Senior Vice President

About the role

The founding Senior Vice President will lead the build‑out of a new U.S.-based manufacturing platform in Austin, Texas, serving frontier‑technology industries such as humanoid robotics, aerospace, ag‑tech, and healthcare. Reporting to the organization’s Board of Directors (with a dotted line to Go‑to‑Market/BizDev) and working closely with MISUMI’s Americas Business Hub, the SVP will own facility stand‑up, customer delivery, operations, workforce growth, governance/compliance, P&L reporting, and team culture, with a clear path to President & CEO in 2027 contingent on hitting facility, customer, and team‑building milestones. The role is remote‑eligible requiring approximately 75% on‑site presence and up to 50% travel.

Responsibilities

• Facility stand‑up & scale‑up: Lead commissioning of the initial Austin facility and transition into the larger campus, hitting capital‑plan milestones.
• Customer delivery: Own the relationship with the founding customer and its production ramp, then lead qualification and onboarding of additional frontier‑technology customers as capacity comes online.
• Operations & quality: Build out precision machining, final assembly/test/packaging (FATP), and quality systems (FAIR, SPC, DFM) to the standards demanded by frontier‑technology customers.
• Workforce build: Execute a multi‑year staffing ramp from a founding team to a 200+‑person workforce, combining direct hiring, a local apprenticeship/technical‑college pipeline, and flexible nearshore capacity for peak demand.
• Governance & compliance: Partner with legal and security leadership to establish governance, security, and workplace controls required for U.S. government‑adjacent manufacturing, including export‑control registration and cybersecurity certification.
• P&L and reporting: Own the new organization's operating P&L and report regularly to the Board and MISUMI’s Americas Business Hub leadership on cost, schedule, and quality performance.
• Team & culture: Build the leadership bench underneath you, recruiting manufacturing and engineering leadership from Austin's robotics and advanced‑manufacturing corridor.

Requirements

• 15+ years of manufacturing operations leadership with direct P&L ownership of a plant, business unit, or manufacturing company.
• Proven track record of standing up new manufacturing facilities from the ground up (greenfield or brownfield), including commissioning, hiring ramp, and production qualification.
• Deep fluency in precision manufacturing: CNC machining, final assembly/test/packaging (FATP), new product introduction (NPI), and design‑for‑manufacturability (DFM).
• Experience serving demanding, fast‑iterating hardware customers — robotics, aerospace, defense, or similarly exacting sectors — strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with U.S. export‑control and government‑contracting frameworks (ITAR, CMMC) is a strong plus; willingness to build and operate within those frameworks is required.
• Comfortable operating with board‑level visibility and reporting, including to an international (Japan‑based) parent company.
• A builder’s mindset — energized by a founding role with real ambiguity, not just running an already‑established operation.
• U.S. citizenship required (due to ITAR‑related work).

Skills

• CNC machining
• Final assembly/test/packaging (FATP)
• New product introduction (NPI)
• Design‑for‑manufacturability (DFM)
• Quality systems (FAIR, SPC)
• Export‑control compliance (ITAR, CMMC)
• Board‑level reporting and governance
• Strategic workforce planning and talent development
• Stakeholder management (customers, Board, parent company)

Benefits

• Culture that values diverse perspectives and experience.
• Emphasis on respect, honesty, collaboration, and growth.
• An ‘always learning’ mindset that celebrates learning, not just wins.
• Opportunity to help build a world‑class organization that values the contributions of all teammates.
• Active encouragement of applications from underrepresented groups, including women, LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, people with disabilities, and veterans.

Pay

Base salary range: $260,000 – $320,000 per year, plus variable compensation potential of $260,000 – $320,000.

Schedule

Location: Remote‑eligible; the SVP is not required to permanently relocate to Austin but must maintain an on‑site presence at the new facility for approximately 75% of working time. Travel: Up to 50% overall, covering on‑site time in Austin, trips to MISUMI’s Americas Business Hub, customer sites, and Board meetings. Reporting: Directly to the organization’s Board of Directors with a close working relationship to MISUMI’s Americas Business Hub leadership; dotted‑line reporting to Go‑to‑Market/Business Development leadership.