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Manufacturing

Head of Manufacturing

ManufacturingColoradoFederal clearance eligible$185K–$235K base

Base salary range. Actual offer depends on experience and location. Equity and bonus are additional.

You own the FORGE build-out, the production line, and the quality system as the company's first manufacturing leader. FORGE is the company's first revenue and its cost curve, and you run it: stand up the Colorado production and test floor, build the team, and deliver defense-grade hardware with the test regimes that prove it. This is a builder's seat, not a caretaker's.

Responsibilities

  • Stand up and run the Colorado manufacturing and test operation
  • Own production schedule, cost, yield, and delivery across FORGE work
  • Build the production, test, and quality team as the order book grows
  • Establish process discipline: travelers, first-article inspection, corrective action
  • Interface with engineering on design-for-manufacture and qualification flow

Requirements

  • 12+ years manufacturing or production leadership in aerospace, defense, or precision hardware
  • Experience standing up or significantly scaling a production line
  • Working fluency in aerospace quality systems (AS9100 family)
  • Eligible for an active U.S. government clearance

What the first year looks like

  • The Centennial floor is running: first work cells commissioned, travelers and inspection flow in daily use
  • First customer deliveries shipped on time with complete documentation packages
  • A production and quality team hired against the order book, not ahead of it
  • A cost and yield baseline the company can quote against with confidence

Nice to have, not required

  • Optics or electro-optical production experience
  • Facility activation experience: fit-out, equipment install, commissioning
  • Government property and DCAA-environment familiarity

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Every posted role is funded. A member of the hiring team reads every application.

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Posted 2026-08-02 · Open through 2026-12-31