Manufacturing Manager – Hypersonics Machining

At Leidos we deliver innovative solutions through the efforts of our diverse and talented people who are dedicated to our customers success. We empower our teams contribute to our communities and operate sustainably. Everything we do is built on a commitment to do the right thing for our customers our people and our community. Our Mission Vision and Values guide the way we do business.

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Leidos DefenseManufacturing Team is seeking aHypersonics Machining Manager to lead the establishment of a new machining facility in Huntsville Alabama. The Machining Manager is responsible for activating establishing and leading a high-performing machining operation supporting future production requirements. This role combines strong technical expertise in CNC machining and programming with demonstrated experience in non-metallic machining facility activation production ramp-up and manufacturing operations leadership.

The Machining Manager will lead the transition from facility and equipment readiness through stable production establishing the people equipment and tooling required to achieve sustained performance.

The position has direct accountability for Safety Quality Cost and Delivery (SQCD) for the team and is expected to drive operational excellence continuous improvement and production scalability.

Essential Functions

Facility Activation & Production Readiness

• Lead facility activation and machining operation start-up including equipment installation commissioning qualification and production release.
• Develop and execute integrated readiness plans covering equipment tooling fixturing CNC programming processes staffing training material flow inspection and production controls.
• Establish machining cells work centers material flow standard work and visual management.
• Identify and resolve facility equipment tooling workforce and process constraints impacting production readiness and ramp-up.
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering Quality Supply Chain Facilities EHS and Program Management to achieve manufacturing milestones.

Machining & Technical Leadership

• Provide operational and technical leadership for CNC machining programming tooling work holding and process optimization.
• Apply demonstrated expertise in non-metallic machining to enable an aggressive equipment activation and qualification timeline.
• Partner with CNC programming and Manufacturing Engineering to review and optimize CNC programs and machining processes to improve cycle time tool life quality and equipment utilization.
• Troubleshoot complex machining and process issues and coordinate solutions with machinists and the technical support team.
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering and Quality to establish machining standards work instructions setup procedures and process documentation.

Safety Quality Cost & Delivery

• Own and continuously improve SQCD performance for the machining organization.
• Establish a strong safety culture and ensure compliance with EHS requirements and machine safety standards.
• Drive first-time-right manufacturing and reduction of scrap rework defects and process variation.
• Manage labor tooling consumables scrap equipment utilization and other manufacturing costs.
• Establish and monitor metrics including OEE utilization cycle time labor efficiency scrap rework and schedule performance.
• Own production execution and ensure machining capacity and output support program schedules and customer commitments.
• Lead structured problem solving and continuous-improvement initiatives.

People & Organization Leadership

• Build lead and develop a high-performing team of machinists CNC programmers leads supervisors and manufacturing personnel.
• Establish workforce plans training requirements and qualification processes to support facility activation and production ramp.
• Recruit develop and retain machining talent.
• Promote a culture of accountability technical excellence safety quality and continuous improvement.
• Maintain a visible hands-on leadership presence on the manufacturing floor.

Key Performance Expectations

The successful candidate will establish a safe capable scalable and production-ready machining operation with measurable improvement in:

• Facility and equipment readiness
• Production capacity and utilization
• CNC process stability and capability
• Schedule and delivery performance
• First-pass yield and quality
• Scrap and rework
• Labor and manufacturing cost
• OEE and equipment effectiveness
• Workforce capability and staffing readiness
• Overall SQCD performance

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Manufacturing Engineering Mechanical Engineering Industrial Engineering or related technical field with 8 years of prior relevant work experience or a Masters degree with 6years of prior relevant work experience in a manufacturing machining or operations environment.
• 8 years of progressive machining/manufacturing experience including leadership responsibility in a production environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing CNC machining operations.
• Strong technical knowledge of CNC programming machining processes tooling workholding feeds and speeds and process optimization.
• Demonstrated experience with non-metallic machining
• Demonstrated experience activating launching relocating or standing up a manufacturing facility or production operation.
• Experience with equipment installation commissioning qualification process validation and production ramp-up.
• Demonstrated accountability for Safety Quality Cost and Delivery (SQCD).
• Experience leading technical and production personnel in a machining environment.
• Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and continuous-improvement principles.

• Strong problem-solving communication organizational and leadership skills.

• Candidate must be a resident of the North Alabama area or willing to relocate to the Huntsville - North Alabama AL area.

• Candidate must be a US Citizen and possess a Secret Clearance in order to be considered for the role.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience establishing a machining operation from greenfield or near-greenfield conditions.
• Aerospace defense space automotive or other highly regulated manufacturing experience.
• Advanced experience with composite or non-metallic materials and associated machining processes.
• Experience with multi-axis CNC machining and complex geometries.
• Experience with CNC programming platforms such as Mastercam NX CAM GibbsCAM Fusion or equivalent.
• Experience with ERP/MRP and/or Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).
• Experience managing multiple shifts and production ramp-up.
• Familiarity with AS9100 ISO 9001 or comparable quality-management systems.
• Experience implementing OEE visual management daily management and other manufacturing operating systems.

If youre looking for comfort keep scrolling. At Leidos we outthink outbuild and outpace the status quo because the mission demands it. Were not hiring followers. Were recruiting the ones who disrupt provoke and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. Were already at step 30 and moving faster than anyone else dares.

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job education experience knowledge skills and abilities as well as internal equity alignment with market data applicable bargaining agreement (if any) or other law.