Head of Manufacturing (all genders)

THE WHAT: You build and run a manufacturing system that enables Blackwave to move from prototype to serial production without losing quality, speed, or people. You own the full picture — from process design to KPIs to team development — and you operate with full cost and budget responsibility. You are the person production decisions stop with.

• Build and scale the manufacturing site in Garching, including production architecture, US scaling strategy, and new HQ setup
• Design and implement a high-performance production system (Lean, 5S, Kanban, SOPs) and sign off on production lines before SOP
• Lead, coach, and develop team leads with a clear focus on shopfloor culture and performance
• Own manufacturing cost, efficiency, and budget — including scrap, downtime, and rework reduction
• Ensure full traceability of flight hardware, audit-ready documentation, and robust QMS processes
• Establish and maintain a measurable zero-accident safety standard

The core deliverables are:

• Define, align, and drive production targets in close collaboration with sales, quality, and supply chain
• Establish, track, and continuously improve key manufacturing KPIs (OEE, yield, scrap, throughput)
• Build an end-to-end production and material flow concept; ensure on-time material availability ≥ 97%
• Own tooling and equipment management, including lifecycle and maintenance strategies
• Drive process automation and industrialization initiatives
• Build and implement structured qualification and training systems for production teams

You have a high impact when done well:

• Continuously increase production rates, capacity, and equipment utilization
• Work closely with quality assurance to establish effective quality control processes
• Represent manufacturing in cross-functional stakeholder discussions with sales, engineering, and leadership

• 5+ years leading teams of 10+ in complex manufacturing — aerospace, high-tech, composites, or comparable
• Deep technical understanding of advanced manufacturing: composites, metal welding, winding, or similar high-performance processes
• Proven track record building and stabilizing serial production of complex products
• Hands-on experience with production control systems, production planning, and lean manufacturing
• You know what OEE, yield, and throughput actually mean — and you’ve moved them
• Strong stakeholder management in technology-driven environments or scale-ups
• Fluent German and English — equally comfortable on the shopfloor and in the boardroom
• Full on-site presence required

• Degree in mechanical engineering or comparable technical field
• Experience building and scaling manufacturing teams from scratch
• Background in regulated or safety-critical environments
• Audit experience — quality, customer, or regulatory

Our Code: We’re looking for someone who takes full ownership without being asked, holds themselves and their team to a high standard, and communicates directly — even when it’s uncomfortable. You lead through the hard phases, not just the good ones.

You don’t join a manufacturing department. You build one that gets rockets off the ground.

• Real ownership — full responsibility for an operation that directly determines whether the mission succeeds
• Scale-up energy — flat hierarchies, short decision paths, no bureaucracy
• Individual benefits — Deutschland Ticket, Egym Wellpass, or Give Card (€50 net/month, your choice)
• Daily shared lunch — fresh, healthy, varied
• The rooftop — Alpine views, after work, included
• Growth that’s real — you’ll grow through projects that actually matter, alongside people who know their craft