Production Manager of Manufacturing Operations

About the Role

You are the Production Manager of Manufacturing Operations, responsible for delivering aircraft and autonomy hardware that keep Zipline delivery networks flying. This role sits on-site at our South San Francisco Production Factory and is accountable for transitioning P2 from pilot builds to sustained, high-volume production that meets safety, quality, and service-level requirements. You will lead frontline production teams and partner tightly with Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and Design; your decisions affect aircraft availability, field reliability, and customer dispatch rates for Zipline’s autonomous logistics service.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day execution and outcomes for 4 Top Level Assembly lines and 12 feeder lines: set and meet daily builds, first-pass yield, and ship-ready rates.
• Drive production to concrete targets: deliver X units/week within Y% of scheduled ship dates.
• Manage and develop production supervisors, leads, and technicians across shifts; build staffing plans and run-rate coverage to meet 1st and 2nd shift schedules.
• Maintain on-site accountability for quality, safety, and regulatory checkpoints that directly affect aircraft airworthiness and field deployment.
• Lead planning, scheduling, tooling allocation, and build readiness to eliminate line starvation and minimize changeover time.
• Implement, standardize, and enforce SOPs, build packets, work instructions, and manufacturing control systems (MES/ERP) to ensure repeatable assembly and traceability.
• Monitor and own key metrics (throughput, yield, cycle time, downtime, scrap rate, labor efficiency, MTTR) and run weekly performance reviews with concrete corrective actions and owners.
• Support NPI ramp plans: define climb plan, training curriculum, quality gating, and defect-reduction targets during first 6 months of a new product introduction.
• Champion a culture of accountability and safety—fostering proactive risk management, quick and clear communication from techs, and a constant improvement mentality.

Requirements

• Location: on-site at Zipline’s P2 manufacturing facility in South San Francisco. Must be present on-site; role includes shift oversight and occasional weekend or off-hour escalations during ramps or critical incidents.
• Seniority & scope: 8+ years in production/operations leadership with direct P&L or output ownership; experience leading multiple assembly lines and first-line managers.
• Hard requirements: proven experience scaling pilot-to-full-rate manufacturing in electro-mechanical or aerospace/robotics environments; demonstrated MES/ERP proficiency; strong data-driven process control skills.
• Manufacturing intensity: comfortable operating in 12–16 hour ramp days, running shift handovers, and owning rapid escalation decisions under production pressure and tight schedules.
• Safety & regulatory: demonstrated track record owning safety-critical processes, quality gates, and traceability required for fielded systems or regulated hardware.
• Measurable delivery focus: history of meeting throughput, yield, and on-time delivery targets; able to define and hit 90–95%+ first-pass yield or equivalent step-change improvements where applicable.
• Leadership traits: experience hiring, developing, and retaining frontline supervisors and technicians; sets clear performance expectations and enforces accountability.
• Logistics & travel: minimal travel (<10%) between sites or to suppliers; full-time on-site presence required during ramp and steady-state production.
• Education & technical: BS in engineering, operations, or equivalent experience; strong ability to read technical drawings, BOMs, and PFMEA outputs.

Success in this role will be measured by meeting defined ramp milestones, steady-state units/week, first-pass yield improvements, reduction in defects, and sustained aircraft availability targets for Zipline service.

This role requires regular on-site presence at Zipline manufacturing facilities; travel between sites may be required during ramp and sustainment phases.