{"id":801219,"url":"https://alion.io/job/valstad-head-of-manufacturing-industrialization","title":"Head of Manufacturing & Industrialization","company":{"id":688524,"name":"Valstad","domain":"valstad.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/valstad","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"is_intermediary":false,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"head","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Austin, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":170000,"max":210000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":210000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-31T18:09:25Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-31","last_verified_at":"2026-09-23T19:52:59Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":23,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":23},"description":"About Valstad\nValstad is building the machine that builds the ships.\nWe combine industrial robotics, welding, sensing, and AI to turn 3D models into real high-mix ship structure. Our mission is to rapidly expand America's maritime output by 100x.\nOur team works directly with large industrial robots and real manufacturing equipment at our Austin facility. The systems we build will ultimately be deployed across shipyards and industrial facilities throughout the country.\nThe Role\nValstad is seeking a hands-on manufacturing leader to build and scale our robotic production operation.\nYou will own production, industrialization, quality, safety, equipment readiness, staffing, and continuous improvement. You will work closely with engineering to turn new robotic processes into reliable production systems.\nThis role is for someone who is deeply committed to reindustrializing America, moves with urgency, and is willing to challenge or replace systems that do not work. You should be comfortable building from scratch, making decisions with incomplete information, and staying personally engaged until difficult manufacturing problems are solved.\nWhat You Will Do\nBuild and scale automated production lines from initial concept through sustained production.\n\nOwn manufacturing output, quality, schedule, safety, and equipment reliability.\n\nIndustrialize robotic welding, material handling, assembly, and inspection processes.\n\nEstablish production planning, work instructions, maintenance, and operating systems.\n\nIdentify and remove constraints affecting throughput, cost, and reliability.\n\nPartner closely with robotics, automation, software, and mechanical engineering.\n\nRecruit, lead, and develop manufacturing engineers, technicians, operators, and production staff.\n\nDevelop capacity, staffing, supplier, and capital plans as production grows.\n\nCreate a culture of urgency, accountability, practical problem solving, and continuous improvement.\n\nWhat We Are Looking For\n10+ years of manufacturing, industrialization, or production experience.\n\nDemonstrated experience building and scaling automated production lines from scratch.\n\nDeep familiarity with industrial robots and automated manufacturing equipment.\n\nExperience moving new processes from engineering development into repeatable production.\n\nAbility to recruit and manage teams of manufacturing engineers and production personnel.\n\nStrong command of quality, safety, maintenance, capacity planning, and production systems.\n\nA relentless approach to difficult problems and a willingness to remain personally involved until they are resolved.\n\nHigh tolerance for ambiguity, rapid iteration, and rebuilding processes that are not working.\n\nStrong alignment with Valstad’s mission to restore and expand American industrial capacity.\n\nWillingness to relocate to Austin, Texas, and work primarily from our manufacturing facility.\n\nExperience in shipbuilding, heavy fabrication, aerospace, defense, automotive, industrial equipment, or another automation-intensive manufacturing environment is strongly preferred.\nWhat Success Looks Like\nValstad’s robotic systems move from engineering demonstrations into reliable production. Output increases, downtime falls, quality becomes measurable, and the operation no longer depends on constant intervention from the engineering team.\nYou build the manufacturing organization, systems, and operating discipline required to scale Valstad from an early production facility into a significant American industrial company.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3521,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":[],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-12T07:56:33Z"}],"liveness":{"score":56,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.741,"p_room":0.75,"age_days":22,"expected_fill_days":24,"reasons":["conf:0","velocity","win:late"],"computed_at":"2026-09-23T05:45:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":210000,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/valstad-head-of-manufacturing-industrialization","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/valstad-head-of-manufacturing-industrialization.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-09-24T03:34:41Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers"}}