Mitchell Kos, CMgr, MBA
Oakville,Canada
Summary
Dynamic and results-driven professional with extensive technical and managerial experience at Tesla and the Royal Canadian Air Force, excelling in project management and process optimization. Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams to achieve significant cost savings and operational efficiencies. Expertise in automation engineering and transformational leadership, driving continuous improvement initiatives that enhance productivity and quality across the automotive, aerospace & defence, and medical device industries. Proficient in integrating and maintaining advanced control systems and troubleshooting manufacturing applications. Chartered Manager (CMgr) with a strong background in operational test and evaluation programs as a military officer and pilot.
Co-founder of Volunteers for Ukraine, successfully coordinating and managing over $2 million in financial aid for humanitarian efforts in the war. Recognized as a "Top 100 Global Leader in the Transportation and Automotive Industry" in 2021 by ITAS while managing over $300 million in MRO/CapEx assets and driving quality operations in ISO 9000/1 environments.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Pilot | Officer - 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) & Future Fighter Capability Project (F-35A)
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
Alouette, QC
11.2022 - Current
- Commissioned: March 2023.
- Security Clearance: Level III, Top Secret
- Valid Seat Checks + ALSE Currencies: CF-18/188B Hornet, USAF T-6A Texan II
- Jointly assigned as an On-Job-Training (OJT) Junior Staff Officer at both 3 Wing Operational Support Squadron's and 433 TFS's Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP) cell, leading various technical projects and planning related to the execution of the RCAF's CF-35A Lightning II Joint-Strike Fighter Program, and the CF188 Hornet Extension Project 2 (HEP2), while completing mainline pilot training.
- First RCAF 2Lt to ever be nominated for and receive the Operational Test & Evaluation (OT&E) Project Officer qualification at RCAF's Barker College, in Winnipeg, MB—qualifying for work within military operational flight test.
- Designed, quantified, and sourced a low-cost, commercially available active retention lanyard in a matter of weeks to replace an outdated hardware piece used by over 700 active-duty pilots and aircrew for AVS-9 Night Vision Devices (NVDs). Existing hardware was outdated and unsafe, and it saved the RCAF over $3.08M in ongoing neck, back, and eye strain studies. Self-generated a comprehensive Statement of Capability Deficiency and staffed it through 1 CAD Comd for implementation with the Director of Flight Requirements and Test & Evaluation Flight.
- At the request of the LCol of 3 Wing OSS, I led the quarterly and monthly Yearly Flying Records (YFR) budget while tracking yearly operational hours to the budget set by the Minister of National Defense. Implemented an automated metric tracking dashboard in Microsoft Power BI to compile various datasets into an easy-to-read dashboard for three OSS and one CAD's visibility, augmenting it into a regression-based model to provide projections on flight time.
- Act as Officer in Charge of flight scheduling, special events, and operational planning/administration at 439 ESC, with both a tactical and search and rescue (SAR) operational squadron, covering over 3 helicopters and 25+ tactical fighter aircraft at any time under the NORAD directive.
- Created an Aircraft Emergency Response Plan training document compiling egress and hazard assessments applicable for the Combat Support and SAR Squadrons personnel, and Medical Technicians to utilize as a training supplement in preparation for receiving the CF-35A Joint-Strike Fighter to be more effective 2+ years in advance.
- Coordinated and tasked over 15+ primary SAR calls from JRCC Trenton/Halifax in FY2023 for assisting the Canadian public in both environmental disaster response and personnel recovery.
- Led efforts in re-automating an outdated flight scheduling software in-house, saving over 18 hours in the sole scheduling workload for the Operations Officer (OpsO).
- Updated a 2+ year-old fuel-cache database for 3 Wing's SAR pilots and crews, allowing them to have access to over 200 fuel storages across Canada, expanding the available locations by over 110%, and allowing SAR crews to expand over 500 Nautical Miles from base for any rescue need, both public, private, and military. Updated the database into a new overlay map filter for the squadron pilots' iPads and electronic flight bags, for ease of use in flight.
Senior Manager, Mechanical/Automation Engineering
Cepheid
Sunnyvale, US
04.2022 - 10.2022
- Direct responsibility of Cepheid's Global Automation Continuous Improvement Process (CIP), both MiniCAL and ROBAL (Reagent On-Board Assembly Line) automation tool deployment programs within Danaher's Business Solutions Framework (DBS), which make up over 80% of Cepheid's medical diagnostic manufacturing equipment, and a team of Automation Engineers.
- Deployed a 0.9-second cycle time (CT) improvement in the reagent-filling automation equipment as part of a Variable Reduction Shin Kaizen (VRK) program with Danaher's conglomerates, as a designated automation engineering subject-matter expert in 2022 at the Solna, Sweden, headquarters, providing initial throughput improvement of over 6 million extra patient molecular tests, and a company-wide overall savings of $13.5 million USD within the first 3 weeks of employment.
