Director of Production

Job description

Skyways designs, builds, and operates fully autonomous long-range cargo aircraft. Founded in 2017, the company has spent the last eight years developing and deploying autonomous logistics systems for real-world operations. Our V2 aircraft carries 30 lbs up to 500 miles, while our next-generation V3 carries 100 lbs over 1,000+ miles with 20+ hours of endurance. Both use a hybrid-electric architecture that takes off like a helicopter and cruises like a plane, enabling long-range autonomous delivery without traditional runway infrastructure. Today, Skyways aircraft operate across three continents in controlled national airspace under FAA oversight and in support of U.S. military operations. We are transitioning from prototype development to full-rate production and scaling toward large autonomous cargo fleets. Backed by Y Combinator and a $37M AFWERX STRATFI award from the U.S. Air Force, Skyways is creating a new form of transportation to advance our civilization from Austin, Texas. **The Opportunity** Skyways is building autonomous aircraft that are already flying real missions. The next challenge is not proving it works. It’s building it reliably, repeatedly, and at scale. We are looking for a Director of Production to take us from low-rate builds to a true production system. This role owns everything required to make aircraft that don’t just fly once, but fly every time. You will build the production system, not inherit one. That includes the factory, the processes, the team, and the operating cadence. This is a hands-on leadership role where execution matters more than strategy slides. ### What You’ll Do: - Take aircraft from low-rate builds to repeatable, scalable production - Stand up manufacturing systems that actually run under real conditions - Build, staff, and lead production, manufacturing engineering, and quality as one organization, including hiring, development, and the management layer beneath you - Own headcount planning and budget for the production function - Work side-by-side with engineering to close the gap between design and build - Drive daily execution on the floor. Identify what's breaking and fix it fast - Own throughput, yield, cost, and schedule. Be accountable when they miss - Build supply chain that can support aggressive production targets, not just prototypes - Reduce BOM cost without compromising reliability - Establish a production cadence that increases speed without losing control - Ensure compliance with ITAR, safety, and quality requirements without slowing the team down - Represent production on the leadership team and in board, customer, and investor conversations ### What You’ll Bring: - You have personally led a production ramp for a complex hardware system - You have built and led production organizations, including hiring and developing managers, not just engineers - You have owned a function's headcount and budget and made the tradeoffs that come with it - You have built manufacturing processes that were used daily, not just designed on paper - You have been accountable for output. Throughput, yield, cost, and delivery - You have worked in environments where things were unclear and still moved them forward - You are comfortable on the floor, in the build, and in the details when needed - You can push engineering, supply chain, and operations to align and deliver - You know how to move fast without letting quality collapse ### Bonus Points: - Built a factory or production line from scratch - Experience in regulated environments (FAA, DoD, etc.) - Deep experience with DFM, yield improvement, and reliability in the field - You thrive in ambiguity and love solving problems no one has solved before