Production Line Setup Consultant

Production Line Setup Consultant

Location:

Virginia

Engagement: 6-12 Month Contract

A growing aerospace organization is seeking an experienced Production Line Setup Consultant to establish and launch a new aircraft final-assembly operation. This is a highly hands‑on consulting engagement focused on taking an aircraft program from prototype builds into controlled, repeatable series production. You will define the production system, help establish the manufacturing facility and participate directly in early builds before transferring the operation to the internal manufacturing team.

• Develop the complete production and assembly flow from incoming material through final product acceptance.
• Define assembly stations, work centres, facility layouts and required manufacturing infrastructure.
• Convert prototype build processes into controlled, repeatable production sequences.
• Develop work instructions, travelers, production documentation and manufacturing processes.
• Specify tooling, fixtures, stands, lifting equipment and production-test infrastructure.
• Validate production plans including build rates, labor requirements, staffing levels and manufacturing readiness.
• Establish material processes covering receiving, inspection, kitting, inventory control and point‑of‑use delivery.
• Integrate quality, inspection, traceability and configuration‑management requirements into the production system.
• Assess supplier readiness and support long‑lead material and procurement planning.
• Participate directly in early production builds to identify issues and refine the manufacturing system.

• Proven experience personally establishing and operating production environments , rather than solely providing manufacturing strategy.
• Experience converting an existing/non-production facility into a functioning manufacturing operation.
• Experience establishing a pilot, first-article or initial production line .
• Strong series-production experience involving large, complex and long-cycle-time products .Experience validating build rates, staffing requirements, tooling, assembly processes and work instructions.
• Strong understanding of low-rate, high‑complexity manufacturing .
• Working knowledge of AS9100 or equivalent aerospace quality systems .
• Strong hands‑on understanding of production planning, assembly flow, tooling, materials, quality and manufacturing readiness.

• Experience with in aircraft, UAV, aerospace or other complex low‑volume manufacturing environments is particularly desirable.
• Additional experience with ERP/MRP or MES implementation, aerospace configuration management, First Article Inspection (FAI), facility‑readiness projects and manufacturing workforce planning would be beneficial.

Interested? If you've previously built or launched an aerospace production line from the ground up and enjoy working directly on the manufacturing floor, we'd love to hear from you!