Manager - Maintenance & Controls Engineering - Powertrain Operations
Tesla Motors Inc.
Fremont, US
05.2020 - 04.2022
- Overseeing 24/7 Sustaining Engineering and Maintenance Operations for the Drive Unit Assembly, M3/Y Bus Bar, S/3/X/Y Battery Module and Pack, and the future program launch of the 4680 Project Road Runner, Palladium, and Structural Battery Manufacturing System platforms, with encompassing sub-assembly lines.
- Acting Sustaining Engineering and Maintenance Ops Lead, and point of contact during executive absences and departmental reassignments, overseeing departmental scope in excess of 140 direct reports, including Maintenance Technicians, Engineers, Engineering Technicians, and Supervisors.
- Led expansion efforts of the Sustaining department by expanding the team of junior and senior staff-level technicians, engineers, and supervisors, growing the department headcount by over 65% in 8 months during 4+ program launches.
- At the CEO's request, I was simultaneously tasked to SpaceX Seattle during FY2019-2021 to advise the Manufacturing Engineering teams on precision-fabrication strategies imperative to the Dragon-2 Capsule and future Starship project launches.
- Directed re-facing efforts of Powertrain Sustaining Engineering & Maintenance department metrics and KPIs, driving direct metrics of Safety, People, Quality, Rate, and Cost through Mean Time tracking, cost per unit (spares), and PM completion (%) to over 8 individual maintenance teams in a 6-month period from a department with less than 20% of the business operations being defined.
- Directed a department-wide Continuous Improvement (CI) program to all direct reporting teams, resulting in over $400K in combined savings to the bottom line and OEE in the first quarter of introduction, and over $2M in hard savings in 9 months.
- Led a paradigm shift in Sustaining Engineering, moving the entire work system to JIRA ticketing project dashboards, conveying over 300 individual actions towards equipment-related failures contributing to production downtime, and achieving an 87% time-to-completion ratio within 30 days for every item, with a scrum team of only seven engineers.
Equipment Engineering & Maintenance Supervisor - Model 3 Launch Team
Tesla Motors Inc.
Fremont, US
05.2017 - 05.2020
- Assigned to the Central Manufacturing Launch Team for Tesla's Model 3, for Equipment Engineering and Maintenance in General Assembly, I led, developed, and coordinated the launch team of maintenance technicians and supervisors, growing from 12 technicians and 1 supervisor to a team of over 90 technicians and 5 supervisors. I also worked as a go-between for production and program managers for equipment upkeep in line with a 3-month timeframe, overseeing the implementation of over 60 Fanuc and 30 Kuka robots, multiple ISRA vision systems, and CPM PowerFlex conveyor systems from initial conception to program management of the upkeep into year two of the line's lifespan.
- Assisted in commissioning over five integrator automation cells: DURR Fluid Fill Base Unit, IP Install (IBG), Tire Install (IBG), Front Seat Install (Promation), Rear Quarter Glass Install (ATS Automation), and Glass Cell (ATN).
- Led two controls engineers in reducing wasted machine process time on a decommissioned cell by removing unnecessary mechanical and automation movements to regain 43 minutes of usable machine uptime per week—hard savings of over $430,000 per week in unnecessary machine WIP transactions and redundant order consumption.
- Implemented change in Siemens PLC function block logic to optimize vehicle transfer within two cells, resulting in immediate reallocation of approx. 8.6 seconds of takt to other processes—over $800K in process savings per day.
Equipment Maintenance Supervisor - General Assembly/Project
Tesla Motors Inc.
Fremont, US
01.2017 - 05.2017
- Provided 24/7 troubleshooting supervision for over 8 Fanuc M2000 cells, as well as SEW Eurodrives, and other Allen Bradley and Siemens-based automation and PLC functions while managing up to 20 maintenance technicians and leads.
- Designed and implemented over 100 technical troubleshooting placards on AGC automation vehicles, improving communication between shifts for accurate maintenance and repair work.
- Oversaw the planning and coordinating of ARC2-rated uniforms for over 120 technicians to promote arc flash safety—upwards of $30,000.
- I wrote POs and approved asset acquisitions upwards of $30,000 for preventative maintenance and training.
- Advised Sr. Maintenance Planner on reorganizing and reassigning over 450 PM and CM documentations and procedures through the L2L CMMS, remapping over 200 machine assets and technologies.
Process Engineering Supervisor - West Paint Shop
General Motors of Canada Ltd.
Oshawa, Canada
05.2016 - 09.2016
- Managed the shift-wide topcoat paint process of the entire West Paint Shop for 8-10 hours, overseeing the direct run efficiency of phosphate, Elpo, prime, basecoat, and clearcoat application in a high-volume vehicle manufacturing setting, achieving over 370 cars produced per shift.
