Head of Hardware Operations
Skydio is the leading US drone manufacturer and world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial transportation. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, and operational excellence to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users - from action sports enthusiasts to first responders.
About the role:
Autonomy is the future and presents a 10x opportunity over status quo manual drones. Currently, one of our biggest challenges is building enough product to meet demand. The overall goal and opportunity for this role is to develop Skydio’s supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics functions as we scale towards shipping hundreds of thousands of drones with multiple product and accessory lines running simultaneously. Reporting to the COO as a member of the executive team, you will provide operational input to the product roadmap, finance, GTM, and strategy.
How you'll make an impact:
- Lead and mature Skydio’s overall hardware operations to improve predictability and quality while increasingly emphasizing efficiency as we scale
- Collaborate cross-functionally with leadership, product development, finance, and go-to-market teams to define production strategy for current and next-gen products
- Build and lead a high-performing team by recruiting strong talent and developing ICs and managers into key operational and people leadership roles according to organizational needs
- Lead day to day execution: Establish and maintain performance metrics across all hardware operations functions, track progress throughout the product delivery cycle, and get hands-on with critical issues and decisions
- Collaborate with engineering on product development and roadmap
- Collaborate with GTM on customer support, forecasting, and delivery
What makes you a strong fit:
- Significant experience bringing complex products to market (e.g. moving parts, cameras/optics, sophisticated software systems) on time and at or below cost targets
- Demonstrated excellence in managing day-to-day execution and delivery spanning:
- Technical and commercial aspects of supplier management
- Product development cycle planning management/scheduling
- Contract manufacturer management (ideally in North America)
- Logistics, trade compliance, reverse logistics, and repair
- Material planning to support multiple programs at scale
- Analytical and detail oriented with proven problem-solving
- Organizational, communication, and management/leadership skills
- Demonstrated excellence in managing day to day execution
- In-house manufacturing experience is desired, experience leveraging and scaling at CMs is required
At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multi-disciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.
As such, we do not make hiring or other employment-related decisions on the basis of an applicant or employee’s race, color, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), pregnancy, gender, gender identity or expression, age, religion, disability status, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, generic information or characteristics, veteran, military or family status, or other classifications protected by applicable federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.