Production Manager
Detroit, MI (in-person)
About Grounded
Grounded is a 25-person Detroit-based startup building modular electric platforms for specialty vehicles. We take cab chassis from OEMs like Ford and Harbinger and build configurable vehicle systems on top, serving mobile healthcare, RVs, command centers, food and beverage, pet care, and more. Our customers include Colgate, Nokia, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and Portland PD. We've raised ~$5M in VC funding and are shipping vehicles in market today.
We also build our own software: a mobile app, fleet dashboard, and onboard computer system that lets customers monitor and control vehicle systems remotely. We design, fabricate, and assemble everything in-house at our facility in Corktown.
The Role
We're hiring a Production Manager to run the floor. You own every build schedule in the shop, you're the person every technician comes to with every question about what they're building, and you're the bridge to engineering - including turning their CAD into the work instruction drawings the floor actually builds from.
This is a technical production role, not a clipboard job. You need to be fluent enough in CAD (we use Siemens NX) to open a full vehicle assembly, understand it, and produce clear build drawings from it - because at Grounded, the person managing production is also the person creating the documentation the floor runs on. When a technician hits something that doesn't match the drawing, you're the one who figures out the answer or drags it out of engineering fast.
And let's be straight about the pace: this role is intense, every day. The build schedule is the heartbeat of the company, and you own it. That means setting daily targets and holding people to them, chasing every open item, escalating slips the hour they happen, and applying pressure - professionally, respectfully, and constantly. We need a driver with a huge motor, not a status-reporter. If reading that fires you up, keep reading. If it sounds exhausting, this isn't your job.
What you'd actually do
Own all build schedules end to end: sequence every vehicle, set daily targets, track progress, and hold technicians and engineers accountable to dates - daily, in person, without being asked
Be the first call for every technician question on the floor - what part goes where, what the drawing means, what to do when reality doesn't match CAD
Create and maintain work instruction drawings from engineering CAD (Siemens NX) for every assembly, and keep them current as designs change
Run the daily drumbeat of the floor: build status reviews, catching problems before they become delays, unblocking people the moment something stalls
Be the two-way channel between the floor and engineering - push manufacturability problems and build feedback into design, and drive engineering fixes to closure instead of letting them sit
Walk the floor constantly. This job is done standing next to the vehicles, not behind a desk
Improve how we build: better documentation, better build sequences, better handoffs from engineering to the floor
What we're looking for
3+ years running or coordinating production in an environment that physically builds things - automotive, RV, commercial vehicles, aerospace, or industrial equipment
Real CAD fluency (NX preferred; SolidWorks/CATIA with willingness to learn NX works) - you can navigate complex vehicle assemblies and produce 2D drawings and work instructions from them. This is a hard requirement, not a nice-to-have
Relentless follow-through. You chase every open item to closure, you're comfortable applying pressure and being direct with people every single day, and you hold the line on deadlines even when it's uncomfortable
High motor. You thrive under sustained intensity and a schedule that never stops mattering - and you find that energizing, not draining
Command of the floor: technicians respect you because you know the builds cold, communicate clearly, and back them up when they're blocked
Genuinely organized: you can hold the state of a dozen concurrent builds in your head and in a schedule everyone believes
Startup fit: comfortable with ambiguity, zero bureaucracy, and owning outcomes rather than tasks
Nice-to-haves
Vehicle upfitting, RV, or specialty vehicle manufacturing experience
Manufacturing or industrial engineering background
Hands-on trade skills (electrical, plumbing, carpentry, fabrication) - enough to earn the floor's respect quickly
Experience with production scheduling or MES tools
Lean manufacturing / continuous improvement background
Compensation
Competitive base salary + meaningful equity in Grounded + comprehensive health insurance
Why this role is different
Most production manager jobs hand you a mature process and ask you to keep it running. This one hands you the whole factory's tempo and the authority to set it. You'll know every vehicle in the shop, every technician will run their questions through you, and every ship date will be one you drove personally. It's one of the highest-leverage seats in the company - when you're good, the entire building moves faster - and you'll do it working directly with the leadership team in a shop where the vehicles you pushed out the door are on the road with real customers weeks later.