Program Manager, Manufacturing & NPI

Who We Are North Vector Dynamics is a Canadian-owned and controlled defence technology company specializing in precision interception, autonomy, and advanced propulsion. NVD is building a full-spectrum missile capability, from counter-UAS solutions to hypersonics, designed to serve and defend NATO member states and their allies and partners. About the Role North Vector Dynamics is building next-generation defence systems, and the CM70 is moving from prototype builds to a controlled, repeatable production line in a new Calgary manufacturing facility. We’re looking for a Program Manager, Manufacturing & NPI to own the plan that gets our products from released design to delivered hardware, on time, at cost, and ready for rate. Reporting to the Head of Manufacturing directly, you’ll run the manufacturing program: build schedules for test, demo, and customer deliveries, the new product introduction (NPI) process that carries each design from prototype to production, and the major manufacturing projects that will shape how we scale, including our new facility and the rollout of our MES, ERP, and PLM systems. You’ll be the single point of coordination between Manufacturing, Systems Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and senior leadership, and the manufacturing counterpart to our company-wide Project Manager, who covers our broader program portfolio. Where they own the program view across the business, you own how it gets built. This is a ground-floor role for someone who is organized, data-driven, and energized by turning a fast-moving, ambiguous environment into a plan people can execute against. You’ll work side by side with technicians, design engineers, and senior leadership, and your work will define how North Vector Dynamics delivers hardware as we scale. If you want to stand up the production programs behind platforms that will one day support soldiers in the field, save lives, and serve sovereign national interest - this role was written for you. What You’ll Do Program & Schedule Management • Own the integrated manufacturing schedule for the CM70 and future products: build cycles, material readiness, test and demo articles, kinetic test units, and customer and government deliverables. • Translate customer commitments and engineering milestones into build plans with clear gates, owners, and dates, and keep them current as priorities shift. • Run the risk, issue, and hard-stops registers for manufacturing: surface the gating constraints across method, machine, material, and manpower early, and drive closure plans weekly. • Track program cost: unit build cost, bill-of-materials costing, budget versus actuals for manufacturing projects and capital, and the cost impact of design and supplier changes. • Set and run the manufacturing operating cadence: weekly build reviews, schedule and risk reporting to senior leadership, and clear status on what is on track, at risk, or blocked. New Product Introduction (NPI) • Build and own a stage-gate NPI process that carries each product from prototype through pilot builds, low-rate initial production, and rate production, with defined entry and exit criteria at every gate. • Lead manufacturing readiness reviews against Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRL), ensuring tooling, fixtures, work instructions, supply, quality plans, and training are ready before each gate. • Drive design-for-manufacturability (DFM) and design-for-test input into engineering reviews, and coordinate design freezes and baselines so production builds to a controlled configuration. • Coordinate engineering changes from design to the floor: impact assessment on schedule, cost, inventory, tooling, and work instructions, and orderly cut-in through the change control board. • Plan first article inspections and pilot builds with Quality and Manufacturing Engineering, and capture lessons learned into the next product’s NPI plan. • Support the planning for production transfer and expansion with allied partners, including future manufacturing in the EU. Manufacturing Projects & Systems Deployments • Project-manage the stand-up of our new manufacturing facility: fit-out, equipment moves, commissioning, and the re-validation needed to restart production with minimal downtime. • Lead the project plan for our MES (Eyelit), ERP, and PLM/PDM rollouts with the Head of Manufacturing and IT: scope, vendor coordination, integration milestones, data migration, training, and go-live. • Coordinate the manufacturing workstreams of our AS9100 certification plan with the Quality lead, so compliance milestones are scheduled alongside production rather than competing with it. • Partner with Supply Chain on long-lead and critical parts, rolling purchase orders, second-source qualification, and shortage recovery plans that protect the build schedule. • Own manufacturing capital and equipment projects from business case through installation, including printer, automation, and test equipment decisions. Stakeholders & Tools • Serve as the single point of coordination between Manufacturing, Systems Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Security, and the company-wide Project Manager, and keep everyone working from one plan. • Own our manufacturing planning and tracking tools, today in monday.com http://monday.com and evolving into the ERP and MES, and build dashboards that make status obvious at a glance. • Prepare program updates and briefing material for senior leadership, customers, and government stakeholders. • Step into whatever the mission demands: this is a startup, no two weeks will look the same! What You Bring Required • A bachelor’s degree (minimum) in engineering (manufacturing, mechanical, industrial, aerospace, or similar), or an equivalent technical discipline from an accredited program and institution. • 5+ years of program or project management in a hardware manufacturing environment, with direct ownership of NPI, production ramps, or production programs from plan to delivery. • A track record building and running integrated schedules with real dependencies across engineering, supply chain, and production, and getting hardware out the door on time. • Experience running stage-gate or phase-gate product development or NPI processes, including readiness reviews and design-freeze discipline. • Working knowledge of engineering change control, bills of materials, and configuration management, and how changes ripple through cost, inventory, and the shop floor. • Strong command of planning tools (MS Project, Smartsheet, monday.com http://monday.com, or similar) and of data: building and presenting schedule, cost, and risk metrics in Excel, Power BI, or similar tools to make an ambiguous problem clear. • Experience managing budgets and cost tracking for programs or capital projects. • Ability to read engineering drawings and bills of materials, and enough technical depth to challenge a plan with engineers and technicians. • Clear, direct communication with technicians, engineers, executives, suppliers, and customers, and the judgment to escalate early with options, not just problems. • Eligibility for a Government of Canada security clearance and registration under the Controlled Goods Program; active clearance is a significant asset. • A builder’s mindset: you take ownership of the outcome, not just the schedule, and you’re as comfortable on the floor with a technician as you are in a leadership review. Preferred • PMP, PgMP, or equivalent program management certification. • Experience in a UAS, aerospace, munitions, or defence manufacturing environment, ideally at a startup or scale-up moving from prototype to rate production. • Familiarity with Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRL), APQP (AS9145), and AS9100 requirements for production planning, first article inspection, and configuration management. • Experience leading an ERP, MES, or PLM implementation, or a facility stand-up, relocation, or production line transfer. • Exposure to earned value management (EVM) and government or defence contract deliverables, including DND or allied program reporting. • Lean manufacturing or Six Sigma experience (Green Belt or higher), applied to production flow and line balancing. • Exposure to electromechanical assembly, additive manufacturing, PCBA, or energetics production. • P.Eng. or EIT designation, or eligibility for registration in Alberta or conversion from an eligible province. Why North Vector Dynamics • Real ownership from day one: the systems and processes you help build will be foundational to how this company operates for years to come. • We’re working on technology that matters at a national and global level, and every person on the team feels that weight and that purpose. • A tight-knit, high-calibre team that moves fast, holds each other to a high standard, and doesn’t waste time on bureaucracy for its own sake. • Competitive compensation and meaningful upside from joining an early-stage company at the forefront of the defence technology sector. • On-site in Calgary, AB, a growing hub for tech and defence, with a culture built around resilience and getting things done.