Head of Manufacturing

About the Company

SKYCAN SYSTEMS INC. CAPABILITY WITHOUT COMPROMISE

ABOUT SKYCAN SkyCan Systems Inc. is a Canadian defence technology company building sovereign unmanned systems capabilities to protect Canada and its allies. Drawing on platforms proven in frontline operations in Ukraine, SkyCan is establishing Canadian manufacturing capacity to deliver operationally relevant systems backed by Canadian and allied supply chains. The company’s focus is on combining combat-proven technology with domestic production, secure supply, and long-term support to strengthen Canada’s defence industrial base and serve allied defence requirements. Our manufacturing facility is in Central Ontario, supported by a satellite office in Toronto. We are scaling from a small engineering core to a full production organization.

About the Role

Head of Manufacturing Operations Lead - Facility Stand-up, Production, Quality & Supply Chain

LOCATION Central Ontario (onsite)

REPORTS TO Chief Operating Officer

DIVISION Operations

EMPLOYMENT TYPE Full-time, permanent

WORK ARRANGEMENT Onsite. This role leads the facility stand-up and production ramp and requires full-time presence at the manufacturing facility, with periodic travel to the Toronto office, suppliers, and partners.

SECURITY REQUIREMENT Must be eligible for security assessment under the Controlled Goods Program (CGP) and able to obtain and maintain a Government of Canada security clearance (Secret or higher).

THE ROLE This role owns SkyCan's entire manufacturing organization, from design release through delivery and sustainment. It is a ground-level operational build. You will stand up SkyCan's Central Ontario production facility, lead the technology transfer from kit-based assembly to fully Canadian-built units, and scale the line from low-rate initial production to full rate. You will build the manufacturing, facilities, and supply chain team as production scales, and hold accountability for cost, quality, and on-time delivery throughout. You will work closely with Engineering on design for manufacturability and with Regulatory & Compliance on controlled goods and export requirements at the point of production.

Responsibilities

• Facility stand-up
• Lead the brownfield retrofit of SkyCan's Central Ontario facility, converting an existing building into a qualified production line.
• Technology transfer
• Support the structured technology transfer from SkyCan's platform partner - integrate embedded specialists on-site, stand up kit-based assembly, and manage first-article inspection and ramp-up through localization to fully Canadian-built units.
• NPI and production ramp
• Lead New Product Introduction (NPI) to rate production, drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM) feedback into Engineering, and scale the line from low-rate initial production to full rate.
• Production, quality and test
• Own production and assembly - composite fabrication, CNC, and final assembly, integration, and test.
• Operate an AS9100 quality system: incoming, in-process, and final inspection; First Article Inspection (FAI); Acceptance Test Procedures (ATP); Certificates of Conformance and acceptance data packages; nonconformance, Material Review Board, and CAPA.
• Support government and customer source inspection and quality-clause flow-down to suppliers.
• Planning, supply chain and materials
• Own master production scheduling, MRP, and work-order management; capacity and production-readiness reviews; and on-time delivery, WIP, and bottleneck control.
• Lead direct and production sourcing and the approved vendor list, supplier delivery and quality performance, and long-lead and critical-component security of supply.
• Run receiving, shipping, inventory, and warehousing, and own contract-manufacturer relationships.
• Cost, budget and margin
• Own the manufacturing operating budget and capital plan, delivering production within budget and to capex commitments.
• Manage COGS and unit cost to target and protect gross margin as the line scales.
• Drive cost-down, yield, and affordability programs (design-to-cost with Engineering), and own manufacturing KPIs including OEE, on-time delivery, and cost per unit.
• Facilities, maintenance and EHS
• Own facility and equipment management and uptime, including preventive and predictive maintenance.
• Own occupational and energetics / dangerous-goods safety with stop-work authority, environmental compliance, and controlled-goods storage and energetics magazines to regulatory standard.
• Team and operational excellence
• Build and scale the manufacturing organization with the production rate - hire, structure, and develop the team.
• Own workforce and shift planning, the operator skills matrix, and build certification for controlled and defence builds.
• Instill a culture of lean, continuous improvement, and standard work.
• Sustainment and compliance execution
• Own product sustainment - spares production, technical publications, customer training, field service, the repair line, and out-of-warranty MRO.
• Execute Controlled Goods Program handling, export controls at the point of production and shipment, and counterfeit-parts prevention, within the policy set by Regulatory & Compliance.

Qualifications

• Experience: 12+ years of manufacturing leadership in aerospace, defence, or automotive, including rate-production accountability and leadership of a multi-function manufacturing organization.
• Track record: Demonstrated experience standing up or industrializing a production facility, and owning a manufacturing operating budget and COGS / gross-margin performance.
• Security: Eligible for CGP security assessment and able to obtain and maintain a Government of Canada security clearance (Secret or higher). Existing CGP registration or a federal security clearance is an asset.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering, manufacturing, or a related field. Advanced degree an asset.

Required Skills

• Rate production and industrialization EXPERT: Standing up or industrializing a production facility - brownfield fit-out, NPI-to-volume, and LRIP-to-full