Director of Manufacturing (Design-to-Manufacturing)

Abu Dhabi · Full-time · Onsite · Posted Oct 15, 2026

At a glance

The Director of Design-to-Manufacturing (D2M) leads the organization responsible for transforming product and program requirements into controlled, validated, scalable manufacturing and test systems supporting satellite production, integration, verification, and launch readiness.
The role provides organizational and technical leadership across Manufacturing Systems & MGSE, Verification & Validation Test Engineering, and Test Platform & EGSE sub-domains.

Lead manufacturing and test teams managing Manufacturing Systems & Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE), Verification & Validation Test Engineering, and Test Platforms & Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE).
Turn engineering requirements into production-ready processes by overseeing work instructions, bills of materials, routings, assembly workflows, tooling, fixtures, and process validation.
Ensure test readiness by overseeing test methods, procedures, scripts, limits, configurations, coverage, and verification evidence.
Own test infrastructure readiness by guiding the development, validation, deployment, and maintenance of test benches, instrumentation, automation, networking, and spacecraft interfaces.
Review designs for manufacturability and testability by working with mechanical, electrical, software, and systems engineering to identify constraints early and reduce rework.
Resolve manufacturing and test issues by coordinating root-cause investigations, troubleshooting bottlenecks, and driving corrective actions.
Manage priorities and performance by tracking readiness, quality, schedule, cost, throughput, risks, and resource needs.
Standardize and scale operations by establishing reusable tooling, test platforms, common standards, and predictable handoffs to Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT).
Coach and develop the team by clarifying ownership, strengthening technical leadership, and improving cross-functional collaboration.

Strong manufacturing engineering and test engineering experience, translating complex designs into practical manufacturing and verification systems.
MGSE and EGSE expertise, including development, implementation, validation, and ongoing support.
Experience with hardware-in-the-loop/software-in-the-loop (HIL/SIL) or similarly complex integration and test environments.
Practical Design for Manufacturing, Assembly and Test (DFM/DFA/DFT) knowledge, with examples of influencing design decisions.
Proven technical team leadership and coaching, ideally across multiple engineering disciplines.
Strong collaboration across engineering, production, quality, supply chain, and programs.
Hands-on problem-solving and delivery under pressure, supported by examples of shipping complex hardware and resolving real production issues.

Direct satellite or aerospace manufacturing experience.
Electronics or defence/DoD manufacturing experience involving complex, high-reliability systems.
Familiarity with ERP/MES systems for production workflows, reporting, and traceability.
Experience with agile or concurrent engineering, rapid prototyping, and iterative engineering-to-manufacturing handoffs.
Knowledge of AS9100 and ISO 9001 quality standards.