Director Operations & Production (m/f/d)
NEX Aero GmbH Office, NEX Aero GmbH HQ
Full-time
Permanent employee
About the role
The Director Operations & Production is responsible for the operational execution of NEX's product development process — from procurement through manufacturing, and quality assurance to program management. This role is central to guiding NEX from prototype build to certified low-rate production, and reports directly to the CEO.
Your responsibilities
- Leads the team across Procurement, Quality, and Manufacturing/Prototyping
- Works closely with the CTO, Director Hardware, and Director Software at the interface between engineering, and production (certification sits organizationally with the CTO)
- Production Planning & Manufacturing Control - building and managing manufacturing processes from prototyping through low-rate production
- Procurement & Supply Chain — responsible for supplier selection, negotiation, and management, including strategic partnerships withTier-1 suppliers
- Quality Management — building and evolving the QMS to aerospace standards (e.g., EN 9100), quality assurance internally, and with suppliers
- Program & Project Management — coordinating milestones, resources, and dependencies across hardware, and software development
- Facilities & Infrastructure — responsible for production sites, equipment, and operational infrastructure
Your profile
- Approx.10 years of experience in operations, production, or program management including several years in a leadership role
- Experience in the aerospace or automotive industry (OEM, Tier-1 supplier), or comparable regulated environment (strongly preferred)
- Solid knowledge of certification/approval processes (e.g. EASA Part 21/Part 145 or equivalent) is a plus
- Proven experience building production organizations (prototype-to-series transition)
- Hands-on mentality, and experience in a start-up/scale-up environment
- Fluent in English, and German