Project Manager (Manufacturing)
Toronto, Ontario
Project & Program Management – Project Manager /
Full-time Regular /
On-site
Kepler is on an audacious mission: to bring the internet to space. Founded in 2015, our ambition is to provide internet connectivity in space, whether in LEO, MEO, GEO, or beyond. With an expanding base of early customers and our first 23 satellites in orbit, Kepler is continuing to grow and expand its most important asset – the Team!
As a Kepler Project Manager, you will own daily execution, priorities, and task management for the teams executing on our company objectives. These include adhering to launch or customer delivery schedules, managing through resource issues, and reporting on major roadblocks to key stakeholders. Ultimately, you are motivated by the desire to optimize production throughput and nurture a healthy culture within our production teams from parts procurement to delivery; you are flexible and adaptive to a rapidly evolving work environment.
As a Project Manager you will oversee the coordination and communication of daily and weekly production schedule goals and cross-functional coordination. This oversight includes day-to-day staffing assurance of the production team, communication with key equipment vendors, coordination of lab and clean-room maintenance, and close partnership with supply chain and inventory management teams. You will be responsible for adhering and making recommendations into Kepler’s manufacturing processes and be trained on most activities within the production space as to offer surge support as needed. You will directly manage critical chain activities during tight timelines. Importantly you will be expected to learn and grow, developing an intimate knowledge of Kepler architectures and products to optimize how the team is operating together.
Responsibilities:
- Manage the schedules generated for production and plan out the upcoming 7 days in greater detail. Provide constructive feedback on program build schedules to program managers and Director of Manufacturing.
- Manage weekly production plan meetings to review upcoming week’s priorities and schedule.
- Measure time tracking for assembly and test and provide feedback and solution for variance from original estimates.
- Communicate to task owners the necessary information to enable successful on-time task completion including the priorities of the week and any potential conflicts for resources.
- Develop a strong understanding of the dependencies of production tasks and be able to influence an adaptive and highly efficient production team.
- Cut work orders for traceability and support BOM communication with the Supply Chain team. Coordinate closely with supply chain on materials readiness to execute for the upcoming 20 business days of production.
- Support the generation of, or directly generate, work orders for build, rework, or test activities to move the production schedule forward.
- Own risk mitigation steps to remove future production roadblocks, as directed by systems, integration, and production leadership.
- Develop reports on key performance indicators of the production line that best reflect optimized velocity and minimized waste and report on behalf of manufacturing at a monthly Program Management Review.
- Work closely with the Program Management Office on best practices and ensure that Kepler Engineering and Production remain closely aligned.
- Train on various production tasks and be willing to provide surge support for temporary staffing issues.
- Be willing and flexible to work morning or evening shifts (when necessary) and manage critical daily stand-up activities to execute highly aggressive timelines as needed, including end-of-day syncs between programs, supply chain, technicians, and test engineering.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in relevant field.
- 1-2 years of experience in project management, production, or manufacturing engineering.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Very strong organizational skills.
Bonus Points:
- Knowledge and/or experience with hardware production.
- Knowledge and/or experience with hardware and software integrations.
- Knowledge and/or experience with production staff modelling.
- Knowledge and/or experience in aerospace systems engineering.
- Knowledge and / or experience in Program Management for Space.
- Knowledge and / or experience in aerospace manufacturing.
- Knowledge and / or experience in test engineering.
Kepler Communications Inc. is committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible environment, where all employees and customers feel valued, respected and supported. We welcome applications from: women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, visible minorities, people who identify as LGBT and others who may contribute to diversification in our workplace.
As part of our commitment to accessibility for all persons with disabilities, Kepler will, upon the request of the applicant, provide accommodation during the recruitment process to ensure equal access to applicants with disabilities. Please contact our People & Culture team, through our Career Page to make your accommodation needs known and we will consult with you to ensure suitable accommodation is provided.
