Lead Shop Technician; Manufacturing & Production Lead

Position: Lead Shop Technician (Manufacturing & Production Lead)

Lead Shop Technician (Manufacturing & Production Lead)

Location:

Schaumburg, IL

Employment Type:

Full-time

About Wing Xpand

Wing Xpand® is Expanding What’s Possible™ with Autonomous Systems with our 8ft smart plane that expands from a backpack to help farmers grow more yield, public safety crews respond to disasters faster, and keep soldiers safe. We’re a rapidly growing startup that is creating the future of smart, connected robotics. We want you to play a key role in our journey!

Position

Description

We’re looking for a hands‑on, high‑energy Lead Shop Technician who is as much a doer as a leader. This is a sleeves‑up role where you’ll be at the heart of how we build our aircraft systems — assembling, troubleshooting, improving, and teaching every day. You'll work directly with your counterparts at our other production facilities to organize and execute on production work in the most efficient manner possible.

You will set the tone on the shop floor: safety, cleanliness, efficiency, organization, and pride in craftsmanship. You’ll support both R&D prototypes and repeatable production builds while working closely with hardware, mechanical, electrical, embedded, and software teams. You’ll also lead QA, documentation, tutorials, and training — with the support of engineering and teammates. You have experience in manufacturing environments, mechanical and electrical assembly work and CNC machining.

This role is for someone who loves solving problems, building things that matter, developing people, and bringing order and excellence to a fast‑moving environment.

Key Responsibilities Lead by Doing

• Build, assemble, wire, test, and troubleshoot aircraft systems hands‑on every day.
• Jump in wherever needed — modeling reliability, organization, and steady leadership.
• Solve unexpected challenges quickly and calmly as they arise (they will!).

Team Leadership & Shop Culture

• Guide, mentor, and support shop technicians and interns; help grow their skills and confidence.
• Create a positive, respectful, high‑energy environment where people do their best work.
• Keep communication clear, expectations aligned, and morale strong — especially during crunch timelines.

Safety, Cleanliness & Shop Environment

• Own all safety protocols and ensure tools, equipment, and tests are performed correctly.
• Maintain a clean, organized, efficient workspace that supports high‑quality builds.
• Keep tools and equipment in top shape; maintain structure so the shop is always “ready to go.”

Production & Build Execution

• Support both R&D prototypes and established production builds, switching between them as needed.
• Help define and improve workflows that make builds consistent, reliable, and efficient.
• Troubleshoot assembly issues and collaborate with engineering teams to resolve them.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with mechanical, electrical, embedded, and software teams during builds, testing, and integration.
• Provide feedback to engineering to make designs clearer, stronger, and easier to build.
  
  Support new product development as projects move from concept → prototype → production.

Quality Assurance, Documentation & Training

• Develop & lead QA checks to ensure every aircraft and subsystem meets Wing Xpand’s standards.
• Create and maintain build instructions, checklists, documentation, and tutorials (with support from teammates).
• Lead hands‑on onboarding, training sessions, and demos for new hires and junior technicians.

Shop Organization & Materials Management

• Maintain inventory, materials flow, labeling, and part tracking to keep production moving smoothly.
  
  Standardize workstations and part layouts for clarity and repeatability.
• Communicate supply needs early to avoid shortages or bottlenecks.
• Jump in on all office and factory help needed assignments.

Qualifications

• 5+ years hands‑on experience in technician, mechanical, electrical, fabrication, machining, or hardware assembly roles.
• 1+ year leading, mentoring, or supervising others in a shop or production environment.
• Experience with design for manufacturability and manufacturing work flows.
• Expertise on CNC machinery and other specialty tools.
• Strong mechanical instincts and confident troubleshooting ability.
• Reli…