Manufacturing Operations Manager

Type & Location: Full-Time | Chicago (Schaumburg), IL Open: 9/17/26 Close: 10/1/26 Salary: $110,000 – $150,000

About WingXpand WingXpand is Expanding What's Possible™ with Autonomous Systems, building long-endurance, backpackable smart plane drones and robotics systems that support defense, public safety, disaster response, and commercial missions. Our platforms operate across air, ground, and maritime domains, integrating autonomy, AI-powered sensing, edge computing, and networked systems to deliver real-world intelligence and threat detection. We design, build, and deploy complete systems — hardware, software, and data — and we move fast. As WingXpand scales, we are seeking high performers to grow with our team.

Position Description This is a hands-on leadership role at the center of our operation, and it sits at the intersection of engineering, program management, and the production floor. You will translate engineering output into repeatable, documented builds, and you will be accountable for whether units ship on schedule and to specification.

On the execution side, you will run the production schedule, manage work orders, assign and rebalance technician work, and maintain a current and accurate view of WIP, working with program management to align the build plan against customer commitments and shifting priorities. On the documentation side, you will create the travelers, SOPs, work instructions, and inspection points the floor builds from, drawing on engineering for design intent and critical characteristics, and you will maintain configuration control across serialized hardware. On the quality side, you will establish incoming, in-process, and final inspection, and lead our nonconformance and corrective action processes with engineering participating in root cause and disposition. On the material side, you will own BOM structure and accuracy along with sourcing, purchasing, and supplier management, partnering with engineering on part selection, alternates, and approvals.

The engineering relationship is continuous, not a handoff. When parts do not fit, assemblies fail, or a step repeatedly requires rework, you bring the problem forward with data from the floor and work the issue jointly with the responsible engineer through root cause and disposition, then confirm the fix lands in the drawing, BOM, and work instruction. You will participate in design reviews before release and provide DFM input that shapes the design rather than arriving after it. Our engineers own the design; you make sure it can be built, repeatably, by our technicians. Our platforms share a common core module, so the same part can appear in an aircraft, a ground vehicle, and a surface vessel. BOM structure and configuration discipline carry more weight here than they would in a single-product shop.

Key Responsibilities Production and Schedule

• Run daily and weekly production schedules
• Release, manage, and close work orders
• Sequence jobs against technician capacity and material availability
• Assign and rebalance work as priorities change
• Coordinate with program management on build priorities, delivery commitments, and schedule changes
• Track WIP and maintain a current picture of what is late, why, and what is blocking it
• Build and report production KPIs including schedule attainment, cycle time, first pass yield, rework, scrap, and defect trends

Build Documentation and Configuration Control

• Turn BOMs, drawings, and engineering releases into executable builds
• Create and maintain travelers, SOPs, work instructions, and inspection points, working with engineering to capture design intent and critical characteristics
• Maintain configuration control across serialized hardware, including as-built records of revision level, parts used, operator, and inspection results
• Partner with engineering to ensure changes are reflected in drawings, BOMs, and work instructions together so the floor is never building to a superseded configuration

Quality

• Establish incoming, in-process, and final inspection
• Run first article inspection
• Lead the NCR and nonconformance workflow, coordinating root cause, CAPA, and MRB disposition with engineering and quality stakeholders
• Maintain calibration, serialization, and traceability on flight-critical hardware
• Build quality processes that technicians will follow and that hold up to customer and third-party audit

BOM and Supply Chain

• Own BOM structure, accuracy, and revision control
• Manage sourcing, purchase orders, vendor qualification, and supplier performance
• Work with engineering on part selection, alternates, and approval of substitutions
• Plan lead times and inventory, and manage material cost
• Identify and qualify second sources ahead of single-source risk, within the sourcing constraints that apply to defense programs

Team and Workflow

• Lead and develop technicians across composites, electromechanical assembly, integration, and test
• Hire, train, and cross-train
• Improve station layout, tooling, fixturing, kitting, and material flow to increase technician efficiency

Engineering Collaboration and DFM

• Work directly with engineers when a part does not fit, a unit fails, an assembly is difficult to build, or a step repeatedly requires rework
• Bring production issues forward with clear data from the floor, and work them jointly with engineering through containment, root cause, and disposition
• Confirm the resulting change is reflected in the drawing, BOM, and work instruction so the issue does not recur
• Participate in design discussions and reviews before release, providing DFM input on tolerance stackups, fastener and tool access, part count, cable routing and strain relief, and test and inspection access
• Provide program management with accurate build status and realistic delivery dates, and escalate risks early enough to be acted on

Qualifications

• Experience running production in a low-volume, high-mix hardware environment such as aerospace, defense, robotics, medical devices, or precision electromechanical assembly
• Direct ownership of work orders, routings, and production scheduling
• Experience writing travelers, SOPs, and work instructions, including placement of inspection points
• Working knowledge of configuration control and serialized aerospace hardware, and why as-built configuration must be traceable after delivery
• Hands-on BOM and ERP or MRP experience, including structuring and maintaining BOMs
• Purchasing and vendor management experience, including qualifying new suppliers
• Familiarity with AS9100 or ISO 9001. Running a certification yourself is not required, but you should understand what the standard requires
• Nonconformance and corrective action experience, including NCRs, root cause analysis, CAPA, and MRB disposition
• Direct people management experience leading technicians
• Ability to read engineering drawings and GD&T, with enough technical depth to engage substantively with engineers
• A history of working closely with design engineering, including DFM input during design and driving production issues back into drawings and BOMs
• Experience coordinating with program or project management on schedule, priorities, and delivery commitments
• Strong cross-functional communication. You can hold your own with engineers and give leadership an honest status without overstating or hedging
• Willingness to spend most of your time on the production floor

Additional Qualifications

• Composites manufacturing, particularly wet layup, vacuum bagging, and oven cure
• UAS, aviation, or DoD programs, and familiarity with Blue UAS or NDAA Section 848 sourcing requirements
• Experience taking a product from prototype into repeatable production
• Aviation maintenance or production control background from military service
• Direct experience supporting an AS9100 audit

Benefits Every full-time employee at WingXpand receives stock options. Equity is a core part of how we pay, not an afterthought, and early team members share directly in the company's growth as we scale. Additionally, we offer medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k) retirement savings plan, and unlimited paid time off for vacation, illness, and personal needs, plus paid company holidays.

What Else You Need to Know This role requires access to technology controlled under U.S. export regulations. Applicants must qualify as a U.S. Person as defined at 22 CFR 120.62, which includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, and persons granted asylum or refugee status.

WingXpand is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Qualified individuals with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application or interview process, contact [email protected] and we'll arrange it.