Why AeroShield might be great for you

AeroShield Materials is a collaborative team of 23 people bound by a mission to deliver innovative new materials to make our lives more sustainable and comfortable. Every year in the US, windows and doors lose an estimated $40 billion in thermal energy. We are developing super-insulating, transparent aerogel inserts for windows to bring state-of-the-art thermal comfort and energy efficiency into homes at an affordable price.

As part of AeroShield, you would join an agile, passionate, and talented team focusing on realizing our mission in a sustainable, ethical, and innovative way.

What we are looking for in a VP of Manufacturing

As VP of Manufacturing your mission is to lead the strategic scaling of manufacturing operations, optimizing and implementing processes to achieve efficiency and quality in aerogel production. You will lead capital projects focused on increasing AeroShield's manufacturing capacity and quality while also managing output and quality from AeroShield's existing manufacturing processes. Focused on innovation and sustainability, you will drive the team to deliver cutting-edge solutions that meet growing market demands while maintaining the highest standards of safety and environmental responsibility. You will position AeroShield to launch its first products in the residential window market through process optimization and fostering a culture of continuous improvement,

Our mission is supported directly through a positive and inclusive team culture. We are looking for someone who wants to be part of continuously enhancing this culture - by playing an active role as the company grows. This person should embody the three core values of AeroShield and encourage others act in alignment with our mission and these values: Value People and Persons, Act Sustainably, Understand & Improve. This role is important in establishing and building AeroShield's manufacturing team as we seek to grow quickly and efficiently, and will use your experience and skills to form, inspire, and motivate a diverse and cohesive team of high performers.

Responsibilities of this position include:

Develop manufacturing roadmap and timelines, growing AeroShield's capabilities from prototyping capacity today to first production facility to support business goals
Lead, manage, and scale AeroShield's manufacturing team focusing on a combination of performance and team culture
Review current staffing plan for manufacturing team, refine roles, and suggest updates. Support professional development of the manufacturing team's members
Develop strong communication and processes in the manufacturing team so it interfaces well with other teams/departments
Oversee processes, capacity planning, supply chain, and resource allocation for maximum operational efficiency and cost reduction
Develop and incorporate operational safety, regulatory compliance, quality assurance, and cost control policies and programs into all manufacturing processes.
Direct and participate in workforce planning to meet manufacturing and business goals
Lead capital projects to expand AeroShield's manufacturing capabilities:
- AeroShield is currently building a 12,000 sqft facility that produces up to 15,000 sqft/yr of aerogel sheets, and is targeting moving into this facility in June, 2024.
- AeroShield is planning a Series A manufacturing facility that will produce 280,000 sqft/yr with capability to expand to 1M+ sqft/year, targeting completion mid 2026.
Lead selection and management of external design/build firms to support capital projects
Leverage networks in manufacturing, chemical processes, and prototyping to solicit advice and help as needed

This role includes a combination of tasks that can be done remotely, work that needs to be done on-site, and in-person meetings with on-site team members. We expect that a typical week consists of 3-4 days on-site. AeroShield has recently relocated to a brand-new pilot facility to enhance our prototyping and low-volume production capabilities in Waltham, MA. Our 2026 Series A manufacturing facility location is TBD.

Qualifications:

Many great team members do not fit a "standard blueprint". Even if you do not fit all aspects listed below, but feel that you can contribute to AeroShield's team, please do not hesitate to apply or to reach out with questions. Great candidates for this role enjoy learning quickly, are excited about new technologies, and possess a technical background through school and work experience.

Hands-on experience in production and scaleup of deep tech products from MVP stage in a Series Seed startup to manufacturing level production in Series B+ including a good understanding of timelines, challenges, lead times, team requirements, and budget to move from prototype to production
Experience in an early-stage hard tech startup environment in a leadership role within the R&D team that involved ownership of major projects
Leadership experience establishing a new team to support your role, inspiring and mentoring the team, and establishing a strong team culture
Familiarity with manufacturing processes involving hazardous chemicals, pressure vessels, and mechanical equipment.
Minimum of 10 years of experience in manufacturing processes and engineering, preferably including capital projects in related industries to AeroShield, understanding the full life cycle of a project involving permitting, financing, construction, and manufacturing operations.
Strong project management skills and experience working with many stakeholders to deliver on a project
Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to listen, distill information, consult, and suggest new approaches
Knowledge of data management tools and statistical process control

How to Apply

Please submit your resume via our career portal at:

Additionally, please include a few sentences or paragraphs about why you are interested in this role and why it looks like a good fit for you. This does not need to be a cover letter or anything formal, we just want to see what excites you about working at AeroShield!

Contact for questions: Kyle Wilke

About AeroShield

AeroShield manufactures a super-insulating nanoporous form of glass for energy efficient windows. Based on silica aerogel technology, AeroShield is more transparent than glass and twice as insulating as air, enabling windows that are 50% more energy efficient and cost-effective, with the potential to save billions of dollars in energy. See and for more details.

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VP of Manufacturing