Head of Manufacturing
SkyCan SystemsAbout 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 Ca
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nadian 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 protec