Vehicle Production Manager

Description

Leidos' Undersea Systems Division is seeking a Vehicle Production Manager in San Diego, CA to join a fast‑paced R&D engineering group. This role is a unique opportunity to drive innovation in underwater vehicle systems, maritime sensors, subsea telemetry, and ISR solutions that support critical defense and national security missions at Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific (NIWC PAC).

The selected candidate will oversee and manage the acceptance, testing, and certification of unmanned maritime vehicles for a rapid‑paced, high‑priority project. This high‑impact leadership role bridges the gap between the vehicle R&D team and onsite production. The Vehicle Production Lead manages the laboratory/shop environment, directs a team of technicians, and ensures each unmanned platform meets the government’s rigorous testing requirements and system specifications.

This position requires maintaining a Top Secret Clearance and working a 9/80B schedule (80 hours of work in nine days over a two‑week period, with every other Friday off).

• Coordinate with NIWC Vehicle SMEs to review vehicle system data and address unforeseen technical issues.
• Support the Test Director with planning and executing at‑sea Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs), performance testing, and certification checks.
• Manage and maintain the Master Production Schedule (MPS) along with system software and hardware baseline milestones.
• Engage with industry partners on schedules, issues, and resources that impact NIWC’s ability to deliver fully tested and operational vehicles on schedule.
• Keep NIWC project leadership (PM, DPM, LSE, and Vehicle Lab Lead) informed of risks, issues, and challenges.
• Oversee the configuration of vehicles to support sponsor requirements.
• Generate vehicle readiness reports and track the status of each vehicle’s issues/failures.
• Manage vehicle inventory, materials, parts, and procurement of lab supplies.
• Align the flow of materials to meet production requirements.
• Prepare procurement requests for the production or purchase of components or parts based on the MPS, shop load, and inventory requirements.
• Manage vehicle production lab space and test equipment.
• Manage local test procedures, tools, and equipment for conducting vehicle preparation, checkout, and post‑data offload for each system and at‑sea event.
• Coordinate with industry partners to develop in‑lab test procedures, plans, tools, and equipment to ensure proper Factory and Government Acceptance Testing.
• Liaison between Engineering/R&D and Production teams.
• Implement, manage, and oversee quality assurance and configuration management programs for the vehicle production effort.
• Maintain current knowledge of the quality control field, relying on current literature pertaining to materials use, technological advances, or statistical studies.
• Analyze data to inform operational decisions or activities.
• Affect significant improvements in projects, processes, and solutions to enhance results.

• U.S. Citizen with ability to obtain TOP SECRET security clearance; active SECRET clearance required.
• Bachelor’s (or higher) degree from an accredited institution and 5+ years of relevant experience.
• Process‑oriented and attention to detail.
• Strong leadership skills.
• Experience working with and managing small groups.
• Must be flexible and responsive to customer needs.
• Requires frequent movement around piers, docks, and facility spaces.
• Required to transport or lift objects weighing up to 50 pounds across the facility.
• Requires constant use of hands/fingers to operate machinery, tools, or computer equipment.
• Requires ability to move about the warehouse, stoop, kneel, or reach for extended periods.
• Ability to climb ladders up to 20 feet.
• Able and willing to work aboard marine vessels of various sizes, sometimes overnight.
• Requires work in various temperatures and inclement weather.
• Required to work in/ or in loud production environments.
• Supervise 1+ personnel in their daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly activities and provide mentoring, guidance, and career discussions for direct report employee(s).
• Be responsible for hiring, firing, raises, promotions, and all HR…