Production Leader / Senior Production Manager

About the role

Xona is the navigational intelligence company bringing real-time, centimeter-level certainty to any device, anywhere on Earth.

With Pulsar - the world’s most advanced PNT satellite infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit - Xona will offer a future-proof, backwards-compatible global positioning system optimized for absolute precision, superior power, and robust protection.

Overview

We’re looking for an experienced Production Leader to manage the satellite manufacturing production team.

You will lead the day-to-day manufacturing operations within the Satellite Assembly, Integration & Test (AIT) facility in Burlingame, CA.

This high-impact leadership role ensures safe, predictable, high-quality, and on-time execution of production activities while continuously improving operational efficiency, throughput, and production scale readiness.

The role manages production planning, shop floor leadership, production technicians, and equipment and facilities maintenance. The production leader will partner closely with Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality Assurance, Program Management, and Engineering.

What You’ll Do

• Manage the production team responsible for safe, high quality, on-time, scaled production of the Xona satellite at the Burlingame facility.
• Manage the overall production processes and activities; production work order planning, shift staffing, shift hand-over communications, operational KPI tracking and production facility efficiency.
• As an experienced manager of a scaled production operation, the production leader will lead, coach and develop a highly effective production team and maintain high standards of safety, accountability and performance.
• Demonstrate high levels of autonomy and cross-team collaboration to deliver on the production ramp-up targets. Support the maturation and continuous improvement of the production system, while aggressively driving down the cost learning curve.
• Assume full ownership of achieving the master production schedule and translating this into executable daily and weekly work order releases, tracking and timely closures. Will drive to optimize workforce efficiency, equipment capacity, minimize work in progress and maximize build quality.
• Oversee the equipment maintenance and facilities function
• Support the development and management of the production budget, including capital expenditure, logistics, production tools and staffing roadmap.

Desired Qualifications

• 5+ years in a supervisor or manager role in a scaled, production facility, preferably with complex, highly engineered products, with an emphasis on assembly, integration and testing at production build rates of >2/week.
• Holds a Bachelor’s degree at a minimum in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, or related field.
• Experience in a Space industry manufacturing business, or A&D manufacturing business is desirable. Experience with manufacturing products that require extensive hardware and software assembly, integration and testing is ideal.
• You know the lean manufacturing and TPM fundamentals and have demonstrated how to apply and implement these effectively in a production environment. Working knowledge of six sigma is highly preferred.
• You’re comfortable in an environment where plans and processes are being developed and iterated in response to customer or market forces. You can take this in your stride and adapt quickly and effectively.
• Working knowledge of ERP/MES/QA digital systems and how these fully integrate into an efficient digital factory as a critical tool for the production team.
• You fundamentally understand what a QMS system is and build teams that respect and manage within this essential production framework.
• You are able to initiate processes, tools and methods that are not in place yet and ensure they are adopted and continually assessed and improved over time.
• Demonstrate excellent leadership, communication and organizational skills. Able to hire, grow and mentor others to build and lead a highly effective production team.

Additional information

For U.S. Roles: To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder), or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

For U.K. Roles: To comply with U.K. regulations, this role requires Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks, and successful candidates must be eligible to obtain UK Security Clearance (SC).

For Canada Roles: Successful candidates must obtain and hold a security clearance at the reliability status level, and pass security assessment for the Canadian Controlled Goods Program (CGP) and ITAR.