into a world-class production environment, we're looking for an experienced manufacturing leader to make it happen.

This is a genuine greenfield opportunity. You'll lead the industrialisation strategy, working from early product development through to serial production, establishing the people, processes, systems and manufacturing capability needed to support long-term growth.

You'll work alongside engineering, factory planning, operations and supply chain teams to create a manufacturing facility capable of delivering complex, high-performance products within a highly regulated environment.

What you'll be doing

• Lead the industrialisation and manufacturing strategy from concept through to serial production.
• Work closely with factory planners to develop and commission a new manufacturing facility.
• Define production processes, tooling, layouts, equipment and manufacturing systems.
• Drive manufacturing readiness throughout Concept, PDR, CDR and production milestones.
• Build scalable manufacturing operations capable of supporting future growth.
• Partner with Engineering to ensure products are designed for manufacture and assembly.
• Recruit, develop and lead a high-performing manufacturing engineering function.
• Introduce best practice across quality, lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.

We're looking for people with experience in:

• Aerospace
• Space
• Defence
• Automotive
• Other highly regulated manufacturing environments

You'll likely have experience leading industrialisation or manufacturing programmes, taking complex products from development into production and helping establish new manufacturing capability.

Experience with greenfield manufacturing projects, factory planning, production ramp-up and serial manufacturing is highly desirable.

If you've successfully built manufacturing capability rather than simply operated an existing production facility, we'd love to hear from you.