Drone Assembly and Manufacturing Consultant

Overview

Cayuse Native Hawaiian Veterans, LLC (Cayuse), a tribally owned enterprise supporting U.S. federal and military customers, is expanding its offerings into drone assembly/manufacturing. We are seeking a highly qualified Consultant to review and refine our existing plans for establishing a scalable, efficient, and compliant drone manufacturing line. Working with our team and subcontractor, the Consultant will quickly digest the current business case and identify any gaps, risks, or opportunities for improvement.

This role involves providing actionable strategies to refine operations, streamline workflows, and ensure readiness for scaling production to meet federal customer demands.

The Consultant will focus on evaluating existing documentation, identifying improvement areas, and advising on implementation strategies. Evaluate emerging technologies such as additive manufacturing (3D printing) to reduce costs and improve scalability for drone components, particularly lightweight materials. Develop strategies to incorporate sustainability practices, including renewable energy solutions and waste minimization, to align with federal requirements for green manufacturing.

The Consultant will align with Cayuse’s core values of Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Adaptability, and Integrity by fostering technical solutions that meet customer needs, promoting teamwork, and prioritizing quality in deliverables.

• Review and refinement of the existing business case: conduct a detailed analysis of the existing business case developed by the team and subcontractor, quickly digesting project goals, assumptions, resource allocations, and proposed workflows.
• Identify risks, gaps, or inefficiencies in the plan and recommend actionable improvements.
• Provide guidance on aligning manufacturing strategies with federal customer needs, focusing on cost efficiency, operational scalability, and compliance with NDAA, FAR, DFARS, and other Federal Acquisition supplements.
• Manufacturing strategy refinement: evaluate proposed assembly workflows to optimize efficiencies and ensure scalability.
• Advise on measurable metrics for production performance, quality assurance, and operational bottleneck resolution.
• Assess the feasibility of transitioning modular pilot setups to permanent manufacturing facilities and define best practices for scaling.
• Compliance and safety protocols: evaluate planned compliance measures across safety, cybersecurity, and regulatory requirements; ensure manufacturing, packaging, and shipping workflows align with relevant federal safety and quality protocols; ensure robust cybersecurity measures aligned with CMMC requirements for protecting procurement and operational data across manufacturing workflows; support leadership in achieving certifications for ISO 9001 and ISO 27001.
• Supply chain and vendor evaluation: assess the current plans for vendor relationships, sourcing strategies, and inventory management; recommend ways to streamline supply chains to enable scalable and cost-effective production; implement predictive inventory planning tools to forecast material demands and flag reorder levels while supporting just-in-time supply chain practices; develop supply chain risk management plans for sourcing critical components to mitigate supply chain risks during scaling operations.
• Process optimization and documentation: refine existing processes and identify opportunities for lean manufacturing, cost reduction, and process efficiencies; recommend tools and methodologies for tracking production workflows, inventory, and supplier performance; introduce continuous improvement methodologies (Kaizen) to enable iterative enhancements across drone manufacturing workflows; define key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor process efficiency, cycle times, throughput rates, rework percentages, and delivery accuracy.
• Additive manufacturing: guide executive leadership in adopting additive and advanced manufacturing technologies for efficient production and cost savings.
• Implement lean manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies to optimize workflows, reduce waste, and…