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ICEYE is building the world's largest constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites for earth observation. This operational leadership role owns end-to-end harness manufacturing—a critical path item for scaling satellite production from batch to high-volume manufacturing.
The harness system is complex: each ICEYE satellite requires approximately 270 cable assemblies across 90+ cable types, with thousands of handcrafted, space-grade crimps per spacecraft. Currently, production relies heavily on individual technician expertise. Your mission is to transform this into a scalable, data-driven operation with repeatable processes, purpose-built tooling, and multi-site capability—drastically reducing build hours per spacecraft while maintaining flight-hardware reliability.
You will have complete operational ownership including process design, tooling, team management, capacity planning, and automation roadmap. You'll inherit an active operation and capable team; your objective is to build Europe's fastest, most reliable space-grade harness manufacturing operation.
Key responsibilities:
- Manage safety, quality, cost, delivery, and throughput daily; develop capacity models aligned with satellite build schedules
- Define and execute a 3–5 year harness manufacturing strategy covering in-house production, outsourcing, and automation
- Standardize work, takt times, and flow for every harness family; implement manufacturing technologies (digital formboards, crimp-force monitoring, automated electrical testing, laser marking, automated wire processing, digital work instructions)
- Participate in design reviews to optimize connector selection, routing, lengths, and labeling; integrate build data into future designs
- Hire, train, certify, and mentor technicians and process engineers; embed visual management and kaizen continuous improvement
- Maintain zero harness-related defects in satellite integration; ensure strict compliance with IPC/WHMA-A-620 Class 3 (Space Addendum) and ECSS-Q-ST-70 standards; embed ESD, FOD, and traceability protocols
The role is on-site in Espoo with occasional travel to other ICEYE manufacturing facilities. Working language is English; relocation support is available. You will work closely with harness design and integration teams on-site and have capital backing for well-supported, high-return business proposals.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 5+ years of experience in wire harness or cable assembly manufacturing within space, aerospace, defense, or high-volume automotive sectors
- Proven track record managing and developing teams of 10–15 technical professionals (hiring, performance management, retention)
- Strong practical technical expertise in crimping, soldering, shield termination, overbraiding, backshells, potting, marking, and electrical testing; fluency in reading wire lists, harness drawings, and schematics
- Deep practical knowledge of IPC/WHMA-A-620 standards; experience with Class 3 (Space Addendum), ECSS-Q-ST-70, or NASA-STD-8739.4 strongly preferred
- Demonstrated ability to drive measurable improvements in cycle times, product yields, manufacturing costs, or production capacity
- Applied experience with Lean manufacturing methodologies (standard work, takt, value-stream mapping, structured problem solving) and integrating automated tooling or test equipment into production lines
- Strong analytical skills with clear written and verbal communication in English
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Background in high-rate manufacturing environments (e.g., automotive EV harness or aerospace electronics)
- Familiarity with DFM tools (Capital, E3.series, CATIA Electrical)
- Experience introducing automated wire processing or RF cable assemblies
- IPC/WHMA-A-620 CIT certification
- Supplier qualification experience
- Automotive harness experience with strong automation, line design, and takt-time discipline (space-grade workmanship standards taught in-house)
