Vice President of Manufacturing

Aeon Industrial is seeking a Vice President of Manufacturing to lead the transition from prototype and low-rate builds to sustained production in Austin, TX. This is an on-site, full-time executive role.

About the Role

Aeon Industrial builds tactical weapon systems. We're moving from prototype and low-rate builds into sustained production, and we need someone to own that transition. This is a build role: you'll be creating the manufacturing organization from the ground up—standing up a new facility, growing the team, implementing a quality system, and achieving reliable rate production of hundreds of units per month. The processes you establish now will define our operations for years. You'll work closely with engineering, supply chain, and quality teams to make the production schedule a reality.

Responsibilities

• Own component manufacturing, final assembly, integration, and test of tactical weapon systems.
• Drive rate readiness: line layout, work instructions, tooling, fixturing, takt time, and capacity planning.
• Ensure manufacturing readiness for new designs by participating in design reviews early in the process.
• Stand up a new production facility: layout, equipment specification and installation, workflow, and qualification.
• Establish safe and compliant handling for energetic components in coordination with the compliance team.
• Hire, develop, and lead a team scaling from ~10 to 40+ members, including technicians, assemblers, manufacturing engineers, and supervisors.
• Build the structure, training, and certification path to support team growth.
• Partner with supply chain on production planning, long-lead procurement, and material flow.
• Qualify and manage contract manufacturers, owning technical acceptance (process capability, first article inspection, incoming inspection, and supplier corrective action).
• Build out an AS9100 quality management system alongside quality leadership.
• Own manufacturing’s role in nonconformance, root cause analysis, corrective action, and first article inspection.
• Drive continuous improvement in yield, cycle time, and cost as production scales.

Requirements

• 8+ years in manufacturing with meaningful experience leading production of complex electromechanical hardware.
• Direct experience transitioning a product from prototype or low-rate initial production (LRIP) into sustained rate production.
• Proven people leadership—you’ve hired, built, and run a growing production organization.
• Working command of AS9100 or an equivalent regulated quality system (e.g., AS9100D, ISO 9001, NADCAP).
• Production experience with precision machining, assembly, and inspection of structural hardware.
• Experience working with contract manufacturers and outside processes.
• Fluency with ERP/MRP planning, BOM structure, routings, and shop floor control.
• Comfort operating without a playbook—this role is about defining one.

Preferred Qualifications

• Missile, munitions, aerospace, or defense production background.
• Experience handling energetics, propellants, or explosive components, with familiarity with ATF and DoD requirements.
• Facility standup or line relocation experience.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent continuous improvement expertise applied in a low-to-mid-volume environment.
• Experience standing up composites production: layup, cure, bonding, and inspection (we currently source composites externally but plan to bring this in-house).
• Hands-on familiarity with additive manufacturing and its role in tooling and production.
• Teamcenter or comparable PLM experience.
• Engineering degree or equivalent hands-on depth.

What Makes This Role Unique

Most manufacturing leadership roles focus on running an existing line. This one is about designing it from scratch: selecting equipment, laying out the floor, writing processes, and hiring the team. You’ll also see your hardware in action—our test cadence is fast, and the feedback loop from build to flight is short.

This position requires access to export-controlled technical data. Applicants must qualify as a U.S. Person under ITAR: U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual.