General Manager

Eleven Recruiting is searching for a General Manager to join one of our largest Space & Defense clients in Spokane, Washington, overseeing a high-precision aerospace manufacturing operation supporting flight‑critical and mission‑critical programs. This role serves as the senior site leader with full P&L responsibility and end‑to‑end ownership of operational performance across engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain.

The General Manager will provide hands‑on leadership in a technically complex, highly regulated environment, bringing structure, accountability, and execution discipline to a growing operation with strong customer demand. This is an opportunity for a technically fluent manufacturing leader with deep aerospace experience, credibility on the shop floor, and the leadership maturity to strengthen execution, elevate the leadership team, and guide the organization through its next phase of growth.

• Serve as the senior site executive with full P&L responsibility and accountability for operational performance.
• Lead execution across engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and program operations to meet revenue, margin, and delivery objectives.
• Assess organizational effectiveness and establish clear performance expectations and accountability at all leadership levels.
• Drive operational rigor across production planning, scheduling, throughput, and on‑time delivery.
• Implement metrics‑driven management using KPIs tied to delivery, yield, labor efficiency, inventory, margin, and cash.
• Partner closely with engineering to ensure manufacturability, process maturity, and disciplined change control.
• Strengthen cross‑functional execution and eliminate silos between engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain.
• Act as the senior site representative with customers, leading engagements, resolving escalations, and reinforcing confidence in execution.
• Build and sustain a high‑accountability, performance‑driven culture grounded in technical competence and continuous improvement.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, or a related field strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of senior leadership experience in aerospace or defense manufacturing with direct operational ownership.
• Demonstrated success leading complex manufacturing organizations in regulated environments.
• Proven ability to improve execution, accountability, and operational performance.
• Deep, hands‑on understanding of composite manufacturing processes including layup, cure, machining, assembly, and inspection.
• Strong command of production planning, job costing, capacity analysis, and backlog execution.
• Experience balancing speed, quality, and compliance in aerospace environments.
• Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems and operational performance dashboards.
• Ability to translate technical realities into clear execution priorities.