- Oversaw five topcoat paint booths, overseeing over 80 FANUC P-700 with Versabell and BEHR robots in painting five different vehicle models.
- Troubleshot various quality, process, and mechanical issues in final paint inspection, repair, and auditing, and was tasked with overseeing the preventive and corrective maintenance of hundreds of paint defects and root-causing these issues - utilizing FANUC PaintPro and PaintTool GUI for troubleshooting and touch-up efforts.
- Part of the MCM team is helping to validate and launch the 2018 Cadillac XTS MCM mule, a team of four process engineers.
- Worked with operators, led process engineers, and production managers to find best practices and perform troubleshooting while maintaining low downtime and built-in quality (>94% DRR/OEE).
- Designed over 10 new and updated more than 50 outdated Task Instruction Sheets, and oversaw the conversion of over 200 non-standard operating procedures into Task Instruction Sheets to create better training procedures and identify critical safety and instructional awareness documents.
Quality Operations Supervisor - Chassis End of Line
General Motors of Canada Ltd.
Oshawa, Canada
05.2014 - 09.2015
- Managed end-of-line Quality Ops, consisting of 15 to 20 inspectors and drivers in conjunction with ISO 9000/9001 standards, and represented the global customer in the final vehicle inspection of over five vehicle models, enforcing strict quality standards as a senior leader during night operations.
- Collaborated with two other Ops Supervisors to help drive plant-wide de-rate decommissioning of the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro 4th Generation, reduced Takt time by 15%, and re-allocated work with no loss of manpower.
- Managed quality standards within millimeters, and was tasked with the responsibility of the final say and control over what remains in Pareto tracking and what may be removed.
- Oversaw plant-wide defect Pareto tracking for the third shift, tasked with the responsibilities of final vehicle buy-off of over 50 critical repairs and safety holds before delivery.
- Reported to and assisted the Throughput Senior and Quality Operations Manager in defect and process fault finding, controlling defects being entered into GCA Audit standards, and ensuring that critical Product Quality Standards (PQS) are followed.
- Initiated over 10 DFSS and DMAIC changes in four months in the form of FMEAs and 5S, in facilitation with both design and process failures—both PFMEA and DFMEAs.
- Managed plant-wide FTQ and PPH tracking daily for capability analysis to help initiate and drive change to accomplish higher continuous improvement, and to ensure PPH remains within the lowest control limit outlined.
- Responsible for shift-wide recall, safety-related super holds, and critical repair buy-off procedures of over five models within the Oshawa Assembly Plant.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Aerospace Sciences
University of North Dakota (UND) - John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences
Grand Forks, ND09.2025
Operational Test & Evaluation Project Officer - Fixed Wing/Fighter
RCAF Barker College
Winnipeg, MB10.2024
Master of Business Administration (MBA) -
California State University
Monterey Bay, CA03.2021
Bachelor of Engineering Technology - Automotive Engineering
McMaster University
Hamilton, ON, Canada01.2017
Skills
- Project Management
- Data Analysis
- Systems Engineering
- Process Optimization
- Equipment Maintenance
- Equipment Commissioning
- Agile Methodologies
- Technical Writing
- Transformational Leadership
- Procurement Planning & Purchasing
- Supply Chain Management
- Product Development & Commercialization
- Design for Manufacturing
- Lean Principles & Management
- Continuous Improvement
- Automation Engineering
- Operations Management
- Business Development & Strategy
Accomplishments
- Top 150 Engineering Alumnus - McMaster Engineering
- Top 100 Global Leaders in the Transportation & Automotive Industry - ITAS 2021
Certification
- Chartered Manager (CMgr) - Canadian Institute of Management
- Certified in Management (CIM) - Canadian Institute of Management
Timeline
Pilot | Officer - 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) & Future Fighter Capability Project (F-35A)
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
11.2022 - Current
Senior Manager, Mechanical/Automation Engineering
Cepheid
04.2022 - 10.2022
Manager - Maintenance & Controls Engineering - Powertrain Operations
Tesla Motors Inc.
05.2020 - 04.2022
Equipment Engineering & Maintenance Supervisor - Model 3 Launch Team
Tesla Motors Inc.
05.2017 - 05.2020
Equipment Maintenance Supervisor - General Assembly/Project
Tesla Motors Inc.
01.2017 - 05.2017
Process Engineering Supervisor - West Paint Shop
General Motors of Canada Ltd.
05.2016 - 09.2016
Quality Operations Supervisor - Chassis End of Line
General Motors of Canada Ltd.
05.2014 - 09.2015
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Aerospace Sciences
University of North Dakota (UND) - John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences
Operational Test & Evaluation Project Officer - Fixed Wing/Fighter
RCAF Barker College
Master of Business Administration (MBA) -
California State University
Bachelor of Engineering Technology - Automotive Engineering
McMaster University
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