Senior Production Engineer

At Dawn Aerospace, we are building the Aurora, a reusable rocket-powered spaceplane designed to make access to space as routine as aviation. Having demonstrated the technology through an intensive research and development programme, we are now entering the next phase of our journey, transforming how we build aircraf...

This is a senior and foundational role responsible for establishing the manufacturing vision, production systems, and operational processes that will enable Dawn Aerospace’s spaceplane program to transition from an engineering-led R&D organisation into a repeatable, efficient, and scalable production business. You w...

Reporting to the VP of Spaceplanes, this role interfaces across the entire organisation. You will identify the organisational, technical, and operational changes required to support higher production rates while maintaining the agility that has enabled rapid innovation. You will develop production strategies, manufa...

Develop the long-term production strategy required to manufacture multiple reusable spaceplanes each year.
Define the production operating model that supports Dawn's transition from R&D to production.
Design and implement scalable manufacturing processes.
Work closely with design engineers to improve manufacturability and production efficiency.
Identify production bottlenecks and develop strategies to remove manufacturing constraints.
Improve manufacturing data collection to enable data-driven production decisions.
Establish production planning methodologies and manufacturing scheduling processes.
Collaborate with Supply Chain to ensure manufacturing readiness and supplier capability.
Drive organisational alignment around the transition from prototype thinking to production thinking.
Build a culture focused on standardisation, repeatability, and operational excellence.
Define manufacturing documentation standards, production travellers, work instructions, and visual management systems.
Help engineering teams understand Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) principles.

Bachelor degree Mechanical engineering or equivalent
5+ years of experience transitioning complex engineering organisations / products from R&D to production.
Demonstrated success scaling manufacturing operations from prototype builds to repeatable production.
Strong understanding of aerospace or other highly regulated manufacturing environments.
Experience developing production systems, manufacturing strategies, and industrialisation roadmaps.
Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, DFMA, Value Stream Mapping, and continuous improvement methodologies.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence engineering, manufacturing, and executive leadership.
Comfortable operating in fast-moving environments where many systems are still being developed.
Strong systems thinking with the ability to simplify complex manufacturing challenges.
Practical mindset with a bias toward execution.
Experience in aerospace, aviation, automotive, defence, or other advanced manufacturing industries is highly desirable.

 
Diversity & Inclusion
At Dawn Aerospace, we believe that diverse teams build better solutions. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences are valued and supported to do their best work.
 
About Dawn Aerospace
Dawn Aerospace is a space transportation company with a purpose.
Our mission is to enable the next generation of space users by providing more sustainable and scalable ways to access and move around in space. We believe this access, in the form of a transportation network, will fundamentally change what’s possible from space. We currently focus on three areas of space transportation:
In-space propulsion
We're a leading supplier of turnkey green propulsion systems for various classes of satellites. Our systems utilise safe, accessible propellants and we have over 170 of these propulsion units on more than 40 operational satellites already. A further 200 units are in production.
In-space servicing
Coupled with our propulsion expertise, we are ensuring that our customers' satellites are refuellable. In the coming years, Dawn will offer a refueling service to enable life extension of customer satellites. This new market is aligned with our sustainability goal to ensue a clean and safe space for everyone! 
Spaceplane
We are developing the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever to take off from a runway, combining the extreme performance of rocket propulsion with the reusability of conventional airplanes to enable high-frequency, low-cost access to sub-orbital space.
Our international teams are distributed across four locations: the Netherlands, France, New Zealand, and the USA.
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To all recruitment agencies: Dawn Aerospace does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our job’s alias, our employees, or any other company location. Dawn Aerospace will not be responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.