Rocket Lab COO Frank Klein. Photo: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab has hired a new COO from the automotive industry to help the company scale manufacturing. The launcher announced Frank Klein as its new chief operations officer on Sept. 10. The appointment is effective Sept. 16. 

Most recently, Klein served as COO at Rivian Automative, where he helped to transform Rivian from a low volume automotive start-up to a high volume premium electric vehicle manufacturer. 

He previously worked at Daimler AG, now Mercedes-Benz Group, for 27 years where he led various business divisions including vehicle research, trucks, cars, and van manufacturing. As vice president of of Mercedes-Benz vans operations, Klein managed global production across 12 production sites, heading up logistics, industrial engineering, and the division’s quality department.

Joining Rocket Lab, Klein will lead the company’s efforts to scale manufacturing of spacecraft, launch vehicles, and spacecraft components to meet customer demand. CEO Peter Beck commented that he will help the team increase Electron launch and production cadence, operationalize Neutron, and strengthen the company’s satellite and space system division. 

“Frank is an experienced and seasoned leader in manufacturing and global operations who will bring vision and a strong wealth of knowledge in lean manufacturing and scaling to Rocket Lab at a pivotal time in our evolution as an end-to-end space company,” Beck commented.