Head of Production, MAITE Finland

• Head of Production, MAITE Finland

• Location: Espoo, Finland (on-site)

• Department: MAITE (Manufacturing and AIT) - Production; Global Manufacturing Organisation

• Reports to: Director of MAITE Finland

• Employment type: Permanent

• Workplace model: Office

• Employment is subject to applicable security screening (incl. SUPO, where required)

• Own the full production output of MAITE Finland, from subsystem production through SAR satellite integration and validation, through to delivery to the launch manifest.

• Manage production team leads directly, building a high-performing, accountable, and continuously improving organization.

• Set the standard for how production is run, in terms of discipline, quality, pace, and team culture.

• Grow the team as production rate increases, ensuring the right structure, skills, and capacity are in place ahead of demand.

• Own the production schedule and delivery targets, ensuring satellites are built and delivered on time, at the right quality, every time.

• Monitor and manage key production metrics, throughput, cycle time, yield, first-pass quality, and on-time delivery, and drive systematic improvement across all of them.

• Identify bottlenecks, risks, and constraints before they become problems, and act on them decisively.

• Ensure the production system is designed and operated to scale, from 50 to 75 to 120+ satellites per year, without sacrificing quality or control.

• Lead the transformation of MAITE production towards a true pull-based, one piece flow-driven manufacturing system, applying Lean principles not as a methodology exercise but as a practical, daily operating discipline.

• Drive the implementation of 6S, visual management, standard work, and continuous flow across all production lines.

• Champion the shift from milestone-driven production to a flow-based model driven by stock levels, takt time, and replenishment rates.

• Take full ownership of production quality, from in-process quality gates to final acceptance. This means zero tolerance for systemic quality failures and a production system designed to catch and prevent defects, not just detect them.

• Work closely with AIT Engineering and Quality to ensure that production procedures, tooling, and test setups are robust, repeatable, and up to date.

• Lead root cause analysis and corrective action on production anomalies, closing the loop with Engineering and ensuring lessons learned are captured and embedded.

• Work closely with all MAITE functions, Stock Management, AIT Engineering, Smart Manufacturing, production planner, to ensure seamless flow, clear boundaries, and continuous improvement across the full value chain.

• Represent production with clarity and confidence in senior leadership discussions, project reviews, and cross-functional forums.

This role requires a rare combination of deep production mastery, strong leadership, and the energy to drive a high-growth organization through a fundamental scaling event. We are not looking for someone who has built satellites before, we are looking for someone who has built production systems that deliver complex, high-value, low-volume hardware at scale, with zero tolerance for defects.

• 10+ years of experience in production, manufacturing operations, or industrial engineering, with a strong track record of leading production teams through scaling phases.

• Proven mastery of Lean manufacturing principles, not as a certification, but as a daily operating philosophy. You should be able to give concrete, specific examples of how you have implemented pull systems, standard work, visual management, and flow-based production in real environments.

• Experience leading and developing teams of 30+ people, including managing team leads and building organizational capability, not just maintaining it.

• A background in industries that produce complex, high-value, low-volume hardware under strict quality requirements.

• Deep understanding of production quality, from supplier quality through in-process control to final acceptance. You have seen quality systems at multiple stages of maturity and know what good looks like.

• Experience working in a production environment that was scaling fast, where you had to go fast and improve at the same time, and where the production system had to be built as the product was being built.

• Strong communication skills across all levels, equally comfortable on the production floor with technicians and in a boardroom with executives. You bring clarity, not complexity.

• High energy, high standards, and a genuine drive to build something exceptional. You are not here to maintain, you are here to transform.

• Talent Screening

• Hiring Manager interview

• Task Assignment and Presentation

• Final interview