Director - Manufacturing, Ops & Assembly Electric Propulsion

Application close date:
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!

This role is part of Blue Origin Operations, which is comprised of Integrated Supply Chain, Test Operations, Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance. This includes Manufacturing and Supply Chain support across all Blue Origin facilities.

We are a team of collaborators, doers, and problem-solvers who are relentlessly committed to a culture of safety. This position will directly impact the history of space exploration and require your commitment and detailed attention toward safe and repeatable space flight. Join us in lowering the cost of access to space and enabling Blue Origin's vision of millions of people living and working in space to benefit Earth.

We are looking for someone to apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, and commitment to quality to positively impact safe human spaceflight. Passion for our mission and vision is required!

Blue Origin is scaling production of its electric propulsion systems. We are hiring a Director to own the manufacturing outcome for that product line and to carry it from development hardware into rate production.

You will be the single-threaded leader for Operations of this program: one person accountable for rate, quality, cost, and people, with full authority over the entire in-program production flow.

This is a build-it role, not a run-it role. You will define the value streams, stand up integration with support organizations, and build the team that runs the line — working concurrently with an active design program rather than behind a frozen one.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

- Own the strategy, roadmap, and priorities for successful manufacturing outcomes of the electric propulsion thruster line — delivery rate, quality, cost, and the people who produce it.
- Build the production organization. Define the value streams, stand up production control and manufacturing engineering, and hire and develop the leadership beneath you as the program scales.
- Own the get-to-rate plan. Define the path from development build to sustained rate production, and demonstrate cycle time at the rate-readiness gate as a committed acceptance number rather than a projection.·
- Lead the transition from development build into rate production, including the qualification of tooling, processes, and work instructions required to produce repeatably at rate.
- Drive producibility into the product during design, rather than absorbing it on the floor later. Own the manufacturing view of the bill of materials as the product configuration evolves.
- Establish and own the program's working interfaces with quality, supply chain, material planning, and test operations.
- Build and manage the program's manufacturing operating budget and capital plan, owning responsibility for product delivery at cost and rate.
- Set the safety and quality culture for a new production team, and hold it as the organization grows.

Minimum Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in an engineering or technical discipline.·
- 12+ years of experience in manufacturing, production, supply chain, or operations, including 5+ years leading manufacturing organizations.
- Direct, hands-on experience taking a new product or production line from development into rate production.
- Experience carrying a product through a production-readiness or rate-readiness gate, and owning the cycle-time and capability evidence presented at it.
- Experience building an organization — defining structure, hiring leaders, and developing a team through significant growth.·
- Line management of both salaried professionals and craft or technician populations.
- Demonstrated ability to operate in ambiguity: making defensible assumptions and moving forward on an incomplete definition, then correcting as information arrives.
- Ability to travel frequently, up to approximately 35%, to other Blue Origin sites.
- Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Preferred Qualifications

- 15+ years of manufacturing and operations experience.
- Propulsion, spacecraft, satellite, or other high-reliability low-volume hardware experience.
- Experience transitioning a product from low-volume, high-mix build into repeatable rate production.
- Demonstrated cycle-time or throughput improvement with measured results.
- Experience standing up production at a new or greenfield manufacturing site.
- Experience managing a build against a bill of materials that changed materially during production ramp.
- Formal lean or continuous-improvement training, with applied results on a production line.
- Master’s degree in engineering or technical field, or MBA.

Base Pay Range for:
WA applicants is $203,165.00 - $284,430.30

Other site ranges may differ

Culture Statement

Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Export Control Regulations

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin 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.

Background Check

- Required for all positions: Blue’s Standard Background Check
- Required for Certain Job Profiles: Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation
- Required for Certain Job Profiles: Drivers who operate Commercial Motor Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or combination of power unit and trailer that meets or exceeds 10,001 lbs. and/or transports placardable amounts of hazardous materials by ground in any vehicle on a public road while in commerce, may be subject to additional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations including: Driver Qualification Files, Medical Certification (obtained before onboarding), Road Test, Hours of Service, Drug and Alcohol Testing, vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.
- Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

Benefits