Associate Director, Manufacturing

Torrance, CA
Full Time
Airborne Systems
Manager/Supervisor
Intellisense Systems, Inc. is a rapidly growing Southern California technology innovator delivering advanced sensing, display, and mission-critical systems for aerospace and defense customers. Our Airborne Systems Division leads the development and production of high-performance airborne technologies supporting military, commercial, and government missions.

We are seeking an experienced production leader to build, lead, and scale a new production group within our Airborne Systems Division. This position can be filled at either the Associate Director or Director level depending on the candidate’s skills and experience. This leader will be responsible for establishing production processes, driving operational execution, ensuring on-time delivery, and building a strong production team to support growing customer demand.

This role is located on-site in Torrance, CA.

Responsibilities:
 
  • Build and lead the production organization, including hiring, developing, and mentoring a high-performing production team.
  • Establish and optimize production processes, workflows, and standard operating procedures to support scalable, repeatable, and cost-effective manufacturing.
  • Manage daily production operations — planning, scheduling, material coordination, and execution — to ensure quality, throughput, and on-time delivery.
  • Partner closely with Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Program Management, and Manufacturing to ensure smooth transitions from development to production.
  • Implement production readiness reviews, configuration control, and manufacturing best practices to support build consistency and compliance.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on efficiency, yield, cost reduction, and production capacity.
  • Track and report key performance metrics including schedule adherence, labor utilization, WIP status, quality trends, and delivery performance.
  • Oversee manufacturing documentation, work instructions, routing, and process validation.
  • Address production issues, troubleshoot root causes, and implement corrective and preventive actions.
  • Support proposal development, cost estimation, and production planning for new and existing programs.
  • Ensure adherence to aerospace/defense standards, safety requirements, and internal quality management systems.
  • Collaborate with leadership on long-term production strategy, capital equipment planning, and resource forecasting.
  • Job responsibilities within our organization are dynamic. This may not be a complete list of duties. Other responsibilities and duties may be assigned by your supervisor or upper management at any time.

Requirements:
 
  • Bachelor’s degree in a technical or engineering field, or related technical/industrial discipline.
  • Proven success scaling production groups, implementing processes, and driving operational discipline.
  • Strong understanding of production planning, build processes, work instructions, WIP management, and configuration control.
  • Experience transitioning engineering designs into production, including prototypes, LRIP, and full production.
  • Knowledge of lean principles, continuous improvement, root cause analysis, and manufacturing best practices.
  • Excellent organizational, analytical, and communication skills.
  • Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-growing environment with evolving priorities.

Associate Director:
 
  • 8+ years of experience in production, operations, or manufacturing within aerospace, defense, or complex electromechanical systems.
  • 2+ years in a leadership role managing production teams and overseeing operational execution.

Director:
 
  • 10+ years of experience in production, operations, or manufacturing within aerospace, defense, or complex electromechanical systems.
  • 3+ years in a leadership role managing production teams and overseeing operational execution.

Nice to Haves:
 
  • Experience in airborne systems, mission equipment, avionics, sensors, or ruggedized electromechanical hardware.
  • Experience in a defense contractor environment or with FAA/DOD compliance requirements.

What You Could Expect:
 
  • A leadership role shaping a new production organization within a fast-growing division.
  • Direct impact on the delivery of industry-leading airborne technologies.

Please note: Job responsibilities within our organization are dynamic. This may not be a complete list of duties. Other responsibilities and duties may be assigned by your supervisor or upper management at any time.

Pay Range: Associate Director: $123,000 – $165,000 | Director: $147,000 – $205,000

Benefits:
 
  • 4 Weeks PTO a year (including 40 hours of PTO your first day)
  • 10 paid holidays
  • 401(k) with 100% employer matching up to 4% of salary (no vesting period)
  • Multiple options for Medical, Vision, Dental Insurance plans
  • Health Savings Accounts
  • Flexible Spending Accounts
  • Tuition Assistance (30% of Tuition with a minimum qualifying grade)
  • 100% Paid Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • 100% Paid Basic Life and AD&D Insurance
  • 100% Paid Workers Compensation Insurance
  • Voluntary Life Insurance
  • Great Work Perks Discount Program


The unique culture at Intellisense offers the entrepreneurial spirit of a smaller company with the support and expertise of a larger organization. We are looking for individuals with a wide breadth of experience while also being subject matter experts in their respective field.

With an immediate 40 hours of paid time off and 100% 401(k) matching up to 4% of your annual salary without a vesting period, we recognize that employees are our greatest resource.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please contact us by phone at 424-319-7813 or by email at
[email protected]

Unless otherwise stated in the requirements section of an individual job listing, our positions require U.S. Citizenship, U.S. Permanent Residency, or other status as a U.S. Person as defined by 8 USC 1324b(a)(3). Intellisense Systems, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic data, or other legally protected status.

 
Share

Apply for this position

Required*
We've received your resume. Click here to update it.
Attach resume as .pdf, .doc, .docx, .odt, .txt, or .rtf (limit 5MB) or Paste resume

Paste your resume here or Attach resume file

To comply with government Equal Employment Opportunity and/or Affirmative Action reporting regulations, we are requesting (but NOT requiring) that you enter this personal data. This information will not be used in connection with any employment decisions, and will be used solely as permitted by state and federal law. Your voluntary cooperation would be appreciated. Learn more.

Invitation for Job Applicants to Self-Identify as a U.S. Veteran
  • A “disabled veteran” is one of the following:
    • a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or
    • a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.
  • A “recently separated veteran” means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.
  • An “active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran” means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.
  • An “Armed forces service medal veteran” means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.
Veteran status



Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability
Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026
Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Please check one of the boxes below:

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

You must enter your name and date
Human Check*