Senior Manager, Manufacturing Operations

Portal Space Systems is on a mission to expand humanity’s freedom of movement in space. We’re building the spacecraft that makes that mission possible. From our Bothell, WA headquarters, we design vehicles with the maneuverability, resilience, and adaptability needed for the next era of orbital operations. Every system we build is in service of a simple idea: space should be more accessible, responsive, and capable.

Joining Portal means stepping into a team that believes in bold engineering, fast iteration, and the power of small groups to change what’s possible. If you want your work to directly shape the future of in-space mobility, join us.

We are seeking a hands-on Senior Manager, Manufacturing Operations to build, lead, and scale production operations at our satellite manufacturing facility. This is a foundational leadership role responsible for establishing production processes, developing the production team, and ensuring safe, consistent, and efficient execution as the business transitions from early builds to sustained rate production.

Reporting to the VP of Manufacturing, you will own day-to-day production execution, workforce readiness, production planning, and operational performance within the production organization. You will lead production supervisors, team leads, technicians, and other personnel assigned to your organization, establishing the processes, systems, and accountability needed to meet production commitments.

You will work closely with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Facilities, Maintenance, and Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) specialists to ensure manufacturing readiness and resolve operational challenges. Engineering will retain responsibility for product design and engineering authority, while Quality and EHS will provide functional expertise and governance within their respective areas.

This is a build-and-scale role, not a steady-state operations position. You will balance immediate production needs with the discipline required to establish repeatable processes, develop frontline leaders, and build a production organization capable of supporting increasing manufacturing rates.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the production organization, including assigned supervisors, team leads, technicians, and production coordinators.
• Own daily production execution, ensuring build plans, staffing, material availability, and production priorities are aligned with delivery commitments.
• Establish clear operating rhythms, including daily production reviews, shift handoffs, escalation paths, and performance reporting.
• Monitor production performance, identify constraints, and drive timely resolution of issues affecting safety, quality, schedule, or productivity.
• Establish accountability for production targets, employee performance, adherence to standardized work, and continuous improvement.
• Provide regular, data-driven updates to the VP of Manufacturing on production performance, risks, resource needs, and recovery plans

Manufacturing Readiness & Scale-Up

• Lead production readiness and operational launch activities for new manufacturing lines and processes.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Facilities, and Maintenance to ensure equipment, materials, documentation, and personnel are ready for planned builds.
• Establish production flow, workstation layouts, material staging, and work-in-process controls to support efficient and repeatable manufacturing.
• Develop production capacity plans, staffing requirements, and shift coverage to support planned manufacturing rates.
• Ensure production personnel have approved work instructions, required training, and appropriate tools and equipment before performing assigned tasks.
• Coordinate the implementation of engineering changes…