Head of Manufacturing (m/f/d)

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Your Mission

The mission of this role is to build, manage, and continuously develop manufacturing processes. The objective is to establish a stable, high-performing, and scalable serial production setup, successfully bring it into operation, and keep it running reliably over time. The role ensures that production, quality, safety, cost, and throughput are effectively aligned in a technology-driven scale-up environment.

Therefor you:

• Build and scale the manufacturing site (starting in Garching), including target manufacturing architecture, US scaling strategy, and new headquarters setup
• Design and implement a high-performance production system (e.g. Lean Production, 5S, Kanban, SOPs) and approve production lines prior to SOP
• Continuously increase production rates, capacity, and equipment utilization
• Drive process automation and industrialization initiatives
• Define, align, and manage production targets in close collaboration with sales, quality, and supply chain
• Establish, track, and continuously improve key manufacturing KPIs (e.g. OEE, yield, scrap, rework, throughput)
• Develop an end-to-end production and material flow concept and ensure stable supply chains (on-time material availability ≥ 97%)
• Own tooling and equipment management, including lifecycle and maintenance strategies
• Disciplinary leadership and coaching of team leads, with a strong focus on developing a high-performance shopfloor culture
• Build and implement structured qualification and training systems for production teams
• Ensure robust QMS processes, full traceability of flight hardware, and audit-ready manufacturing documentation
• Work closely with quality assurance to establish and maintain effective quality control processes
• Establish and maintain a measurable zero-accident safety standard
• Own manufacturing cost, efficiency, and budget responsibility, including reduction of scrap, downtime, and inefficiencies

YOUR PROFILE

Must haves:

• Strong technical understanding of complex manufacturing technologies, ideally in advanced materials, composites, metal welding, winding, or comparable high-performance processes
• More than 5 years of leadership experience managing teams of 10+ people in highly complex manufacturing environments (e.g. aerospace, high-tech, composite production)
• Proven experience building and managing production control and production planning systems
• Strong stakeholder management experience in technology-driven companies or scale-ups of comparable complexity
• Solid experience in establishing and stabilizing serial production of complex products
• Strong background in lean manufacturing, process optimization, and resource planning
• Deep understanding of manufacturing KPIs (e.g. OEE, yield, scrap, throughput) with proven impact on performance improvements
• Ability to lead teams through challenging phases and actively maintain motivation, alignment, and performance
• Fluent German and English with the ability to communicate effectively with operators, team leads, and senior management
• Full on-site availability required (remote work only in exceptional cases)

Nice-to-haves:

• Degree in mechanical engineering or a comparable technical field
• Experience building and scaling complex manufacturing teams
• Experience preparing and executing quality, customer, or regulatory audits
• Background in regulated or safety-critical manufacturing environments

WHAT WE OFFER

• Personal responsibility & creative freedom: You actively contribute to the further development of our production technologies.
• Flexible working hours: Work-life balance is not an empty promise with us
• Start-up spirit meets aerospace: flat hierarchies, short decision-making processes and room for innovation.
• Individual benefits: Choose between the Deutschland Ticket, Egym-Wellpass or a tax-free benefit with the Give Card (50€ net each month).
• Fresh food every day: Shared lunch break with healthy, varied dishes.
• Alpine view included: Our roof terrace invites you to relax after work.
• Further development guaranteed: You will grow both professionally and personally through exciting projects and exchanges with experts.
• We live and breathe team culture: whether it's a tech talk, team event or after-work - we celebrate successes together.

About us

Blackwave GmbH is a dynamic and leading aerospace company. We specialize in pushing boundaries through the development and production of high-performance, off-the-shelf pressure vessels and complex carbon structures. Our off-the-shelf COPV approach reflects our forward-thinking mindset and our relentless pursuit of innovation. Join us on this journey to the stars in our innovative work setting where team spirit, enthusiasm, and growth opportunities thrive. Send us your CV and apply directly via our website today!