Director of Manufacturing
Mission Microwave, Cypress, CA, United States
Director of Manufacturing – Mission Microwave
Company: Mission Microwave Technologies
Location: Cypress, California
Industry: Aerospace, Defense, RF Electronics Manufacturing
Job Summary
The Director of Manufacturing Operations is responsible for leading all manufacturing execution, production, engineering, quality, and operational performance for a high‑mix, low‑volume aerospace/RF electronics manufacturing environment. This senior leadership role focuses on building structure, discipline, and scalability in a growing, technically complex factory while remaining hands‑on and connected to the production floor.
Key Responsibilities
Manufacturing & Operations Leadership
- Lead day‑to‑day manufacturing execution across the production floor in a high‑mix / low‑volume environment
- Build and implement scalable manufacturing processes, including process sheets, standard work, visual instructions, and repeatable training methods
- Standardize critical manufacturing knowledge into practical documentation and training tools
- Partner with Supply Chain and Planning to improve material flow, schedule adherence, floor readiness, and inventory/system accuracy
- Establish and manage KPIs including on‑time delivery, throughput, bottlenecks, and process compliance
- Drive Lean, continuous improvement, and practical digital tool adoption
Engineering & Quality Integration
- Partner with Engineering to improve manufacturing readiness, build transfer, and practical floor execution
- Partner with Quality to strengthen process compliance, defect visibility, corrective action follow‑through, and manufacturing discipline
- Support design for manufacturability (DFM) and new product introduction (NPI)
Business & Strategy
- Develop the manufacturing roadmap aligned with company growth and scalability
- Manage budgets, capital equipment, and staffing plans
- Track KPIs (on‑time delivery, yield, cost, cycle time, efficiency)
- Report to executive leadership and support program planning, proposals, and forecasting
Leadership
- Lead manufacturing managers, engineers, and supervisors
- Build a scalable manufacturing organization
- Develop staff through hiring, training, and performance management
- Act as a visible, hands‑on leader who identifies problems, removes barriers, coaches the team, and keeps work moving
Typical Requirements
- Bachelor’s in Engineering or Manufacturing
- 10+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience in technically complex environments
- Strong experience in high‑mix / low‑volume manufacturing
- Aerospace / defense / RF / electronics manufacturing experience strongly preferred
- Experience improving factory discipline, standardized work, process documentation, and execution cadence
- Experience with:
- AS9100 / ISO9001 compliance
- ERP / MRP systems
- Lean Manufacturing / Six Sigma
- NPI (New Product Introduction)
- Experience managing teams, cross‑functional collaboration, and production operations
- Hands‑on, floor‑oriented leadership style with strategic capability to scale operations