Krunal Soni

Manufacturing and fabrication operations leader with 10+ years of progressive experience across aerospace, aviation, medical device, and high-mix regulated manufacturing environments. Proven success leading large multi-shift organizations, optimizing production capacity, improving quality, reducing costs, and developing high-performing teams. Currently responsible for fabrication and hangar operations across two aviation facilities and two shifts, spanning fabrication, cabinet shop, upholstery, finishing, and avionics departments, and leading five managers and 121 employees with accountability for schedule, cost, quality, productivity, and airworthiness.

Experienced in regulated and audited manufacturing environments, including AS9100 aerospace quality management, FAA airworthiness compliance, BSI registrar audits, and OSHA inspections. Strong background in fabrication, machining, CNC manufacturing, assembly, coating, production planning, process improvement, and cross-functional manufacturing support. Aviation experience includes CNC machining of aircraft seat tracks and rails used for cabin monument installation, along with related aluminum components, providing direct exposure to aluminum machining and extrusion-related applications.

Demonstrated ability to translate strategic objectives into shop-floor KPIs, improve first-pass yield from 51% to 93%, reduce rework and scrap, and deliver approximately $2 million in documented annualized/YTD savings through process improvement and manufacturing optimization.

Head of Fabrication at COMLUX AVIATION (2026-01 – 2026-08)

Direct fabrication and production operations across two separate manufacturing plants and two shifts, leading five managers and 121 employees with accountability for schedule, cost, quality, productivity, and airworthiness. Oversee hangar operations in addition to fabrication, with responsibility for the cabinet shop, upholstery department, finishing department, and avionics department — sequencing trades across aircraft in work so interior completion stays on schedule.

• Own First Article Inspection (FAI) execution to customer requirements, ensuring first-run parts and assemblies are dimensionally verified, documented, and approved before release to production.
• Oversee the fabrication shop and its full equipment base, including two CNC mills, fiber laser cutting, forming, and lathe operations, managing capacity, tooling, staffing, and preventive maintenance across all work centers.
• Lead production planning and capacity optimization across a seven-aircraft delivery schedule, balancing labor, tooling, equipment, and floor space between the two facilities to protect committed delivery dates.
• Own make-versus-buy strategy for fabricated components and manufacturing processes; insourced approximately $1.2M of work previously outsourced to vendors, reducing lead times and strengthening quality control.
• Implemented new fiber laser cutting capability from equipment justification through installation, process qualification, and operator training, eliminating vendor dependency on cut parts and compressing turnaround from weeks to days.
• Implemented new in-house lathe operations, establishing setups, tooling, work instructions, and trained operators to bring turned components under internal schedule and quality control.
• Developed and implemented a UV clear-coat process that generated approximately $757K in year-to-date savings while reducing a finishing operation from an entire day to approximately 45 minutes.
• Serve as fabrication point of contact for AS9100, FAA, BSI, and OSHA audits — preparing work centers, presenting processes and records to auditors, and driving corrective actions to closure without disrupting production schedules.
• Apply Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies to eliminate waste, stabilize throughput, reduce rework, and improve process capability.
• Increased first-pass yield from 51% to 93%, representing a 42-point improvement and significantly reducing rework and scrap.
• Support CNC machining and fabrication activities for aviation components, including CNC milling of aircraft seat tracks and rails used to install cabin monuments — galleys, lavatories, closets, and cabinetry — to interface and interchangeability requirements.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Maintenance on new product introduction, manufacturing readiness, production troubleshooting, tooling, materials, and process improvements.
• Establish production priorities and allocate personnel, equipment, tooling, and floor space to maintain aircraft program schedules.
• Develop production leaders through structured training, coaching, performance expectations, and daily KPI management.
• Maintain strong focus on aviation quality, safety, airworthiness, process control, and customer requirements.

Fabrication Manager at COMLUX AVIATION (2025-01 – 2025-12)

Directed daily fabrication operations for an 86-employee department supporting aircraft production and fabrication requirements, leading through a team of six leads.

• Managed and developed the six-lead structure and shop personnel, including staffing, performance management, training, employee development, and operational accountability.
• Established and maintained fabrication standards, quality-control procedures, safety requirements, and operating expectations across multiple work centers.
• Supported AS9100 and FAA audit activity by maintaining process documentation, work instructions, and traceability records in audit-ready condition across fabrication work centers.
• Monitored production metrics and identified bottlenecks, implementing targeted process improvements that reduced rework by 41%, scrap by 27%, and overall build-cycle time by 29%.
• Reduced the overall production schedule by 21 days through process optimization, improved workflow, and stronger resource coordination.
• Coordinated with Engineering, Procurement, and Quality to verify materials, drawings, specifications, tooling, and production requirements before manufacturing release.
• Managed labor, materials, equipment, and production resources to control operating costs and maintain delivery commitments.
• Oversaw preventive maintenance activities for fabrication equipment, tools, machinery, and facility resources.
• Promoted to Head of Fabrication within 12 months based on demonstrated leadership, operational performance, and continuous-improvement results.

Manufacturing Supervisor at AVALIGN TECHNOLOGIES (2022-03 – 2025-01)

Managed 90+ employees across three shifts in a high-mix, regulated medical device manufacturing environment.

• Directed daily production activities while maintaining productivity, quality, staffing, and delivery requirements.
• Participated in BSI registrar audits and OSHA inspections, supporting departmental audit readiness, documentation accuracy, auditor walkthroughs, and closure of corrective actions.
• Identified technical skill requirements, staffing levels, equipment needs, and operational resources necessary to achieve departmental objectives and KPIs.
• Translated annual strategic objectives into measurable shift-level KPIs and communicated expectations across all three shifts.
• Established consistent performance standards and reinforced accountability through hands-on leadership and daily operational engagement.
• Developed team capabilities