Manager, Program Management - Manufacturing (R4741)

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Job Description:

Lead the execution of complex manufacturing programs that bring advanced products from concept to production. In this role, you will drive cross-functional alignment across engineering, supply chain, and operations, ensuring plans, resources, and readiness come together to meet critical milestones. You’ll play a key role in turning strategy into reality—removing obstacles, maintaining momentum, and enabling teams to deliver at scale.

What you'll do:

• Own and maintain the integrated manufacturing program plan, critical path, and dependencies across Production, Manufacturing Engineering, Construction, MP&L, Supply Chain, Quality, Test and Engineering.
• Serve as the primary manufacturing program interface to Product Development Program Management—aligning build schedules, release plans, readiness milestones, and decision points.
• Run the operating cadence: weekly cross-functional program reviews, action/issue tracking, decision logs, and escalation of blockers to maintain execution tempo.
• Drive manufacturing readiness gates (prototype builds → pilot → production ramp): define entry/exit criteria, verify deliverable completion, and surface gaps early.
• Coordinate material readiness and supply risk: align BOM maturity, lead-time constraints, supplier readiness, and mitigation plans with build schedules.
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering and supporting teams to ensure line readiness deliverables are planned and tracked (tooling/equipment readiness, routings, work instructions, training, and documentation).
• Coordinate change management impacts to manufacturing (ECR/ECO cut-in plans, retrofit strategies, configuration alignment) to protect schedule and build integrity.
• Partner with Quality to align inspection/test readiness, nonconformance workflow expectations, and closure of systemic issues that threaten program milestones.
• Integrate facilities/equipment milestones into the program plan and coordinate cross-functional readiness for space, utilities, and installation/commissioning dependencies.
• Implement and maintain program controls: risk register, schedule variance reporting, KPI dashboards, and concise executive updates for manufacturing program status.
• Be a floor-present problem solver when needed—rapidly translating real execution constraints into plan updates and clear cross-functional actions.

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical / aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• Significant experience in aerospace or advanced manufacturing, with 5+ years in program leadership roles.
• Proven success in facility or production program setup, especially in a startup or high-growth environment.
• Strong background in program execution and operational planning across engineering and manufacturing domains.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Systems, or Operations Management.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams in aerospace or defense industries.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver production facilities and new program manufacturing readiness on aggressive timelines.
• Familiarity with new product introduction (NPI) and manufacturing systems planning at scale.
• Greenfield facility development experience.

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Full-time regular employee offer package:Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
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