You have experience with high-volume manufacturing environments and the industrialization of complex hardware products.
You have experience working with automation system integrators, robotics, or custom production equipment.
You have exposure to Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, or advanced factory digitalization initiatives.
You have experience managing CapEx projects and equipment installations from specification through FAT/SAT and production ramp-up.
Full description
At Stark, we forge the future of European and national security through cutting-edge, AI-driven technology and unmatched engineering precision. As a premier defence technology company, our mission is clear: to equip NATO Allies and their partners with next-generation autonomous defence platforms and advanced AI-driven software built to perform in the world’s most demanding environments.
We believe that true security stems from relentless innovation. By combining elite engineering talent with agile technology and an AI-native operational culture, Stark turns complex defence challenges into field-tested, multi-domain solutions.
WHY JOIN US
The software and systems you work on directly protect personnel and defend European and national sovereignty.
You will work alongside industry-leading minds on autonomous systems, advanced propulsion, and secure cyber platforms.
We foster a fast-paced, collaborative environment where bold ideas are supported by serious R&D backing.
ABOUT THE TEAM
You will join a highly dedicated and collaborative manufacturing engineering team working closely with R&D, production, automation, and operations. The team is made up of experienced, hands-on people who are passionate about turning complex designs into scalable, efficient, and reliable production systems.
YOUR MISSION TO THE MISSION
We are seeking a visionary and collaborative Manufacturing Engineering Manager to bridge the gap between innovation and execution. In this role, you will lead the transition of next-generation products from concept to high-volume production.
You will work at the critical intersection of R&D and operations, guiding the industrialization process, developing cutting-edge production workflows, and collaborating with R&D engineers early in the design cycle to ensure products are optimized for automated manufacturing. If you thrive on turning complex designs into scalable, automated, and efficient production realities, we want you on our team.
WHAT YOU WILL DO AT STARK
R&D Collaboration & Design for Automation
Early-Stage Partnership: Partner closely with R&D teams during the prototyping phase to provide manufacturing feasibility feedback.
Design for Excellence (DFX): Act as the champion for Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA), specifically guiding R&D to define product designs that lend themselves seamlessly to automated assembly.
Standardization: Establish design guidelines that standardize components and processes, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
Vendor & Capital Equipment Management
Technical Specifications: Define technical requirements and author comprehensive Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and functional specifications for custom automation equipment, robotics, and tooling.
Head of Manufacturing Engineering (all genders) at STARK (Germany) — aijobsearch
Vendor Selection & Evaluation: Scout, evaluate, and select world-class equipment vendors and automation system integrators based on capability, scalability, cost, and lead times.
Milestone & Budget Tracking: Act as the primary point of contact for external vendors, managing capital expenditure (CapEx) budgets and tracking project timelines to ensure machinery is delivered on schedule for product launches.
Acceptance Testing (FAT/SAT): Lead Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) at vendor facilities and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) upon factory installation to guarantee equipment meets all cycle time, yield, and safety standards.
SLA & Lifecycle Management: Establish Service Level Agreements (SLAs), warranty terms, and preventative maintenance/spare-parts strategies with vendors to ensure long-term equipment reliability.
Industrialization
Prototype to Scale: Oversee the build of pilot lines, identify scaling bottlenecks, and smoothly transition products from low-volume prototyping to mass production.
Risk Mitigation: Conduct Design/Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (DFMEA/PFMEA) to identify and mitigate risks early in the product lifecycle.
Process Development & Optimization
Workflow Design: Design, implement, and continuously improve production layouts, material flows, and line balances.
Automation Strategy: Identify opportunities for automation, robotics, and smart manufacturing (Industry 4.0) integration on the production floor.
Documentation & Compliance: Oversee the creation of detailed manufacturing documentation, including standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions, and routing sheets.
Team Leadership & Management
Team Development: Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of manufacturing and process engineers.
KPI Management: Define and track team metrics, including cycle times, first-pass yield (FPY), overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and capital expenditure (CapEx) budgets.
WHAT YOU BRING
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field (Master's or MBA is a plus).
Experience: 5+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, with at least 2+ years in a leadership or managerial capacity.
NPI Expertise: Proven track record of successfully launching new products into production, specifically working side-by-side with R&D teams.
Automation Savvy: Deep understanding of automated assembly processes, robotics, PLC programming, or vision systems, and how product design choices impact automation feasibility.
Technical Arsenal: Strong proficiency in CAD software (e.g., SolidWorks, Creo), Lean Manufacturing principles, Six Sigma methodologies, and PFMEA execution.
Soft Skills: Exceptional cross-functional communication and negotiation skills—ability to speak the "language" of both abstract R&D and practical factory operations.
NICE TO HAVE
You have experience with high-volume manufacturing environments and the industrialization of complex hardware products.
You have experience working with automation system integrators, robotics, or custom production equipment.
You have exposure to Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, or advanced factory digitalization initiatives.
You have experience managing CapEx projects and equipment installations from specification through FAT/SAT and production ramp-up.
If you're interested in building the future of European Defence with us, and you see yourself reflected on the description above, please send us your CV in English. We're looking forward to meeting you!
SECURITY CLEARANCE
Due to the nature of our work in the defence sector, candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain the appropriate security clearance required for this position. Details will be provided during the recruitment process.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
We are an equal-opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
DATA PRIVACY STATEMENT
This data privacy statement, which refers exclusively to data collected as part of the online application process, is to inform you about how your personal data that is collected as part of the online application process is handled at our end.
