Technical Product Manager – Production Automation

This role owns the technical roadmap for production scale-up, process development, and manufacturing automation at Griffon Aerospace, defining engineering requirements, tooling, and equipment specifications to industrialize new manufacturing capability for UAS production lines. The Technical Product Manager will lead technical planning for production line scale-up, composite fabrication tooling, automated production cells, and propulsion integration, while interfacing with engineering, production, quality, and supply chain to resolve design-for-manufacturing issues.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical requirements and design intent for production line scale-up, translating throughput and capacity targets into facility layout, tooling, and workstation specifications
• Define composite fabrication tooling and process parameters (e.g., layup tool sets, takt time targets, cure/bond cycles) needed to meet validated production rate commitments
• Specify and stand-up automated production cells, including robotic trim/finishing cells, CNC machining centers, and automated inspection (CMM) systems, partnering with equipment vendors on integration
• Lead technical planning for propulsion and subsystem integration across multiple engine/powertrain configurations, coordinating with domestic suppliers on qualification and capacity
• Develop and validate rate-increase and surge capacity plans, defining the technical exercises and data needed to demonstrate production readiness
• Serve as technical lead interfacing with engineering, production, quality, and supply chain to resolve design-for-manufacturing issues affecting cost, schedule, or producibility
• Define technical training and certification requirements for new production processes and equipment

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, manufacturing, aerospace, or materials engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent experience will be considered
• Strong technical fluency across manufacturing processes, tooling, and equipment, with the ability to write and evaluate detailed technical specifications
• Proven ability to translate production capacity and rate requirements into concrete engineering, tooling, and facility plans
• Manufacturing experience, with working knowledge of materials and process considerations affecting production (e.g., composites, metallics, finishing, or assembly processes)
• Ability to read and work from engineering drawings, process specifications, and equipment technical data
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate technical details for both engineering teams and non-technical stakeholders

Nice to have

• 5+ years in technical product management, manufacturing engineering, or industrialization role in aerospace, defense, or advanced manufacturing
• Hands-on experience with composite fabrication processes, tooling design, and takt-time/cycle-time analysis
• Experience specifying or integrating robotic automation, CNC equipment, and automated metrology/inspection systems
• Familiarity with propulsion or powertrain integration (e.g., internal combustion, electric, or turbine systems) in a production environment
• Experience developing rate-increase, surge capacity, or production validation test plans
• Familiarity with UAS/UAV production environments
• Experience with PLM/ERP systems and engineering documentation/configuration control
• Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies

Benefits

• Competitive Salary/Comprehensive Benefits Package