Production Manager of Manufacturing Operations
Core
Lead frontline production teams to transition aircraft and autonomy hardware from pilot builds to high-volume manufacturing, ensuring safety, quality, and service-level requirements for Zipline's autonomous logistics service.
Role type
Senior IC Production Manager (Manufacturing Operations)
Builds
Aircraft and autonomy hardware for drone delivery networks
Domain
Aerospace/Robotics manufacturing and autonomous logistics
Deliverable
production ML models | product features | dashboards & analysis | research | client delivery | infrastructure | physical/clinical work
Required skills
Production/operations leadership, scaling pilot-to-full-rate manufacturing, MES/ERP proficiency, data-driven process control, safety-critical process ownership, traceability management, frontline team development, shift planning, NPI ramp planning, technical drawing/BOM/PFMEA interpretation
Preferred skills
Electro-mechanical or aerospace/robotics environment experience, 12–16 hour ramp day endurance, rapid escalation decision-making under pressure, defect-reduction target setting
Technologies
MES, ERP, PFMEA
Responsibilities
Own day-to-day execution for 4 Top Level Assembly lines and 12 feeder lines; drive production to concrete targets (units/week, ship dates); manage and develop production supervisors, leads, and technicians; maintain on-site accountability for quality, safety, and regulatory checkpoints; lead planning, scheduling, tooling allocation, and build readiness; implement and enforce SOPs, build packets, and manufacturing control systems; monitor key metrics (throughput, yield, cycle time, downtime, scrap rate, labor efficiency, MTTR) and run weekly performance reviews; support NPI ramp plans with climb plans, training curricula, and quality gating
Seniority
Senior, hands-on IC with P&L or output ownership