Manufacturing & Industrialisation Lead
After nearly nine years of technology development, we are entering an important stage of growth. We are transitioning from low-rate engineering builds towards industrialisation, pre-series manufacturing and serial production. To support this transition, we are looking for an experienced Manufacturing & Industrialisation Lead to design, establish and scale our manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing capability in Estonia. This role sits at the core of the company’s execution and works directly with the founders and multidisciplinary engineering team.
- Type: Full-time
- Location: Tallinn, Estonia
- Start: To be agreed
- Working arrangement: Primarily onsite
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the transition from engineering builds through pre-series and into scalable serial production
- Establish and scale Golbriak Space’s manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing capability in Estonia
- Develop repeatable production processes, routings, work instructions, acceptance criteria and engineering-to-production transfer practices
- Define production layouts, workstations, tooling, fixtures, equipment and test infrastructure
- Own the end-to-end manufacturing flow, from incoming inspection and material planning to final acceptance and shipping
- Implement production planning, capacity management, inventory control, ERP/MRP tools and relevant manufacturing metrics
- Oversee optical, electronic, mechanical and system-level assembly, integration, verification and testing
- Define and manage supplier, outsourcing and make-or-buy strategies for components and manufacturing activities
- Establish production and quality processes aligned with ISO 9001 principles, including traceability, change control and non-conformance management
- Identify and resolve manufacturing, testing, capacity and supply-chain risks and bottlenecks
- Drive continuous improvement across quality, yield, cycle time, cost and delivery performance
- Build, lead and develop the manufacturing and operations team as production scales
Requirements:
- Proven experience establishing or significantly scaling a manufacturing facility or function
- Experience transferring complex hardware products from engineering builds through pre-series and into repeatable production
- Hands-on experience with industrialisation, production ramp-ups, assembly, integration and testing
- Strong understanding of production workflows, manufacturing-process development, test infrastructure and production readiness
- Experience defining production layouts, workstations, tooling, fixtures and equipment requirements
- Experience introducing work instructions, routings, production records, traceability and configuration controls
- Experience with production planning, capacity analysis, inventory management, material flow and ERP/MRP systems
- Experience developing make-or-buy strategies and managing specialised suppliers or contract manufacturers
- Knowledge of structured production and quality processes aligned with ISO 9001 or an equivalent framework
- Understanding of non-conformance management, corrective actions and controlled engineering changes
- Experience building, leading and developing manufacturing or operations teams
- Ability to demonstrate your personal contribution and measurable results from previous industrialisation or production scale-up work
- Ability to operate effectively at both strategic and hands-on levels
- Strong cross-functional coordination, prioritisation and problem-solving skills
- A builder’s mindset and motivation to create new manufacturing capability
- Professional fluency in English
- Willingness to reside in Estonia and work primarily onsite in Tallinn
Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate results such as establishing a production facility, transferring hardware into serial production, increasing capacity or throughput, improving quality and delivery performance, implementing manufacturing systems, developing test infrastructure, qualifying suppliers or building a production team.
Nice to have
- Experience in space, aerospace, defence, telecommunications, photonics or advanced electronics
- Experience industrialising low-volume, high-complexity hardware
- Experience with products involving optics, photonics or precision alignment
- Experience setting up cleanroom or controlled-environment manufacturing
- Experience with electronics assembly, PCB manufacturing, cable harnesses and embedded systems
- Experience automating or semi-automating assembly and test processes
- Familiarity with environmental, functional and acceptance testing of high-reliability products
- Experience implementing or developing an ISO 9001, AS9100 or comparable quality-management system
- Experience with product qualification and customer-acceptance processes
- Experience managing specialised international suppliers and contract manufacturers
- Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma or comparable process-improvement experience
- Experience scaling manufacturing operations within Europe
- Familiarity with export-control, information-security or defence-sector requirements
- Previous experience in a senior manufacturing, industrialisation or operations leadership role
We offer
- A key leadership role with ownership of Golbriak Space’s manufacturing and industrialisation function
- The opportunity to build a production facility and manufacturing capability from the ground up
- Direct involvement in taking advanced optical communication technology into serial production
- Close cooperation with the founders and a multidisciplinary engineering team
- A high level of autonomy and the ability to shape manufacturing systems, facilities, supplier strategy and team capability
- An international, technically ambitious and hands-on working environment
- A monthly gross salary of €4,655–€5,985, depending on experience and
- Relocation support to Estonia if required
- Flexible working hours, consistent with operational and team needs
Other Important Information
Please submit your CV in PDF format to careers@golbriak.space, indicating Manufacturing & Industrialisation Lead in the subject line.
Please also include a short introduction describing:
- a production facility, manufacturing function or complex hardware product you have helped establish or scale;
- the starting situation and approximate production stage when you became involved;
- your personal mandate and responsibilities;
- the manufacturing, testing, supplier or organisational capabilities you built;
- the most important challenges and decisions;
- the measurable results achieved;
- what you learned from the industrialisation or production ramp-up;
- your interest in helping Golbriak Space build scalable manufacturing capability in Estonia;
- your availability to work primarily onsite in Tallinn.
Candidates invited to interview should be prepared to discuss one previous manufacturing or industrialisation example in detail, including the starting situation, decisions made, challenges encountered and measurable outcomes.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The appointment timeline will be aligned with the company’s production plans and the availability of the selected candidate.
Golbriak Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status. At Golbriak Space, we use our passion for purposeful innovation to help keep people safe and solve some of the most complex engineering challenges. We place an emphasis on empowering our employees by fostering an inclusive environment built upon integrity and corporate responsibility. If this sounds like a culture you connect with, you’re invited to apply for this role.