Manufacturing Engineering Manager
AeroVironment · Petaluma, CA
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Base pay
- $118k–$179k
- Travel
- 30%
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 50+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A management manufacturing role at AeroVironment (aerospace & defense) in Petaluma, CA. Lead, mentor, and develop the manufacturing engineering team; assign work, establish priorities, support career development, and manage performance.
- They ask for
- 50+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Lean, Six Sigma, Value stream mapping, Root cause, Minitab, Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ)
- Base pay
- $118k–$179k
- Day to day
- about 30% travel
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Manufacturing team at AeroVironment
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- The posting says about 30% travel. Between which sites?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
About the role
Responsibilities
- ◆Lead, mentor, and develop the manufacturing engineering team; assign work, establish priorities, support career development, and manage performance.
- ◆Establish manufacturing engineering strategies, standards, priorities, and performance objectives aligned with company and program requirements.
- ◆Plan, design, and continuously improve manufacturing systems, production processes, and facility capabilities for Unmanned Air Vehicle production.
- ◆Develop manufacturing strategies and capacity models for new and existing products, including capital equipment and infrastructure requirements.
- ◆Direct the specification, development, qualification, implementation, and support of assembly and test equipment.
- ◆Oversee equipment specifications, qualification records, support plans, work instructions, assembly procedures, and other manufacturing documentation.
- ◆Lead Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma initiatives to improve productivity, quality, throughput, yield, cost, cycle time, and lead time.
- ◆Sponsor Value Stream Mapping and other process-improvement activities to reduce waste, variation, cycle time, and production losses.
- ◆Lead the development and cost estimation of tooling, fixtures, automation, and other manufacturing resources.
- ◆Direct Make/Buy analyses in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
- ◆Provide manufacturing engineering input to new product development, including Design for Manufacturing, cost, reliability, producibility, and process-risk assessments.
- ◆Partner with Design Engineering, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Test Engineering, and Program Management to support production readiness, product introduction, ramp-up, process validation, and manufacturing transfer.
- ◆Provide technical leadership for applicable electro-mechanical processes, including mechanical assembly, printed circuit board assembly, calibration, testing, sheet metal fabrication, plastics, and composite layups.
- ◆Identify manufacturing risks and lead root-cause analysis and corrective-action activities related to processes, equipment, materials, capacity, tooling, suppliers, quality, and productivity.
- ◆Manage manufacturing engineering budgets, capital requisitions, resource plans, and project schedules.
- ◆Coordinate with suppliers and contract manufacturers to support process readiness and ensure receipt of conforming parts and assemblies.
- ◆Communicate manufacturing status, risks, capacity constraints, improvement results, and resource
requirements
to leadership.
- ✓Promote ownership, accountability, teamwork, continuous learning, innovation, and disciplined execution.
- ✓Perform other duties as assigned.
Basic
(Required Skills & Experience)
- ✓Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent education, training, and experience may be considered.
- ✓8 or more years of progressive experience in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Test Engineering, Operations Engineering, or a related field.
- ✓3 or more years of demonstrated experience leading or managing manufacturing engineering teams or cross-functional technical teams.
- ✓Experience in aerospace, defense, automotive, commercial manufacturing, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.
- ✓Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing principles and Six Sigma methodologies.
- ✓Experience with electro-mechanical manufacturing, engineering drawings, manufacturing procedures, bills of materials, and production documentation.
- ✓Experience developing or implementing assembly, test, inspection, tooling, fixture, or automated manufacturing systems.
- ✓Experience with manufacturing capacity planning, capital equipment planning, production readiness, and process improvement.
- ✓Experience with Design for Manufacturing, cost and reliability analysis, Make/Buy evaluations, and structured root-cause analysis.
- ✓Experience working with suppliers and contract manufacturers.
- ✓Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access, and Project.
- ✓Experience with manufacturing and engineering tools such as Minitab, Oracle, Agile, and CAD systems; SolidWorks experience is preferred.
- ✓Ability to travel to supplier or contract-manufacturer sites, as required; travel may be up to approximately 30%.
Other
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Worker Type
Regular
Job Description
Summary
The Manufacturing Engineering Manager leads the manufacturing engineering function supporting AeroVironment’s Unmanned Air Vehicle production operations. This position provides strategic and hands-on leadership for the development, implementation, qualification, and continuous improvement of manufacturing systems, processes, equipment, tooling, and documentation. The manager is accountable for manufacturing readiness, process capability, capacity planning, capital resources, team performance, and continuous improvement across production operations.
Position
& Desired Competencies
- +Master’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, or a related discipline is preferred.
- +Experience manufacturing Small Unmanned Air Vehicles or other complex aerospace products is preferred.
- +Experience with automation, robotics, production-test systems, new manufacturing technology development, or capital equipment projects is preferred.
- +Experience with sheet metal fabrication, plastics, composite layups, printed circuit board assembly, mechanical assembly, calibration, and testing processes is preferred.
- +Experience with production scaling, factory layout, line balancing, takt time, Value Stream Mapping, capacity expansion, or formal project management is preferred.
- +Strong people leadership, coaching, delegation, team-building, communication, organization, planning, prioritization, and time-management skills.
- +Ability to analyze data, make sound techn