Senior Manager, Plant Operations, Kuiper Satellite Manufacturing

Project Kuiper is seeking a Senior Manager to lead the high-volume production facility manufacturing our constellation of Low Earth Orbit communication satellites. Kuiper’s constellation will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world.

The Senior Manager of Plant Operations will have responsibilities from development of a new full rate production facility and the processes that go with it to leading the daily operations of the factory. The Senior Manager and his/her team will instill standard work practices in the factory that ensure safety and product quality are paramount, while meeting program demands for delivery. They will work tightly with engineering for successful product transition, and will leverage our teams in supply chain and quality to bring the product into high volume production. The role is based in Kirkland, WA.

Reporting to the Director of Production, the Senior Manager of Plant Operations will be a key member of the Kuiper Production team, will own the Kuiper production factory, and will have significant visibility at the senior leadership level. This role will focus on aggressive plans to implement and scale production processes to meet the demands of the Kuiper constellation and satisfy our FCC licensing requirements.



Key job responsibilities

• Authentically champion Amazon’s Leadership Principles to drive a culture of ownership, accountability, teamwork, and working hard while having fun.
• Safety – Make employee safety a key operational tenet through active engagement and leadership of employees at all levels.
• Quality – partner with Quality team to own all elements of quality from the receipt of raw material through the shipment of a completed satellite to our launch facilities.
• Operational leadership – Through Six Sigma and lean manufacturing techniques, work with our manufacturing engineers and technicians to ensure mechanisms are in place to meet program goals.
• The leader will establish great working relationships with design engineering, quality, EH&S, and supply chain teams.
• Develop optimum production flow with facility planning and layout that meets safety, delivery rate, quality, and cost goals.

Export Control Requirement:
Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

A day in the life
The Senior Manager of Plant Operations must be a visible leader, who earns the respect his/her teams due to their experience, strong communication skills, and deep knowledge of production and operations management. The role is highly impactful, and will drive our success as the premier satellite broadband constellation.


About the team
Project Kuiper's mission is to provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world. Production of Kuiper's develpoment satellites takes place in Redmond, WA, and we have announced a new full-rate production facility in Kirkland, WA that will meet the demands of the full constellation.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related discipline, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of experience manufacturing and testing of aerospace/electronics hardware
• 3+ years of leadership roles in manufacturing operations and testing
• 3+ years people management experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading hourly and salaried workforces in a production environment
• Experience operating a plant or business team domestically and/or internationally
• Well rounded operations leadership background known for excellence in Lean manufacturing and production
• Hands-on leader that can move from long term strategy to day-to-day tactical operations challenges
• Formal training/certification in Operational Excellence Systems (Lean, 5S, Six Sigma, etc.) a plus
• Strong organizational, analytical, root cause analysis and problem solving skills.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills

Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please visit https://www.amazon.jobs/en/disability/us.


Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $143,800/year in our lowest geographic market up