Director Production Engineering (m/f/d)

Mission Brief As Director of Production Engineering, you are accountable for the end-to-end production engineering capability across all manufacturing operations. Your mission is to industrialize development outputs into repeatable, scalable, and compliant serial production, ensuring manufacturing readiness, process stability, quality, cost efficiency, and on-time delivery. You lead the team that converts early procedures into robust production standards, embeds them in PLM/MES systems, and drives continuous improvement across the factory. You act as the primary interface between Engineering (design & development) and Manufacturing (production & operations)—ensuring requirements, procedures, tooling, documentation, test strategies, and digital manufacturing infrastructure are aligned for high-rate, high-quality execution. Your Role in Our Space Mission: 1) Production engineering strategy & leadership • Define and execute the production engineering roadmap, including industrialization strategy, standardization, and scalability for serial production. • Lead and develop a team of production/process/manufacturing engineers; set goals, coaching plans, hiring needs, and performance standards. • Establish clear governance for process ownership, engineering change implementation, and cross-functional decision-making. 2) Assembly, integration & test (AIT) process ownership • Own manufacturing process definition across: • Assembly: mechanical/electrical build procedures, torque specs, critical process parameters, work instructions. • Integration: subsystem integration strategy (e.g., avionics, propulsion, communications), sequencing, interfaces, and acceptance criteria. • Testing: functional, subsystem, and system-level test strategy; test readiness, execution plans, and troubleshooting methodology. • Ensure processes are repeatable, auditable, and optimized for safety, throughput, and quality. 3) Industrialization & manufacturing readiness (NPI / transfer to production) • Coordinate with development teams to receive initial procedures and convert them into production-ready standards (control plans, critical-to-quality characteristics where relevant). • Drive manufacturing readiness reviews, line readiness, and process qualification for new products, variants, or upgrades. • Lead the “first builds”/pilot runs, capturing learnings and stabilizing procedures for volume execution. 4) Digital manufacturing (PLM/MES) & configuration control • Own the production engineering contribution to PLM/MES: • Translate procedures into structured digital work instructions. • Ensure traceability, configuration control, and alignment of as-built data. • Oversee creation and maintenance of: • mBOM (Manufacturing Bill of Materials) • BOP (Bill of Process) • Routings, work centers, and data collection points for quality and traceability. • Ensure engineering changes are implemented cleanly and quickly, with minimal disruption to production. 5) Documentation, compliance & quality partnership • Ensure complete, consistent documentation for: • Work instructions, process specifications, test reports, NCRs (non-conformance reports), deviations/waivers, and as-built configurations. • Partner with Quality to build robust nonconformance management and corrective action systems (root cause, containment, RCCA & PA). • Ensure processes meet applicable regulatory, customer, and internal compliance requirements. 6) Cross-functional execution & production support • Serve as senior escalation point for technical blockers in production: diagnose recurring issues, direct corrective actions, and prevent reoccurrence. • Align with Supply Chain and Operations on: • Kitting strategy, material availability, critical path timelines, and constraint removal. • Coordinate engineering support coverage and readiness for shifts, rate increases, and critical campaigns. 7) Continuous improvement, cost & throughput • Support Lean Team on Lean/CI initiatives to improve: • Yield, cycle time, takt adherence, OEE, scrap/rework reduction, and labor efficiency. • Establish KPIs and operating mechanisms (tier meetings, weekly business reviews) to track and improve production engineering performance. • Build business cases for capital investments (test equipment, tooling, automation) and manage the budget for your scope. 8) Capability building: training & knowledge management • Build a strong knowledge-transfer system between engineers and technicians: • Training plans, certification matrices, standardized visual work instructions, and lessons-learned libraries. • Ensure procedures are systematically categorized, version-controlled, and easily accessible to production teams. Success measures (typical KPIs) • Improved first-pass yield, reduced NCR rate, reduced rework hours • Reduced cycle time and improved on-time delivery • Faster and cleaner engineering change implementation • Increased process stability (fewer repeat issues, fewer line stops) • Strong audit outcomes and complete traceability / as-built compliance • High team engagement, retention, and capability maturity Qualification Checklist • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, Automotive, Industrial Engineering, or similar. • Significant experience in production/manufacturing engineering, industrialization, manufacturing operations—ideally across complex electromechanical systems. • Proven leadership experience managing teams and cross-functional stakeholders. • Strong working knowledge of PLM and/or MES, and structured manufacturing artifacts such as mBOM/BOP, routings, work instructions, and configuration control. • Demonstrated ability in troubleshooting and structured problem solving (e.g., 8D, Ishikawa, 5-Why). • Solid project/program management skills: prioritization, risk management, schedule ownership. • Fluent English; German or other languages depending on site needs. Benefits • Employee Participation Program: Share in our success through our virtual company share program • 30 days of vacation: Enjoy the days off to relax and recharge • Company pension plan: Secure your future with our company pension plan, featuring a 20% employer contribution after the probation period • Subsidised lunch: Stay energised with delicious, subsidised lunches every day • Public transport ticket: Commute with ease using a fully financed Deutschlandticket • Rental clothing with laundry service: Enjoy hassle-free workwear with our convenient rental clothing and laundry service • Sport Clubs membership: Stay fit with our sponsored sports club memberships (EGYM Wellpass) • Individual learning allowance: Grow your skills with an individual learning budget granted after the probation period • Childcare allowance: Receive a childcare allowance for your non-school-age children • And Much More! Discover additional perks and benefits when you join our team. Who we are We are Isar Aerospace and we are at the forefront of New Space building a modern space business to enable faster, better and cheaper access to space. Our mission is to help democratise space and use it for good in order to improve life on Earth now and for the future generations. We are a fast-growing company aiming to provide sustainable and environmentally friendly launch solutions for small and medium-sized satellites and constellations into Low Earth Orbit. The company is privately funded by world-leading technology investors with strong commitment and support and our team is made of driven and talented people with a real passion for space innovation. We're making rockets in a way that hasn't been done before disrupting a traditional industry. If you are up for the challenge, want to work on cutting-edge projects and be part of a team changing the world for better, come, join us and launch your career! Want to find out more about us? Visit www.isaraerospace.com Data Protection We process your personal data for the purpose of managing the recruitment process and assessing your application. For detailed information on how your data is processed, including your rights, please refer to our Privacy Policy. Disclaimer Isar Aerospace SE is an equal-opportunity employer committed to fairness and inclusivity. We do not prioritize any specific religion, gender, nationality, or background. Due to security clearance requirements, affiliations with countries listed under § 13 para. 1 no. 17 SÜG may affect the application process. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. Metaview We use Metaview to record interview audio so our team can review it later and stay focused during the conversation. We will record interviews only if you opt in. Please note that we will request your consent separately during the interview process. Participation is completely voluntary and will not affect your application in any way. 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