Director, High Volume Production

About the role

Intuitive Machines - West is seeking a courageous, innovative, multi-skilled Director of High-Rate AIT Production to join our spacecraft production team in Palo Alto, CA. The successful candidate will architect and implement a high-volume assembly, integration, and test (AIT) production line for next-generation spacecraft, transforming our AIT operations from low-rate to high-rate production.

Responsibilities

• Design end-to-end AIT production flow optimized for high-volume throughput
• Develop capacity models, takt time analysis, and process flow requirements for production-rate AIT
• Define capital equipment strategy including test equipment, handling systems, and tooling
• Establish scalable AIT work instructions, process controls, and quality gates
• Lead development of an efficient, risk-informed test program that ensures vehicle performance confidence while eliminating non-value-added testing
• Oversee spacecraft-level integration of solar arrays, batteries, and other major subsystems with the spacecraft bus
• Implement manufacturing execution systems (MES) tailored to provide assembly process documentation and production tracking for volume spacecraft production
• Define requirements for low-cost mechanical and electrical assembly, integration and test equipment, and production tooling
• Lead Voice of Manufacturing inputs to spacecraft design to ensure producibility at scale
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives leveraging lean manufacturing principles
• Build and mentor AIT production engineering team
• Represent AIT production capabilities to potential customers during proposal efforts, providing technical credibility on execution readiness
• Support business development with AIT cost models and production capacity commitments

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and be willing and able to obtain U.S. Government security clearance
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical field, or equivalent experience
• Minimum of 15 years related aerospace manufacturing/AIT experience
• Minimum of 7 years leadership experience in production or manufacturing engineering
• Experience working cross-functionally within a company and/or with external partners and contractors
• Proven track record scaling aerospace production operations
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with volume production of spacecraft or complex aerospace systems
• Direct experience developing and implementing a spacecraft AIT production line
• Experience with large spacecraft systems (solar array integration, battery integration, high-voltage testing)
• Demonstrated experience developing efficient, risk-based test programs that balance verification rigor with schedule/cost efficiency
• Understanding of spacecraft environmental testing at production scale (thermal vacuum, vibration, EMI/EMC)
• Prior history as an AIT engineer, process engineer, or industrial engineer for aerospace products
• Experience with sustaining engineering processes such as Change Approval, NPI, breakpointing
• Advanced degree in a technical field
• Lean/Six Sigma certification
• Experience with AS9100 quality systems
• Capital project management experience (multi-million dollar equipment investments)
• Experience taking spacecraft products into production, including progressive design iterations to reduce delivered cost
• Demonstrated experience applying system engineering practices to AIT operations
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with experience engaging directly with customers in technical/proposal settings

Pay

The base pay for this position within California is: $178,000.00 - $296,000.00 annually. For all other states, we use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop market-driven ranges for our roles, and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, health and welfare insurance, and 401(k) to eligible employees. This position is also incentive eligible with a target based on contribution, company performance, and/or individual results achieved.