Plant Manager

Position Summary

Krateo Sky is hiring a Manufacturing/Operations Director to build our Denton facility operations from the ground up, serving as the laboratory and prototype for manufacturing systems that will scale across our enterprise of acquired drone and AI companies. This is not a traditional management role—you are a builder, learner, and future teacher creating replicable operational excellence that supports our $12–15B valuation trajectory while maintaining defense-grade quality and compliance.

Player‑coach role: execute foundationally while designing scalable manufacturing governance. Work closely with SVP of Operations Excellence & Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, and portfolio company leadership. You will establish production processes, daily management systems, and continuous improvement practices that embed LEAN principles from day one. Your primary accountability is developing manufacturing systems mature enough to teach, document, and replicate across future Krateo Sky acquisitions.

Embody our values and behaviors—deliver precision and quality, challenge how things are done, break problems into fundamentals, automate relentlessly, hold yourself accountable, and deliver together no matter the obstacles.

Lead the adoption of AI‑enabled tools to replace manual tracking, predict bottlenecks, and automate quality exception management. Build executive dashboards for OEE, FPY, cycle‑time variance, and equipment health. Configure production systems with automation rules and anomaly detection. Decisions must be data‑driven—not opinion‑driven. We need a leader whose instinct is to automate verification and apply predictive models, not add inspectors.

Build Denton’s manufacturing operations from the ground up: layout, workflows, workstation setup, tooling, and standard work aligned with Lean flow. Serve as the testing ground for enterprise standards—refine, document, and validate before rolling out to acquired sites. Partner with the SVP to design the daily management system (huddles, SQDC boards, production metrics, escalation). Establish takt time, flow principles, mixed‑model production, rapid changeovers, and AI‑augmented performance monitoring.

Develop quality systems that meet CMMI, AS9100, and SMS; create inspection standards, corrective action processes, and traceability systems. Ensure manufacturing aligns with defense contract requirements and own internal audits. Implement poka‑yoke, first‑time quality, and COPQ visibility. Maintain aerospace‑grade safety systems and a strong safety culture. Use automation to track audits, corrective actions, and compliance documentation.

Lead kaizen to reduce cycle time, eliminate waste, improve ergonomics, and raise throughput. Coach production teams in daily problem‑solving and continuous improvement. Implement SQDC visual management and facilitiate tier huddles. Participate in business reviews using automated analytics. Drive OEE gains through structured problem‑solving and predictive reliability practices.

Partner with supply chain, engineering, and program teams on schedules that balance demand, materials, and capacity. Build scalable capacity models and staffing plans. Recommend equipment, layout, and process changes using predictive analytics. Establish production control systems—heijunka, kanban, WIP limits—combined with AI‑driven demand signals and real‑time constraint management.

Recruit and develop supervisors and operators; build a culture grounded in respect, problem‑solving, and continuous learning.…