Manufacturing Subject Matter Expert (SME)

Position Overview

Tiberius is seeking an experienced Manufacturing Subject Matter Expert (SME) to help design, scale, and optimize manufacturing processes for advanced aerospace and defense systems. This role will provide deep technical expertise in manufacturing strategy, production systems, and industrialization as the company transitions products from development into scalable production.

The Manufacturing SME will work closely with engineering, supply chain, and operations teams to ensure products are designed for manufacturability, production processes are efficient and reliable, and manufacturing operations meet strict quality and regulatory standards. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in aerospace, defense, or advanced manufacturing environments and thrives in fast-paced, high-growth organizations.

What You’ll Do

• Provide technical leadership in manufacturing processes and production system design

• Support transition of products from engineering development into production

• Develop and optimize manufacturing workflows, tooling strategies, and production processes

• Partner with engineering teams to ensure design for manufacturability (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA)

• Identify manufacturing risks and implement mitigation strategies

• Support supplier selection and manufacturing partner engagement

• Analyze production performance and implement continuous improvement initiatives

• Develop documentation, work instructions, and manufacturing standards

Technical & Manufacturing Leadership Responsibilities

• Define scalable manufacturing strategies for complex aerospace systems

• Advise engineering teams on materials, tolerances, and manufacturability constraints

• Support development of prototypes, pilot builds, and early production runs

• Develop manufacturing validation and process qualification procedures

• Assist in tooling design, process automation, and factory layout planning

• Implement lean manufacturing principles and operational best practices

• Support root cause analysis and corrective action for production issues

• Help establish quality control and inspection processes

Operational & Production Support

• Collaborate with supply chain teams to ensure reliable component sourcing

• Support vendor qualification and manufacturing partner oversight

• Assist in developing production forecasts and capacity planning

• Contribute to cost reduction initiatives and manufacturing efficiency improvements

• Support compliance with aerospace and defense manufacturing standards

• Participate in cross-functional program reviews and production readiness reviews

• Assist leadership in scaling manufacturing operations as production demand grows

What You’ll Bring

Essential 

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in manufacturing engineering

• Minimum of 5 years Manufacturing / Process Engineering

Strong background in:

-Systems engineering

-Manufacturing quality control

• Hands on experience in incoming and outgoing inspection processes. 

• Set up of change management and audit processes within prime and sub-tier manufacturers and suppliers. 

• Strong experience transitioning products from design to production

• Deep knowledge of manufacturing processes relevant to aerospace or advanced hardware systems

• Experience with lean manufacturing and continuous improvement methodologies

• Strong problem-solving and root cause analysis skills

• Experience working with cross-functional teams including engineering and supply chain

• Excellent communication and documentation skills

• Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced startup or high-growth environments

• Mechanical Engineering Degree

Preferred

• Electrical engineering background.

• Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, or advanced hardware manufacturing

• Familiarity with aerospace manufacturing standards and quality systems

• Experience with composite materials, precision machining, or electronics manufacturing

• Experience with contract manufacturers and global supply chains

• Background in production scaling or factory ramp-up

• Experience implementing manufacturing automation or digital manufacturing systems

What We’re Looking For

• Strong technical authority in manufacturing processes and production systems

• Ability to bridge engineering design and real-world manufacturing constraints

• Hands-on mindset with the ability to solve complex production challenges

• Strong ownership mentality and focus on execution

• Ability to build scalable manufacturing systems in a rapidly growing company

• Collaborative approach when working across engineering, operations, and supply chain teams

Growth Opportunity

This role provides a unique opportunity to help build the manufacturing foundation for a rapidly growing aerospace and defense company. The Manufacturing SME will play a critical role in ensuring that advanced technologies can be reliably and efficiently produced at scale as Tiberius Aerospace continues to grow