The controller
The controller under data protection law is:
SKD SE
Französische Strasse 12, 10117 Berlin
Commercial register entry number: HRB 260878
Registration Court: Amtsgericht Charlottenburg
Data Protection officer: heyData GmbH, Schützenstraße 5, 10117 Berlin,, datenschutz@heydata.eu
Personal data collected as part of the application process
Personal data means any information concerning the personal or material circumstances of an identified or identifiable individual. This includes information such as, for example, your name, address, telephone number and date of birth, but also data relating to your specific career etc. by reference to which a specific individual can be identified with reasonable effort. However, information which cannot be (in)directly associated with your real-life identity is not personal data.
Fundamentals and purposes of processing personal data collected from application documents and during the application process
If you apply to us electronically, i.e. via e-mail or using our online form, we will collect and process your personal data for the purpose of executing the application process and preparing contracts.
By submitting an application via our recruitment website, you express your interest in taking up work with us. In this context, you transmit personal data, which we will use and store exclusively for the purpose of your job search / application process.
In particular, the following data is collected during this process:
name (first and last names)
e-mail address
phone number
LinkedIn profile (optional)
channel through which you found us
Furthermore, you can choose to upload expressive documents such as a cover letter, your CV and reference letters. These may contain additional personal data such as date of birth, address etc.
Only authorized HR staff and/or staff involved in the application process have access to your data.
The personal data is stored, as a rule, exclusively for the purpose of filling the vacancy for which you have applied.
Your data will be stored for a period of 180 days after the application process has been concluded. This is usually done to fulfill legal requirements and/or defending ourselves against any claims arising from legal provisions. After this period, we are obligated to delete or anonymize your data. In case of anonymization, the data will only be available to us in the form of so-called metadata, without any direct personal reference, for statistical analysis (for example, share of male and/or female applicants, number of applications per specified period of time etc.).
Furthermore, we reserve the right to store your data for 180 days after the application process has been concluded for the purpose of adding it to our Talent Pool in order to identify any other vacancies that may be of interest to you. This includes, for example, applications for apprenticeships or internships. By accepting the data privacy statement, you consent to any further storage of your data as well as its inclusion in our Talent Pool.
Should you be offered and accept a position with us during the application process, we will store the personal data collected as part of the application process for at least the duration of your employment.
Disclosure of data to third parties
Data transmitted as part of your application will be transferred using TLS encryption and stored in a database. This database is operated by Greenhouse, which offers a human resource and applicant management software solution (https://www.greenhouse.com/data-processing-addendum). In this context, Greenhouse is our processor under article 28 of the GDPR. In this case, the processing is based on an agreement for the processing of orders between us as the controller and Greenhouse.
Rights of data subjects
If we as the controller process personal data, you as the data subject have certain rights under Chapter III of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), depending on the legal basis and the purpose of the processing, in particular the right of access (article 15 of the GDPR) and the rights to rectification (article 16 of the GDPR), erasure (article 17 of the GDPR), restriction of processing (article 18 of the GDPR), and data portability (article 20 of the GDPR), as well as the right to object (article 21 of the GDPR). If the personal data is processed with your consent, you have the right to withdraw this consent under article 7 III of the GDPR.
To assert your rights as a data subject in relation to the data processed during this online application process, please refer to our Data Protection Officer (see item 2).
Concluding provisions
We reserve the right to adjust this data privacy statement at any point in time to ensure that it is in line with the current legal requirements at all times, or in order to accommodate changes in the application process or other processes. In this case, the new data privacy statement applies to any later visit of this recruitment website or any later job application.
LEGAL NOTICE
1. Information according to § 5 DDG
SKD SE Französische Str. 12 10117 Berlin
Internet: E-Mail: contact@stark-defence.com
SKD SE, Berlin (registered office of the company), is a Societas Europaea (legal form for joint stock companies), registered at the district court of Berlin (Charlottenburg) under the register number: HRB 260878 B, represented by the Executive Board: Uwe Horstmann, Dr. André Schneider, Johannes Schaback, Jan-Patrick Helmsen, Martin Rost.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board is Mr. Robert Maier.
VAT ID No.: DE369778559
2. Liability
We are responsible for the content of our website in accordance with the provisions of general law. All content is created with the necessary care and to the best of our knowledge and is for information purposes only. Insofar as we refer on our Internet pages to the Internet pages of third parties by means of hyperlinks, we cannot accept any liability for guarantee that the linked content is always up to date, correct and complete, as this content is outside our responsibility and we have no influence on its future design. If, in your opinion, content violates applicable law or is inappropriate, please let us know. The legal information on this page as well as all questions and disputes in connection with the design of this website are subject to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany.
3. Data Protection
You can find our data protection information here. There you will also find the contact details of our data protection officer.
4. Copyright Information
The texts, images, photos, videos and graphics on our website are generally protected by copyright. Any unauthorized use (in particular the reproduction, editing or distribution) of this copyright-protected content is therefore prohibited. If you intend to use this content or parts thereof, please contact us in advance using the details above. If we are not ourselves the owner of the required copyright usage rights, we will endeavor to arrange contact with the entitled party.