About
Karman Industries is a Torrance-based thermal technology company building the backbone for giga-scale AI infrastructure. Founded by a team from SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and GE, Karman is moving beyond legacy cooling with the launch of the HPU (Heat Processing Unit) - a new category of thermal architecture designed for the 100kW+ rack era.
The HPU shrinks the exterior mechanical yard by up to 80% while reducing peak energy consumption by 10%+. Unlike traditional systems, the Karman HPU provides zero-water (WUE 0) cooling that ensures high-TDP GPUs and HBM4 memory stay at optimal thermal setpoints without throttling.
Founded in 2024, we’re a fast-growing team of passionate professionals dedicated to making a tangible impact on the future of humanity. We design, build, and test real hardware, and we lead with ownership: you’ll own your work from concept to hardware and help shape how we scale. Our values are Ownership, Performance Excellence, Radical Transparency, and Customer-Centricity.
Join us in our mission to transform the industry and contribute to a more sustainable world.
Production Manager
We are seeking a skilled and hands-on Production Manager to lead the manufacturing and assembly of cutting-edge turbomachinery that will be utilized to build Thermal01. This role is critical to establishing robust production capabilities across skid integration, turbomachinery build, machining, and welding - including workflow design, staffing, and shop-floor standards. We are a team that values first-principles thinking, hands-on problem solving, and close cross-functional collaboration to deliver cohesive, high-performance systems.
Responsibilities
- Hire, lead, and mentor a team of supervisors, technicians, and machinists across skid integration, turbomachinery build, machining, and welding operations
- Support facility activation, new product introductions, line expansions, and workflow upgrades; contribute to strategic decision-making on production layout and bringing new capability online
- Ensure a strong focus on safety and maintain an excellent safety record across all production operations
- Create and enforce training and career development paths to ensure on-time delivery, improve quality, and reduce lead time/cost
- Define and enforce operational standards with strict accountability
- Drive continuous improvement in manufacturing processes, procedures, quality, and production rate
- Collaborate with manufacturing engineering, quality, and leadership to align on long-term goals and resolve complex production issues
- Challenge assumptions and requirements to establish a streamlined, first-principles manufacturing environment
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement, operational excellence, and high performance
- Conduct performance reviews and develop team members to maintain a world-class manufacturing organization
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in engineering or a STEM discipline; OR 5+ years of professional leadership experience in a manufacturing environment
- 5+ years of production operations or process development experience
- 3+ years of experience in a leadership position
Preferred Skills and Experience
- Experience leading production across skid/module integration, machining, and welding disciplines
- Experience leading new product introduction (NPI) through to volume production
- Experience with the equipment and support systems used across a turbomachinery or precision fabrication value stream (machining, welding, assembly, test, inspection)
- Experience with equipment qualification, validation, and troubleshooting in a production manufacturing environment
- Excellent communication skills, with experience presenting technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
- Experience implementing or sustaining quality management systems (e.g., ISO 9001)
Role level to be determined during interview process
Karman Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Karman Industries is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.